The Church - 2024 Pt1 - A Gospel Centered People - Regenerated and Indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

GREET EVERYONE-

If I have not had a chance to meet you; My name is Scott and I am a follower of Jesus and have the privilege of serving Him as the Lead Pastor among the people of Stonewater Fellowship.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Small Groups Kick off here over the next few weeks from the Winter break - There is an app for that.

2. Deep Dive - Groups Starts - Jan 18th there is an app for that.

3. Men of Stonewater Kairos Application can still be done.

4 - Women of Stonewater - Cultivate our women ministry 1st Gathering Saturday Jan 20th. This Gathering will introduce new ladies to the ministry - Praying through the Scriptures and One by One mentoring disciple ship ministry introductions. THERE IS AN APP

4. Manna for the Nations - Christmas Partnership

5 - Re:Engage ministry - Video

6- Bible Reading Plan invitation

LETS GRAB OUR BIBLES IF YOU HAVE ONE AND

Open it to Matthew 16:13-18  today as we Begin 2024 with our series that we begin each year with where we take a few weeks and walk through the scriptures to expose what God has said in regards to THE CHURCH .

AS we begin 2024 I want to take a moment as I do often to unfold the Preaching that happens here at the campus of Stonewater Fellowship.

the term EXPOSITORY preaching is prayerfully what our deepest desire is to get accomplished.

To keep things simple for ourselves What Expository means is simply “to EXPOSE”

When preaching happens here on this campus on Sunday mornings we Expose what God says.

When we are gathered together as the Church and someone has a word - the exposing or exposition if God’s word is will be happening

We will Exposit Scripture -

Here is ultimately what that means,

It means the sermon does not begin with me or you or who ever is speaking.

That also means that it does not begin with our thoughts, our feelings or our preferences -

The Sermon begins with GOD and what HE says.

Any sermon or teaching or preaching begins and ends with God.

Now God deals with lots and lots of topics in His Word - There is not usually a passage of Text that God is not addressing a topic.

and so

Sunday to Sunday - Small group to small groups - What we desire to have happen is we take the Passage from Word of God - Expose the Topic or topics it is talking about -

Then Expose what God is saying about those topics in those passages and possibly others and

Expose how God would have us apply what He says about those topics to our life and practice.

The main thing that Expository Preaching is going to be is a part of supporting in your life and in mine -

Is Obeying -

Growing in our knowledge of Him and in our obedience to Him as He lives His life through us.

Jesus says make disciples and teach them to obey all that I have commanded.

God in the Old Testament says I would rather have obedience than sacrifice.

Expository Preaching is PART OF the supporting function by which we become more and more, like Jesus more obedient to Jesus and more surrendered to Jesus.

Each year through the previous year of prayer and looking at where we are as a body, I look at what overarching theme that our year of messages from the Scriptures can unfold for us on Sundays and in our small groups.

This year we will be spending our Sundays and in our Small groups exposing what the Scripture says about one of the persons of the Trinity of God and that IS the Holy Spirit.

SO as we begin our yearly Series - Exposing what the Scripture says about the Church - We are held to the standard of Scripture also expose that

the Church is a people and a People that are filled with the Holy Spirit.

This morning what we will begin to unpack what does that actually mean.

Being “Filled with the Holy Spirit” has become such a pregnant term. Meaning there are many facts to unravel in the Bible and there are also some things that this term has taken on that need to be spoken against.

SO we begin our understanding of the Church being a people and a spirit filled people with the framework of Salvation.

Here is what I mean by that.

The Church is certainly a people that is rooted and grounded in the truth that being Jesus Christ, and what that entails is that it is people who have been regenerated and renewed by the Holy Spirit becasue the Holy Spirit is in them - The Holy Spirit of God dwells IN their physical Body.

It is the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit that Regenerated and renews us to new life.

SIDE NOTE

I know that right at this moment there are two things going on in our heads.

For our Non charismatic, non-Pentecostal, deep Bible Knowledge, and deep thinking brothers and sisters in the room -

Every single one of us is going “WOOOAH” pastor … the Ghost? Oh NO - Were headed to craziville or what?

