Theology and Practice of Evangelism - Lesson 3

Dr. Robert Tuttle, Jr.
Theology and Practice of Evangelism
th610-03
The Core of the Gospel Theologically
Lesson Transcript

[00:00:01] You're going to go to heaven, Don. Go to heaven. One of these days. Spend the rest of eternity at his feet, thanking him for making you the man that you are. Good for you. I'm proud of you. We have a lot of loose ditches. We need to pick up. We'll have our devotional and prayer and just a few moments. We talked about Christopher Stendhal, what it meant and what it means interpreting scripture empathetically. I had a little talk about empathy. You cannot know what it means. Do you know what it meant? We've been talking about the core of the gospel biblically and theologically. We haven't talked about theologically yet. I'll do that in a moment. But biblically, we started with the garden. The fall. Good news, bad news, Good news, Good news. Create in image of God bad news as you blow it. Good news. God is in Jesus Christ, reconciling the world, restoring us to our original righteousness. That's why we're holding this people. I don't care what your denomination is. I want you to be a holiness person since never done anything for you except promise that which it never delivers. It's the great deceiver. It always promises that which you can never deliver. Following Adam and Eve, evil progressed to the place where we almost destroyed ourselves. God cut us back to the root with the flood. Within generations. After the flood, we did it all over again. The Tower of Babel got confused US introduces the first chapter of patriarchal history where God got a God of love. I hope you know that. Hope you know how much a God adores you. And if you don't, we need to talk. That's been one of the heaviest burdens of my ministry in teaching for 40 years and helping students, as you will want to help your parishioners understand just how much God loves you.

[00:01:51] Once you can get that right. You can't mess up badly enough to make God love you any less, darling. And you can't do enough good stuff to make God love you anymore. God already loves you to the maximum. That's who God is. And quite frankly, I don't I don't blame God for loving you. You loveable. Bless your heart. God bless you. You get it? God brought you a long way. Talk about covenant. Talked about covenant renewal after several generations. The sacrifice. No longer read the heart. So God introduces a new covenant in Jeremiah 3131 to 34. Jesus fulfills that covenant. All of those 300 Old Testament prophecies. In his conception, in his birth, in his early life, and his baptism and his temptation. I won't talk about that in a moment. I forgot about that. In his temptation and his ministry, three years in the Galilee and his death, his resurrection, his glorification, and one day his return. Noah Bible Primeval History. Abraham Covenant Sacrifice. Jeremiah 31. They weren't just flopping around last night. C-H John, After the beginning of a new age, the age of fulfillment has dawned. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of that new age. His conception, his birth, his early life, his baptism, his temptation, his ministry, his death, his resurrection, his glorification. By virtue of the resurrection, he now rose that the right hand of the Father. That proves what I told you. What cannot bear the light. Sin cannot bear the light. I mean, the man now rules at the right hand of the father. Which means what? He was with us then. Don't you love him? And Jesus a piece of work. He remains Senate, but less than Adam. I don't tell your daddy, I said. Just had the original sand.

[00:04:00] He won't understand it. Don't do that. And don't tell Ken Kinghorn. Kinghorn told me Jesus wouldn't have died. I did not download the craft. Okay. Whoa, wait. Get away from me. Wesley says original sin relation to Adam's nature and Adam's mortality. We are not condemned for original sin alone, but original sin plus actual sin. It is our sin that condemns us. Jesus remains. Send us with less advantaged than Adam. Are you comfortable with that? You understand what I'm saying? Jesus was fully human. Don't give me a hybrid. Jesus. There has to be a fully human sacrifice. The guy's got a naval. I'm checking it out when I get to heaven. I'm gonna say, Show me that thing. Jesus, Show me that thing. I wanna see that. By virtue of the resurrection in our route at the right hand of the Father, which proves that he was righteous, sinless, He has sent us his spirit not to compensate for his absence, but to guarantee his presence as a sign of his power and glory. He will one day return. If you repent and believe, God will forgive your sins and give you eternal life, therefore change your attitude toward God. That's the basic gospel. That's the core of the gospel. If you take the New Testament preaching and boil it down, that's the core of the gospel. Let me go back and talk about the temptation of Jesus. After Jesus was baptized. Old John the Baptist. God bless him. I hope you'll let me hang out with him in heaven. When I get to heaven, one of the first things I'm gonna do is slap Solomon. They hadn't had sense enough to ask God for wisdom early on. He would have ended up no better than Rehoboam.

