Few preachers seem to see themselves as delivering a message received. Rather, they see themselves as delivering a message prepared. The difference is dramatic. God is under no obligation to bless, with power and effectiveness, a message prepared by a man. Yet, for His own name’s sake, He will empower a message received from Himself.

Messages received from God accomplish His purposes while messages prepared by men accomplish their purposes. A God empowered message will affect the hearers entirely as God intended. This may or may not be the effect we want or expect from the preaching ministry in our local church. It may cause people to leave our church, join our church or some of both. It may cause sorrow or joy. It may cause tremendous conviction or grant great confirmation.

Regardless of the effect, the church today can only be what she was intended when preachers see themselves as messengers delivering a message first received from God. (1 Corinthians 15:3)

Many seem to believe they can work for God without getting mixed up in this Holy Spirit business.  Yet, unless the Holy Spirit is involved in our work for God then we are not involved in the work of God.  Everything the Holy Spirit produces through us is gold, silver and precious stones. Everything we do on our own is wood, hay and stubble. Only the former will pass the judgment of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:1-17).

The Church operates on spiritual gifts, not on talents.  God’s work is done by Holy Spirit filled people using their spiritual gifts.  Paul chastised the Galatians, calling them foolish, for trying to do by human effort what can only be done by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:1-3).  When a Church is operating on talent, the Holy Spirit is not involved in what they are doing.

Nothing can be done properly in the Church unless the Holy Spirit is in control.  Neglecting the Holy Spirit in the operation of the Church is a tremendous sin.  All the real work, done by the Church, is actually done by the Holy Spirit.  Only a Church that is operating in the power of the Holy Spirit will be pleasing to God.

Some workings of the Holy Spirit in and through the Church are as follows.  He reveals Christ to unbelievers during evangelism (John 16:7-11) and to believers as they grow in Him (John 16:14).  He provides spiritual power to the Church (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:5-8). He gives spiritual understanding (1 Corinthians 2:6-16). He leads us according to the will of God (Romans 8:14). He gives us spiritual gifts and causes them to operate in our lives (1 Corinthians 12:1-11). He produces spiritual fruit in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23)

Why is the Church today not filled with the Spirit?

First, we don’t realize we aren’t filled. “There are many people in our churches who would like to think that they are filled with the Holy Spirit–even though they don’t know it.  This is a most shocking thing, and I am sure that this is one of the attitudes through which Satan opposes the doctrine of the genuine Spirit-filled life…  Let me say that I do not find in the Old Testament or in the New Testament, neither in Christian biography, in Church history or in personal Christian testimonies, the experience of any person who was ever filled with the Holy Spirit and didn’t know it!”  (The Counselor, pg. 72, A. W. Tozer)

Second, we have been scared away from the Spirit by wrong teaching and/or improper acting. For us to be afraid of the Holy Spirit is the most ridiculous thing in the world. He is intended to be our comforter not something that is scary. Satan has done a masterful job of making us afraid of God’s comforter. The Holy Spirit is a gift to us from God the Father and the Son. God’s gifts are always good. He does not give stones, snakes or scorpions. (Luke 11:11-13) Yet, talk about the Holy Spirit performing supernatural works in your life and most Christians will recoil as if you showed them a snake or a scorpion. This should not be so.

In order for us to be filled with the Spirit, we must believe that He will actually fill us (Galatians 3:2). Believing this, we must ask the Father for the Spirit (Luke 11:11-13). Receiving Him, we must be obedient, lest we grieve and quench Him in our lives (Acts 5:32; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19)

When writing to the believers in Colosse, Paul made sure they knew he was praying for them to experience the fullness of God’s power in their lives. His prayer was that they “be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy” (Colossians 1:11).

To overcome our own weakness, we must believe that God will strengthen us with “all power.”  All power refers to every kind of power and ability necessary to accomplish what ever God wants us to do.  He will never put us into a situation that He is not willing to give us the power to handle it. No matter how overwhelming the situation may be, His “glorious might” is sufficient to deal with it.

When we are experiencing the fulness of God’s power, we will also experience joy in our lives.  Regardless of what situation we find ourselves in, we will have all the endurance and patience needed to fulfill God’s will for us in that situation.  This is a comforting thought since life is often trying and difficult.

In order to experience the power of God that produces endurance and patience with joy, we need to believe it is real and ask God to strengthen us with it. Then, as Paul did for the Colossians, we should ask Him to also strengthen other believers with His power as we pray for them.

The apostle Paul apparently believes that God’s will is very knowable.  In Colossians 1:9, he reveals his prayer for them.

And so, from the day we heard [of your faith in Christ Jesus], we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will

His request is that they would be filled all the way to the top with complete and accurate knowledge of what God wants them to do.  Paul obviously believes that they can and should know God’s will.

Why then are we so clueless about God’s will in our lives since it is knowable? Knowledge of His will is conditioned on us believing it can be known and diligently seeking to know it with a sincere heart.

Why is it important for us to know God’s will? Because it is the only way we can live a life that is “worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him” (Colossians 1:10).

and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law;

In the previous verse Paul begins to address his own people the Jews, confronting them for their superficial relationship with God.

They were in a wonderfully privileged position because they had the law of God given to them in what we know today as the Old Testament.  As a result, they knew God’s will.  He reveals His will concerning everything we need to know through the bible.  Since they knew His will they were without excuse before Him.  They could not even plead ignorance.