That is what some of us are Thinking -

Then there are the other brothers and sisters in the room that have a background in Charismatic Pentecostalism, who are knowledgeable of the Scriptures and at the same time deep in the Spiritual experiences: Saying - GO Pastor GO! YEA we need more - We need MORE of what the Spirit does. We need more experience!

Here is my SIDE NOTE -

IN the western Church, and sadly we have exported it around the world, There have been some experiences that have been attributed to the Holy Spirit that ONE are not Holy and Two are in no way supported by Scripture.

These Experiences have been attributed tot he Holy Spirit by false teachers who allow teaching to go outside the confines of Scripture and solid interpretation of the text, and it is usually and most often connected to the Word of Faith, Prosperity Gospel movement that is out there.

John McArthur looked up some of the experiences that were attributed to the Holy Spirit, that are NOT supported by Scripture in any way shape or form - and Here is what He found.

Causing people to fall down on the floor, Giggle or laugh out of control.

Making people feel like they have been shocked by electricity, like their whole body is heating up -

To fall into hypnotic spells, or trances that can last for hours,

Physical convulsions, Shaking, Quivering, Thrashing, hiccups, staggering or stumbling like a person who has had too much to drink, temporary paralysis or ripping and tearing your clothes.

People making animal sounds, Levitating, and there is also - Holy Ghost Punching, Slapping jumping and dancing.

Loved ones - All of those things may be caused by a Spiritual influence and those actually may be spiritual experiences -

But those are not Experiences caused by the Holy Spirit.

You see loved ones we must conclude by the claim of scripture that there are going to be spiritual experiences becasue there is a spiritual rhelm -

but not all spiritual experiences are Holy - Even if you enjoy them and they bring you a sense of comfort - Remember the Devil is decoyed as an angel of light.

But here is the problem that this kind of bad practice and bad theology had created.

and in some ways its whats going on right now in all of us.

This bad practice has caused a whole lot of us to push away from the holy Spirit -

This is just as much in Error as the aforementioned experiences are -

We must remember loved ones that The Holy Spirit is God - The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity of God -

The Holy Spirit is what indwells us and it is the who of God that makes us new and regenerated us to new life and saved us -

For the Scripture says it is only by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit that we can actually say with our mouth and life that Jesus is Lord.

The Holy Spirit is to be worshiped and praised and not ignored and not forgotten, not grieved and not refused.

The Holy Spirit is God -

And loved ones - He is understood and is actions and His work and the experiences that He causes are clearly and only described and defined in and through the pages of Scripture.

Here is my Prayer and My hope -

If you are hear this morning or watching on live Stream and you have pushed away form the ghost becasue of some the crazy you have heard of and seen other people do - - My Prayer and hope for you this year is that you will return to the fullness of God in the person and work of the Holy Spirit.

And your relationship with God would be more experiential as revealed to us by the Scripture.

And if you are hear and watching on live stream and you have been involved in the deep, Spiritual activities that have gone beyond the Scripture -

My Prayer for you is that you would experience God in His fullness and in His truth, that is described and bounded and understood by the authority of Scripture.

With that - Lets’ Look at the Text this morning.

and jump right in.

TRUTH -

Matthew 16:13–18 ESV

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

BACKGROUND -

in the story line of the Time of Jesus as God walking among us. This is a MAJOR turning point in Jesus teaching and messaging.

Up until this point Jesus has been confronting religious leaders for their religiosity,

Preaching about the Kingdom,

Healing both Physically and spiritually and teaching on what living a the new life He came to give looked like.

Jesus NOW takes a Turn with those closest to Him and begins to teach them in several things -

1st thing is the fact that He will be leaving soon as this part of the Story line of Jesus happens about 6 months before His death.

2nd He was Preparing them for their leadership roles in his absence.

3rd - Jesus intention to execute His Eternal plan for the ages that being the introduction of the Idea that Jesus WILL build HIS church.

Jesus takes His disciples to a retreat Type setting far from the distractions and interruptions from the desperate crowds wanting something from Him.

Ceasera Philippi is about 25 miles north of Copernican and a place LONG associated with Idol worship of Pagan Deities.