[00:05:46] But had how many thousands and thousands of Deuteronomy 17 said no, Kings should have too many horses or not too many wives. The idiot had 700 wives and then 300 concubines on top of that. Almost slap David to it's his father's fault because he spoiled him for all of his kids. And then when he dies, he gives Solomon instructions to exact revenge on Joab. And you know that Shamil, the guy who cursed him on the way to exile and some of those others. Davis genius was. God loved David, and David knew it. And whenever David went missing, you know where you found him prostrate before the Ark of the Covenant, the God knew how to repent. That was the only way. The only, only reason He lasted as long as he did. He knew how to repent. He had an obsession with God. Coming back to the temptation. Don't fear, but the context for my favorite psalm is Psalm 27. You know what that is? The Lord is my light in my salvation. Whom shall I fear? You know what? The context. I'm I'm a historian. I'm always looking for historical context for the Psalms. About a third of them are given to us. I think I discovered the historical context for Psalm 27 as first Samuel 30, where David has gone to Ziglar, he's escaped Canada. And in Getty from Saul I down at the end of the Kidron Valley you remember it goes all the way to the Dead Sea. Take that road left down along the Jericho Road. David goes to see Clark on the flesh eating border with three of his of his ruffians companions. And for a couple of years developed a pretty good spread. The king of Felicity, except accepts him.

[00:07:34] Into his army. Which is important. But when the Philistines were anticipating battle against the Israelites, the listing commander said, These guys are Jews. We're not trust them and battle against their own kind. Because once a Jew, always a Jew. And there was precedent for that earlier when there were Jews, Israelites in the Philistine army, and they were doing battle with the Israelites, the Israelites in the Philistine army turned on them. There's a precedent for that. They don't trust them anymore. So the King of Galicia, since David and his men backed off that clock when he gets there, get this. Are you listening? As you approach the clock and you see smoke curling from every house because the Americans have come in. Destroyed the town, burned to the ground and took all the people into captivity. So here's David with his three 300 man with a stone him, remember? Here's David. No family, no home. No town. No country, no king. You know what he does? First thing he does, he sits on a rock and he weeps until he can weep no more. The second thing he does, he writes these words The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall have fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall not be a phrase switched down to verse. For one thing, I seek after one thing. One thing I might dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life and to inquire in His presence. The single piece of mind and purpose. He screwed up royally. He could only manage half the commandment. You'll never. You couldn't outspend David and ten lifetimes. I can tell by looking at you your sins bore me. You don't believe that? But they do.

[00:09:21] God bless you. I'm glad you know how to repent. That was David's genius. And a single of mass. And how can they do that? No family, no home, no town, no country, no king. How can you write those words? The Lord is my light and myself. And whom shall I fear? I got this theory. I just shared it with you. God loved David, and David knew it. Man, when I know God loves me. Tough. But we have lousy memories, folks. As Christians, are you listening? We remember and forget. Remember and forget. Remember and forget. Outside community. Mostly we forget. We have lousy memories. That's why folks have to go every week. We have lousy memories. We so easily forget what God has done for us. That's what community is all about. To remind you again and again and again and again. Don't preach out of the barrel, my foot. We have lousy memories. Jesus is driven by the Spirit of God into the wilderness. And the devil at one point and the temptation. By the way, he took a sword with him. You know what the sword was? Deuteronomy four. That's a sharp sword. I cut myself on that. You've got to be careful with this thing. You cut yourself on it. I saw a woman in a line at Starbucks yesterday. She had a bottle with her. I said, You better be. You better be careful that you cut yourself. I cut myself on this thing about once a day, sometime right down to the bottom. You better be careful with that thing. It's serious. She said it was an interesting thought. I said, you better listen to me. She agreed? Yes, she agreed. Sharp. Cut your heart down to the bone. Just be so careful with it.

