How Can a Church Grieve the Holy Spirit? (1)

In this part of the sermon: The first way a church grieves the Spirit is by refusing Jesus Christ His rightful place of preeminence (Colossians 1:18). Martin explains that the Spirit's mission is to bear…

The Matterhorn mountain peak, towering above others, illustrates Christ's exclusive, unrivaled, and unchallenged preeminence in the church, reflecting God's brilliance.

the imagery of a mountain range with many lofty, breathtaking, snow-capped mountain peaks, and yet there is one mountain among them that under any circumstances viewed from any angle from beneath, above, from the side, from the other mountains juts up high above all the others, it does not matter. Whatever a church's configuration may be in terms of size, deposit of gift, influence, obscurity, or notoriety, no matter what the complexion of that church may be, Christ must always be the Matterhorn whose head catches the light

12:39 - 13:23 Read in full sermon

The point: Children, perk up your ears and listen to Pastor's warning about diluting the truth of Christ.

Diluting grape juice with water, making it still purple but 'yucky,' illustrates how doctrinal teaching can maintain the semblance of orthodoxy while diluting the vigor of biblical truth about Christ.

You don't completely destroy it. You may have some nice Welch's grape juice diluted with water. It will still be purple, but it will taste yucky. It will taste like grape juice, but it won't be the real thing.

23:31 - 23:45 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin issues a warning against any teaching that dilutes, undermines, or replaces Christ's glory and sufficiency as the only Savior. He uses the examples of the Galatians and…

Paul's preaching to the Galatians is described as 'placarding Christ crucified before your eyeballs,' like a vivid painting, to emphasize the clear and central presentation of Christ's atoning work.

and they said Christ was not enough for forgiveness and acceptance with God. And here in chapter 3 in verse 1, Paul indicates the close connection between the ministry of the Spirit and the understanding and conviction that Christ is enough, Christ alone is enough for our salvation. Oh foolish Galatians, who did bewitch you, before whose eyes, Jesus Christ was openly set forth, crucified, it's vivid language, he said we placarded Christ crucified before your eyeballs. You see, God doesn't tell us to paint pictures in the place

26:06 - 26:48 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Whatever prompts the soul to pride or... gives us room to boast except in Jesus crucified is not the Holy Ghost.

The image of having one eye on Christ and the other on Jewish ceremonies illustrates the Galatians' foolishness in turning from the total sufficiency of Christ to legalistic additions.

wrath deservingness was fixed upon the immolated Christ who was placarded before you in the preaching. Who has told you to have just one eye on Christ and the other eye on circumcision and holy days and kosher meats? You foolish Galatians, you began in the Spirit, the Spirit who testifies to the total sufficiency of Christ. It is the flesh that would turn you from his total sufficiency.

28:11 - 28:42 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Whatever prompts the soul to pride or... gives us room to boast except in Jesus crucified is not the Holy Ghost.

A hymn by Joseph Hart is quoted to beautifully articulate that the Holy Spirit's work is always to point to Christ crucified, never to prompt pride or boast in self, reinforcing the Spirit's role in glorifying Christ.

old Joseph Hart's hymns, he captured this truth. Listen to it. The text printed at the top of the hymn is, He Shall Not Speak of Himself, John 16, 13, John 15, 26. Whatever prompts the soul to pride or...

30:10 - 30:26 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Whatever prompts the soul to pride or... gives us room to boast except in Jesus crucified is not the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Spirit is described as the 'modest person in the economy of salvation' because He reveals the Son, just as the Son reveals the Father, but no one is sent to reveal the Spirit Himself, highlighting His self-effacing role in glorifying Christ.

It's always salvation to the Lamb. And when He hears a people saying, Blessing and glory and honor and power unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb, and He hears the echo of His own work in the sinner's heart, He rejoices. You see, if I may say it reverently, He's the modest person in the economy of salvation. Jesus says, I've come to reveal the Father and to show you the Father.

31:28 - 31:59 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The church that can no longer repel has nothing worth attracting to.

The statement 'The church that can no longer repel has nothing worth attracting to' illustrates that a church that tolerates sin loses its distinctiveness and spiritual power, making it unattractive to genuine seekers.

Common to all the people of God. Verse 13. Then with their face to the world, but of the rest dared no man join himself to them. The church that can no longer repel has nothing worth attracting to.

45:20 - 45:36 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin illustrates this point with the drastic example of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), showing God's immediate judgment on sin in the early church. He then expounds 1…

The biblical metaphor of 'a little leaven leavens the whole lump' is used to explain how tolerating sin within the church can infect the entire congregation, leading to the Spirit's grief and departure.

He says don't you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? You want the whole church to be infected with the leaven of this man's life and so affected that the Holy Ghost will be grieved and depart? Then you go on with your doctrine of unconditional love and your broad-mindedness and your toleration. Purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump.

49:03 - 49:28 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I call that the height of moral cowardice. And it's an insult to God.

The story of Israel's defeat due to Achan's sin in Joshua 7 is used to illustrate that God demands sin be dealt with directly before He will grant victory or revival, rebuking prayer that ignores unaddressed sin.

That's the chapter in a nutshell. Stop your prayer meeting and have an investigative meeting. And they narrowed it down from the family to the household to the individual. And when Achan was dealt with, they went forth to victory.

54:29 - 54:45 Read in full sermon