UNPACKING

So as we unpack - Place ourselves in the Scene - Jesus Standing beneath the Idol of a false god names Pan that is carved into the cliff side - and the first thing that Jesus wants to get clear is His identity?

VS13

We must again not rush through the story line-

When we read the word ASKED in the English it is really easy to think that Jesus asked ONCE - and all these answers started flowing out -

This more than likely was not the way this conversation went.

More than likely Jesus asked repeatedly “who do all say that the people say that the Son of Man is?”

Jesus would has asked for lots of feed back - and HE got it.

Vs14

And they - The they is who - The they are his disciples - His disciples replied to the question - Some people say John the baptist?

Harrods the Tetchrach said that Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead when he heard of the works of Jesus.

Some of Harrods servants who were attempting to help Him identify Jesus claimed that He was Elijah returned and

Other people during that time that Harrods was trying to assess who this Jesus was said He is The Prophet - in other words Jeremiah and still others at that time were identifying Jesus as another prophet whom God had sent.

Jesus true Identity was ALWAYS in question

IN His home town that called Him the Son of Joseph

- WHO IS THIS MAN WHO FORGIVES SINS?

HE Drives out demons he must be or have a demon! - Some even called Him the Devil.

VS15

Jesus, Standing beneath a graven image used for Idol worship, Jesus asks His closest followers, the ones He was fixing to prepare for His departure, The ones who will go out and take this Gospel Everywhere.

That is all fine and good and really is irrelevant to me what others say it is really most important as to what you all say about who I am.

There is NO frustration response from Jesus. You don't see Jesus or read Jesus saying “Really some people think I am the Devil? Some people think I am John the Baptist - Jesus never skips a beat by being side lined about Everyone else Reply to the question!

Jesus wanted His closest followers to stand against the crowd. TO go against popular opinion - TO clearly enunciate with their mouths he divine identity. Jesus Turns to His disciples and Says “who do you say that I am?”

in other English usage “you all” _ Jesus is asking all of His disciples - “Who do you all say that I am”!

Each one of you has answered my call to follow me - You have followed me for the last three years or so.

And you can imagine the Pause cause we have all been there and the ONE the THAT GUY, the one that cant stand silence, Peter speaks up -

VS16

It is important to understand what Peter was declaring about Jesus when he responded like He did.

You are the Christ - The Anointed one - The Holy One of Isreal - The Zeal of YAWHAY, The Promised Messiah, The fulfillment of all prophecy, The Promised redeemer, and then He declares Jesus divinity with clarity and without hesitation, reservation or ambiguity.

The SON of the Living God.

Jesus Responded with a response that somehow doesn't seem to fit a yes or no, right or wrong kind of answer.

You see Jesus could have responded to Peter by simply saying “your right”

VS17

Jesus is not surprised by Peters Answer -

What Jesus does affirm is that all of us,

All the Peter, Pauls, Marys, Bob,s Scots Sally or Cindy, No matter what our names are or where we are from, The father in heaven has to reveal Jesus to us all.

In our natural state we are incapable of coming to that conclusion simply by means of flesh and blood.

And what the Whole council of Scripture will tell us is that HE will use the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to us, convict us of our need of salvation and regenerate us to new life and repentance.

Jesus then does what Jesus does - He makes all who follow Him and understand in the same way what Peter just declared about Jesus - Jesus makes us all NEW - and at that Very Moment He began the process of Making Simon Barjona New by Giving Him a New Identity.

There is some confusion in this massage of Scripture - As the word in our Bibles that is used is ROCK -

VS18

Jesus Says you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of headed will not over power it.

We must read this in the view of the rest of the New Testament. Jesus said Simon you are now a Stone and from these other rocks I will build my church. In other words Peter you will be first stone among many rocks that I will be building my church out of.

Jesus is the Corner Stone -

Ephesians 2:18–20 NASB95

18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,

Jesus is the Foundation The Large Rock of our salvation:

1 Corinthians 3:6–11 NASB95

6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Jesus did not and will not and will not build His church on Peter - Jesus will build his church out of the many stones and Rocks that make up the rock quarry of everyone through history who believe and trust in Jesus the same way Peter believed in and trusted in Jesus.