[00:11:19] Cut your heart down to the bone. Jesus took his sword with him. Stuck the old devil. At one point, the devil takes him to Harlem out and says everything you see before he belongs to me. And I can give it to anybody I Please. You know what my knee jerk reaction is? That's a lie. But you've never known Jesus Christ not to get in the face of a law. Have you ever If that had been the Lord Jesus, I'd have been all over it. So I'm saying to myself, Well, how in the world did the devil get a title deed to planet Earth? Thank you very much. I mean, nothing was given. Planet Earth was given to Adam and Eve. They were given dominion. How in the world did the devil devil get title deed to planet Earth? Everything you say belongs to me. I can give it to anybody I please. How does that happen? That's the fall, folks. That's what happened. Adam and Eve not only became mortal and then prone, the devil got to lead the planet Earth. Break your heart. Now we're going to get it back. So you have to fast forward to Revelation five. If you don't like this, you're just a brick. You're going to like this. You read it. Read this in chapter one in the late. Revelation five. You already can take this great stuff. We're going to catch you right now. Listen to this. Hmm. So careful. Listen to this. Who wrote Revelation. Oh, John spent most of his life. And emphasis. Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived there with him. I was just at his graveside, supposedly in January. The letters to the seven churches of Asia, but all of them. I'll take you some time.

[00:13:23] Craig, you've been in the. Bastille Anarchy In Pergamon. You Love Pergamon. Ethicist. Cool place. Colossi Not much colossi, just kind of a little mound. They haven't really done much with that dig yet. Just across the river. And then later to see you just across the river from colossi. You know, and that's across the river from Hierapolis. You know, Hierapolis is it's mentioned in the Bible. It's those where they had those wonderful hot springs. And the people who lived to see it were trying to get the hot water from from hierapolis over that layer to see them. But time that got there, it was always lukewarm. And there's a mountain just north of Leo to see. It's a great dig. It's a great tale. You love it better than Megiddo, I think. But you'll you'll see a mountain of snow capped mountain just to the north and see the cold waters coming down, rushing down through the river. And those layers of sand wanted to get that cold water up the layers of time they got got it there. It was more lukewarm. Bar stool, that kind of stuff. I put my toe in that cold water. I also took about not hot water. Old John built bleary eyed and in exile. Now Patmos been there. It's a great place. Go there sometime. Writes the letters to the seven churches of Asia and then and beginning of chapter four has the heavens open. He has this vision. Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll. Now, your daddy might not agree with this. And you're Andy, right? Your daddy might not agree with this, but I think that scroll is titled Eat the Planet, or there are people who smarter than I am, who would disagree with me on that.

[00:15:13] But that's the identification I have chosen to make. And I have friends who are smarter than I am who agree with me on this. So I'm not way off in left field. I think that scroll is titled The Planet Earth, The scroll with writing on both Sides and Sealed with Seven SEALs. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll. But no one in heaven or on Earth or under the Earth could open the scroll or even look inside of it. You realize in biblical times property was really, really important, especially with the Israelites. And if a Jew sold a piece of property, you had to have a registered deed. And when you sold a piece of property, you took this registered deed scroll and put it in a public place. And that deed could be redeemed in perpetuity under three conditions. First condition. You had to be the original owner or a direct descendant of the original owner. Second condition. You had to have fair and fair market value. You couldn't steal it. And third condition. You had to have the power and authority to to remove a usurp or a reluctant seller so you can redeem that piece of property in perpetuity under those conditions. You had to prove you're a direct descendant, either the original owner or direct descendant of the original owner. You had to have fair market value, couldn't steal it, and you had had the authority to remove a reluctant seller. You were given, right? If you had the stuff, you could take it back. The law would be on your side, you understand? Now, John, who's watching, it starts to weep. He says he says it here.

[00:17:06] He said. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside of it. Then one of the elders said to me, John. Grow up. There's someone who's worthy. Are you into this? He points to the throne of grace. The throne of God. And standing in the midst of the throne is what a lamb looking as if it had been slain. That land that was slain before the foundation, before creation. And let me tell you what happens. When that lamb takes tiny lead from the one seated on the throne, heaven goes berserk. I mean, Buzz, we're not talking about thousands. We're not talking about 10,000. We're talking about 10,000 times ten thousands. Millions singing. Listen to this. You're going to love it. They sang a new song. You are worded to take the scroll and to open it sealed because you were slain and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priest to serve our God, and they will reign on earth. Then I look and heard the force of many angels numbering thousands upon thousands and 10,000 upon 10,000. They encircle the throne and the living creatures and the elders in a loud voice. They saying, Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise. Then I heard every creature in heaven and on Earth and under the earth and on the sea and all that was then them singing to him, who sits on the throne and to the lamb be praised and honor and glory and power for ever and ever. Then woe.