Because they were taught the bible and knew God’s will they were able to accurately distinguish right from wrong.  They could even tell the difference between good things and excellent things.

In Israel, the Old Testament was taught diligently in every city and every synagogue on the sabbath day.  They were very well instructed in the scripture.

With all this privilege they were still not necessarily approved of by God.  He does not approve of those who know His will but those who do His will, not those who approve what is excellent but those who are excellent.  Being taught the bible and having extensive biblical knowledge is only profitable if we live by what we have been taught.

Romans 2:17 – Romans 2:19

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. … By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.  (Hebrews 11:1, 3)

Faith is a scary thing.  It puts us in a position to be considered fools by other people.  Faith convinces us of the reality of things that can’t be seen.  It is not possible to prove the things that we believe by faith.

One of the things we know by faith is that God created the entire universe by speaking it into existence.  Everything that was made, God created from nothing.  There was no preexisting matter that He used to create the universe.  He brought all matter into existence at that time of creation.

Believing that God created the universe as described in Genesis 1 puts us in direct contradiction to the scientific theories of today.  Even if we try to stretch out the length of the days to billions of years rather than 24 hours, it still contradicts the scientific theories because the sun is not created until the forth day.  The earth is created on the first day, the atmosphere on the second, plant life on the third and the sun on the forth.  There is no way to shoehorn the timeline of Genesis 1 into the big bang theory.

The assumption of faith is that the bible is correct concerning the origin of the universe.  When the bible and science are at odds on this topic, we need to reevaluate science’s interpretation and understanding of the information they have.  When that information is understood correctly, it should be in agreement with the bible.  Yet, we need to be careful not to twist science to fit the bible.  We simply need to continue working with the scientific information until we understand it properly.

We also need to be careful not to twist the bible to fit science.  We need to continue improving our understanding of science and the bible.  When we come to a complete understanding of both, by faith we believe that they will agree.

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God

After addressing immoral people who reject God in chapter 1 and the moralist in the beginning of chapter 2, Paul now addresses his own people, the Jews, directly.

From this verse to the end of chapter 2, the person who outwardly identifies with God’s chosen people but whose heart rebels against God is called out as the impostor that they are.

These self deceived people put their trust in the fact that they have God’s law and are comfortable that this proves that God accepts them.  Yet, God does not approve of those who possess the law but those who fulfill the law.

Confident that they are acceptable to God, they brag and boast that He is their God.  They think that because they are associated with God through their ancestors that He approves of them as well.  They arrogantly think that God only accepts those born Jewish.  As a result, they reject people who are not Jewish, thinking themselves to be superior.

Today, this same kind of superficial relationship to God through the church is possible as well.  We need to be careful not to “call” ourself a Christian and rely on the bible and boast in God while our heart is far from Him.  We are made acceptable to God by trust in Jesus alone.  Being associated with the church does not make us acceptable to Him.

Romans 2:16 – Romans 2:18

This passage brings to mind an obvious but important question. How do we know what is sown to the flesh and what is sown to the Spirit?

As believers in Jesus, we all have the Holy Spirit living within us. His job is to teach us the truth, produce in us righteousness and guide us through life. Everything that He produces in us and guides us to do is sowing to the Spirit.

Everything else we do is sowing to the flesh.

Therefore, we must live our lives submitted to and led by the Holy Spirit. Every step of our walk, every moment of our day, every breath that we take must be done with total dependence on our God and His Spirit living within us.

on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

There will come a day when God judges mankind.  Many people deny it but all will be subject to God’s judgment.

Some say that the Gospel is all about acceptance and tolerance.  They don’t want to see God as a judge or their actions as subject to judgment by His divine standard.  Paul’s gospel message is not like this.  Judgment is as much a part of the gospel as is grace, mercy and forgiveness.  It is because of judgment that the gospel of Jesus is even needed.  If our sin is not going to be judged then Jesus suffer and died for nothing.

God will judge people’s secret sins as well as their public ones.  Even people who seem to be moral and above reproach will be judged by their thoughts, desires and motives.

God will judge by Jesus.  Those who believe in His death, burial and resurrection as payment for their sins will be judged as right before God and will spend eternity with Him.  All others will be judged as the sinners they are and will spend eternity in hell.

Romans 1:15 – Romans 2:17

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”

God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”  (Ex. 3:13, 14)

This name has always seemed a little weird to me.  How could this strange name have possibly helped Moses lead the people of Israel to freedom?

As we think on this name it becomes more profound than we can imagine.  Yet, as is normal with God, it is simple enough for a child to understand.  In its simplest form God is saying to Israel, “I am whatever you need.”

You need not worry about whether you are capable of handling the situation because “I am.”  Don’t worry about whether you are able to defeat Pharaoh’s army because “I am.”  Don’t worry about whether you are able to feed millions of people in the middle of a desert because “I am.”  Don’t worry about whether you are able to possess the promised land because “I am.”

God, the “I am”, is the only truly independent and self-sufficient being that exists.  He is who He is and everyone else is dependent upon Him.  He is the only being that can say “I am who I am.”  Everyone else has to say “I am who God made me.”

To live a full life we must depend on “I am” at all times.  It is when we realize that we are not able that God will deliver us by saying “I am.”