This is what is know as the Universal Church!

When we speaking of Being the People of God building the Kingdom of God - We are talking about building the kingdom the same way Paul spoke to the Corinthian church -

People are Gods building and the Foundation is Christ Jesus - Jesus builds His church out of people and He does not dwell in temples made with hands.

Jesus says it is out of these Stones that I WILL build my CHURCH -

Loved ones - - In the simplest way to un-pack that is - when Jesus used the term Church what Jesus said was His Assembly of the Ones Called out.

Called out by the Power of the Holy Spirit.

The Church is a People - A particular and peculiar, and unique people... Who is the Church?

And the Church is a people - a Particular people - A peculiar people - And a unique people that have been regenerated from death to life -

Saved by the washing of regeneration and Renewal of the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:4–7 ESV

4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Here is what is going on Here in this letter. Paul - The Apostle Paul who was formerly known as Saul.

A religious Zealot - A Pharisee of Pharisees - A serial Killer of Christians.

Who was the Chief of Sinners - Saved by Grace through the Gift of The holy Spirit called faith.

Regenerated and renewed unto new life Himself - And Made a New creature in Christ and This guy even got a new Name.

he is writing from his house arrest from Rome while waiting trial which would ultimately lead to His death -

He is writing Titus who is on the Island of Crete about leading cretonnes - how to declare the Gospel to Cretonnes -

Who by the way are apparently a train wreck of a people morally.

and Here is what He says -

“ Jesus saved us, by the washing of regeneration -

Here is what the word Regeneration in the Original language means -

Born again - New Beginning - New Genesis -

and Renewal -

The Original Language means - To cause something to become new and different.

You see we are saved - By being Born again - By the holy Spirit -

We are made new and Different by the Person of the Trinity The holy Spirit of God -

and We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God -

Romans 8:9–11 ESV

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Paul is writing to the Church in Rome who He has actually never been there - He didn't plant it - He didn't lead it - he didn really have anything to do with the Church in Rome.

So when He wrote Romans He was writing to a groups of people he knew very little about.

Here is what He did know - He knew God - He Knew The father , Because He knew and had surrendered to the Son and He knew the Spirit becasue The Spirit was empowering Him from the Inside to live the life Jesus came to give Him.

Paul wrote the Letter to Encourage, To Build Up - To educate - the Church in the completeness of the Gospel and in the style of His writing - He wrote trying to offset ANY arguments they may have that was dealing with what He wrote previously in the Letter -

Its like this -

Paul writes a truth claim and then anticipates the questions about that claim - The arguments against that claim and answers the questions and arguments -

Chapter 8 is no different -

IF you read chapters 6 7 8 what you will find is that Paul is dealing with, in general terms, the intersection of Grace and Sin.

Flesh and Spirit.

and in general terms He his also dealing with the saved and the unsaved -

This is why he starts vs 9 with “you however”

You see in verse 8 he makes this crazy exclusive statement -

Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

in fact Paul has gone even further and said = Those who have a mind that are set on the flesh are HOSTILE to GOD -

Here is what Paul then does - He turns his attention to the people who claim Christ in the Church in Rome and He says -

VS9

You however are not in the flesh but in the Spirit.

Paul is talking about being in the Holy Spirit of God - Having a mind that is driven by the Holy Spirit - Living according to the Spirit.

Paul then Makes an IF then Statement -

You are not in the Flesh IF the spirit of God dwells in you.

Then Paul makes an exclusive salvation statement.

ANYONE -

everyone say ANYONE -

ANYONE who does not have the Spirit of Christ - And make no mistake Paul is referring to the Holy Spirit the third person of the Trinity. Because remember they are all GOD.

Anyone who does not have the Spirit does not belong to Jesus -

In other words - They are not saved.

BUT - Paul says - If Christ is in you - The Spirit of Christ - The Holy Spirit of Christ.

IF the Spirit of Christ is in you. The Spirit is Life becasue of righteousness.