[00:19:15] Yes. How can I do that? How can Jesus redeem Title Day? The Planet Earth? Three Conditions. First condition. He had to prove he was a direct descendant, the original owner. How do you do that? Well, the man's got him an halo. I'm. I'm j. I really am checking it out when I get to heaven. That's important. That navel is really. The boy had a Jewish mama. On the way to be a Jew, to have Jewish mommy. You ain't got a Jewish mommy. You're not a Jew, son. I'm a descendant of Abraham by faith. I'm proud of my Jewish heritage. I don't have a Jewish mama. I've been grafted into the branch. Second condition. It's really important. Fair Market value. What's fair? What's up? What's up with that? In order to fulfill a covenant, you had to have sacrificed and to renew a company. You had to sacrifice the nature of the stock. Fair market value. Thank you for the sacrifice means what it's got to be. What, without world, without blemish? Don't give me your one eyed goat, folks. I will not have it. We've got to have a human sacrifice. And fair market value demands a human sacrifice without blemish. Show me a naval anywhere in the world and I'll go worship him or her. No one comes close. I say there's not a place on planet Earth. I haven't been within 500 miles of Antarctica, and I'm going next year. No one comes close. I made it. I made. The greatest saints. All the wonderful, marvelous gurus. All the various avatars of Michelle. And millions of. That's why God said to Abraham, You know, enough, enough. I finally found someone who couldn't understand the concept of one. God is really important. Oh, boy, it's important.

[00:21:27] I'm not dissing Hinduism. And third condition. What got to have the authority to remove a reluctant fellow described that lamb. Seven horns and seven eyes. You know what that means in the Book of Revelation. That is ultimate authority. Don't mess with a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes. Now, here's the point. This is why I'm an evangelist. We don't get titled the Planet Earth back and told Jesus returns. I know that Jesus will redeem planet Earth when he returns. Believe it. But the church gets redeemed in the Gospel. We don't have to wait another minute. That's why we do what we do. That's why I teach evangelism, not my academic discipline. I'm a systematic theologian, Ph.Ds and dogmatic. God bless me. I'll write a bunch of a bunch of books in that area. But my heart's in evangelism wire cause the church gets redeemed now. You don't have to wait one more minute. The work has been done. God will have us back. I don't care what you've done. Screwed up as you are. I know your sins would bore me, but you still screwed up. God bless you. And you're going to do better, aren't you? How? That's right. Not because you had that need. But because you know God adores you. Dozier Why, if you have children, want to come. Whoa. When? Christmas Eve. Get out. Please get that child about age three to start praying for you. Age for real. Get that child, pray five year old, prays for Ryan, goes home, get an umbrella. I will not go into a church. I will not go into a church anymore unless the children four or five, six year old are praying for me at least six months in advance. And every time I preach, they may come up.

[00:23:42] They must come up onto the stage and lay hands on me. I've never had such an anointing. Occasionally I'll put up with some old women, but they got to be about 90. I don't hug women unless they're 90. I can hug a 90 year old. I've pretty much, much a couple of years ago in Florida. And I said, I don't hug. I can't hug it. I can't I don't hug women unless they're 90. And it's just my way of saying, you know, I do. I'm a charismatic. I do a lot of hugging and kissing. We don't do any hugging and kissing and we do do know the difference. Don't way. You know what I mean? Of course you do. And this woman on row two starts to tear up. I said, What's wrong with you, darlin? She said, I'm not old enough. I said, Well, how old are you? She said, I'm 88. I said. I said, Well, I'll come back in two years. She said, Well, I may not be here. I said, Where will you be? She said. So I had to walk out of the pulpit and hugged her over two pews. You understand? Get them all women to pray for you. They had to be about 9:00 to cramming for finals. You see, they're kind of like children. Those prayers go right to the throne of grace. I'm convinced that I've I've had a reasonable amount of success in ministry because children and old women were praying for me. Okay. The patron pharmacist acts. Coming out line for these sermons. This is another way of talking. Talking about C.H. Dodds. The core apps for apostolic preaching. Authoritative proof. Old Testament prophecy fulfilled Gods activities described apostolic eyewitnesses. Miracles proclaimed in this by the way in.