Not your righteousness as he has declared in the previous chapters of Romans -

But because of the perfection, the Righteousness of Christ that is indwelling you and imputed to you because of the Regeneration and salvation of the Spirit of God.

VS11

Paul comes back with another IF THEN statement

IF - the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead -

Who of the trinity of God raised Jesus from the dead?

The Bible says that Jesus was crucified in weakness and now lived by the Power of God -

The Holy Spirit in the Scriptures is the Power of God -

Here is te Statement -

IF the Spirit of God dwells in us That same Sirit will give life to our mortal bodies -

How?

Through the Spirit that dwells in us.

You see the Spirit is in us -

We don't have the Spirit we don't have Christ.

Paul would go on to say “those who are led by the Spirit of God are Sons of God”

LANDING THE PLANE So the Church

A People saved and set apart for Him self by God -

A Gospel Centered Spirit Regenerated - Spirit Renewed unto New Life - New Creatures - Made New By the Holy Spirit of God -

Having the Holy Spirit indwelling those who belong to God and being Led by the Spirit, Sons and daughters of God.

LEAVING WITH TWO THINGS

Maybe your hear this morning or watching on live stream and you would claim Christ as Savior and Lord. But the Spirit - The ghost - The Holy spirit of God is not someone who you have worshipped, Not some one who you have placed any importance on - Maybe you have pushed away from the Holy Spirit becasue of the craziness you see in some of the ways people behave that is unbiblical.

Maybe your hear this morning and this whole Idea of Jesus and the Holy Spirit doesn't make sense to you - Maybe you are not a christian -

Or maybe you have this voince in your heard that says “i’ll take Jesus that sounds pretty good but that whole “being led by the Spirit” Indwelling of the Spirit” Regenerated born again of the Spirit” that all sounds wack a doodle -

My encouragement to everyone is the same -

We cannot and we do not come to God on our own terms.

You don't get to jesus one way and I get to Jesus the other.

There are not many paths to Jesus . Jesus Himself actually says there are only two paths -

One leads to distinction and one leads to Life.

Every message in the Bible about being saved has the over arching theme of a couple of things

Every saving response to the Gospel has these elements.

Repent - Surrender and Receiving.

Repent for the forgiveness of your sins against a holy God.

Surrender to the Lordship of Jesus, the first step of which is being baptized.

and Receiving - Receiving the Indwelling Regeneration Renewing Holy Spirit and Being led by Him.

This is the Church - A people - Set apart by God - A gospel Centered People - Filled with the Indwelling Re:generating, Renewing Holy Spirit that we all walk by.

LET ME PRAY FOR US

COMMUNION LITURGY

Assurance of our forgiveness through the table.

After our time of repentance through prayer, we come to the table of Jesus together. At the table of Jesus, we are reminded of the assurance of our forgiveness because we openly and actively declare the Gospel as we participate in communion together.

Because we are openly and actively declaring the gospel of Jesus and the assurance of our forgiveness, communion is open to everyone who is a follower of Jesus saved by grace through faith.

If this is NOT you, we would simply ask you to allow those who are participating to walk past but after worship reach out to someone with a lanyard and ask what it is to be a follower of Jesus.

Unity of the Table

When we come together as a family of faith, Brothers and Sisters in Jesus. We are spiritually united together as the Bible says in 1st Corinthians 10:17 that Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread. So we are spiritually united together we and we are also united with Jesus in his death and resurrection at His table.

Remembrance at the Table

BREAD: On the night He was betrayed, He gathered His disciples for a Passover meal. While they were eating Jesus took some bread; after He blessed it and gave thanks to the Father: He broke it, gave it to His disciples and said: “Take this all of you and eat of it, for This is My body, which is for you; when you do this, do this in remembrance of Me.”

CUP: After the meal, in the same way He took the cup, again gave thanks to the Father. He took the Cup and gave it to His disciples saying, “Take this all of you and drink of this cup. This cup is the cup of my blood. The blood of the New and Everlasting covenant. My blood which will be poured out for the forgiveness of sins for many; when you do this, as often as you drink it, do this in remembrance of Me.”

Invite: Come to the table of Jesus

INTRODUCTION OF BECKY