[00:25:30] There's a a chart and someone out there needs me in that chapter too. I think it is that outlines all of this. Authoritative proofs, proclamation of the Christ of that Jesus to humanity, his ministry, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His act, all patient. The benefits of a right response, forgiveness, a refreshing the gift of the Holy Spirit. We will celebrate Christ return. Okay. Now, you talk biblically, historically. I have a section of my book. The story of evangelism. That's the 200,000 word thing. Let me give you a little bit of that. Historical setting. We've given you the biblical context from Eden to Revelation. Now, we'll give you briefly the historical context and then we'll give you the theological context for the core. The time was right. The stage was set. This was the window of opportunity. The spread of Christianity, even 50 years earlier, would have been inconceivable. The roads have not been built. Still rule the seas. There was no common language that could embrace the realm as all this was changing. A light dawned in a small Judean town in Bethlehem. I love it. John writes in the Prolog of his gospel that through him all things were made without him. Nothing was made that has been made. Would you love the image of the Trinity? Just put two different lights. See that one God from a different perspective. All the things through him were made without him, Nothing was made that what that was made in him was life. And that life was the light of men. The light shines and the darkness. But the darkness has not understood it, not overwhelmed it. Though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. Let's take a look at that world.

[00:27:25] We have seen the globe. A global scene changed dramatically over the past millennium and then accelerate even more over the past 100 years. At the death of Herod, the great B.C. for unrest created violence. The murder of the Jewish babies would be followed by the crucifixion of 2000 adults. There was change further afield as well. When one man seized the Chinese throne in B.C., one riots led to the closing of the old Silk Road, virtually isolating the east from the west until its reopening in A.D. 76. By the way, I think it's interesting. This book has 13 sections. An extraction has three chapters. The first chapter of the global setting. That's what I'm reading from here. The second chapter I call the speaker chapter. I choose someone who epitomizes evangelism for that particular period and tell that story in the first person. Saint Paul will be the speaker for this period. Abraham was the first speaker. Hanna was the second speaker at this pair, the 13th, because half of them are women. Paul is the speaker will be the speaker. And then the third chapter is the is the impact of evangelism on that period. And then I have a bibliography for every period there are 100 titles and there's bibliographies. So all told, are 1300 titles that you want to focus on one of these periods. You can simply take that one period. I want to know what was happening when God made him in the world. Globally, politically, socially and religiously. When God was revealed. Abraham, don't you? Aren't you? Am I the only one interested in that kind of thing? I think it's interesting. If there was already a perfectly good religion in place before Abraham. Why was it important for God to make himself known to Abraham? Because God's a jealous God.

[00:29:14] Why? He's got a jealous God Because God is the only God that is God. On the opposite side of the globe that whatever is in power, Mexico is busy establishing the first urban civilization in the Americas. There are massive pyramids dominated the landscape over the next few centuries. They will control all of Mesoamerica. On the scientific scene, the Egyptian astrologer, astronomer, mathematician. But Ptolemy of Alexandria was codifying the Babylonian astrological tradition with a view of the earth as a sphere at the center of the universe. The global perspective is that still more than half the civilized world is outside the Roman Empire. The global scene religious. Although the closing of the old Silk Road, basically one which shut down Christian evangelism beyond the Bay of Bengal until 1876, those of other traditions were free to explore while Confucian temples were being constructed in all 2000 Chinese countries. The change, not to be outdone, would also be divided by schism. And to the white clad and the sky cleared by 180 day mystery religions and their esoteric rights appeared and disappeared within just a few centuries. Nonetheless, they play a fairly prominent role during this period, although they would eventually make their way to Rome. Most had their origin in the East, especially Persia. Several find their focus and savior gods who died and were then raised again. Let me give you a few examples. Several of the religions were associated with them with Magna Martyr, the great mother who loved the Virgin born shepherd Artis, when Artis died, slain by his enemies are by emasculating himself. Magda Modder mourned for him and then raised him from the dead, affecting his more immortality. The postulates for full fledged initiation and mourning for artists castrated themselves at the climax of a wild dance.

[00:31:06] Nor is that a threat to Christianity, to the resurrection of Jesus. How many so-called. Theologians. Are threatened by the fact that other religions talk about resurrection. Are you going to let that compete with the resurrection of Jesus? They castrated themselves. They became eunuchs. Other measures were built around Dionysius Zagreus and the son of the son of Zeus by. I was born in the form of a bull. Although his destiny was to rule the world, he was torn apart by jealous titans. Athena, however, saved his heart and gave it to Zeus. Who swallowed it when a similarly born ICAC observes deserves Dionysus. Also the also the given also given the name Bacchus, the God of wine was supposedly the Zagreus reborn. The devotees of Dionysus would eat the flesh of a freshly slain bull still dripping with blood and while drinking wine, dance and dance the sacred rituals hoping to be possessed by the spirit of the God. I'm not. I'm not dissing. No, I'm just describing them. Also a Persian origin. We find the God Mithra riding a bull and slaying it. The story is told that the seed of life issued from the dying bull, this Persian god of origin, was worshiped only by men as they gathered in small underground crypts and caverns. Is entering the interesting that in A.D. 48 Assyrian Christians arrived in Persia, only to be confronted by a hostile Zoroastrian priest. By the way, I've told you that during the 70 years of the exile we call the Axial Period, five of the world's ten high religions surfaced during the 70 years that I tell you that. Why didn't. Their ten Hi religions. This book begins with the oldest. Which is what? Hinduism, 3000 B.C.. Give or take. Although the Hindu scriptures did not search till about 1500.

[00:33:09] Busy. Second our religion Judaism. 1800 to 200 B.C., when God made himself known to Abraham. Who is the patriarch for most of the religions in the world Islam, Judaism and Christianity. 60%. Then during the Axial period, the 70 years of the exile, you have five of the world's high religions, Zoroastrianism mentioned here. It's a monotheism. By the way, Zoroaster probably showed up in the court of Xerxes. And Suzanne, during that reign of home, Esther, these old Zoroastrian priests, by the way, you know how they what they did with their dad. Now, remember, this is Persia. During the time of physical. They worshiped fire, water and earth. So you could not put dead bodies, you could not burn them, you could not put them in water and you could not bury them. You know what they did? They put them on an open plane and allowed the birds to pick their bones clean. And if Zeke shows up one day and sees what a valley of stumbled on to a Zoroastrian burial ground, I'm sure of it. I think that's interesting. I was a vision. But I think I think at some point he'd seen it. Hmm. What do I know? That's interesting. I'm thinking I'm not sitting here like a lump. Zoroastrianism was begun in the sixth century. Zoroastrianism, Jainism, which a Hindu sect couldn't stand the caste system. By the way. Buddhism, which is also a Hindu sect, has taken a symbol. Do you realize that around 1500 BCE Aryans from the north. You know. Have you heard of Aryans? Remember the Holocaust? The Nazis? You know what is a very important symbol, especially in Tibetan Buddhism? You see it all over the place. The swastika, it's Aryan. Now they're not Nazis. But it's interesting how the Nazis took that symbol.

[00:35:42] It means never without end. It's never ending, you say. Clockwise the Funk Schwag. The Buddhist always march clockwise. They do everything clockwise feng shui. They do this. They have a little marker. Like this pen. They put it at their feet. They go around this temple, they do this, they put it out. Or if they can't put their hands together, they bow. They pray. They take it with them, they pull it. They have their have boards on their knees so they can slide forward and gloves on their hands and little boards on their hands. They get up and put it back down. And this is the way they make their way around the temple, prostrating themselves. And they do this and then do it all over again with the boys on their knees. And I've got pictures of that. It's always a clockwise. By the way, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism. And I give you a brief synopsis of all those religions as they appear. Back in a previous period prior to this. Christine. It also spread to other places outside our on the fringes of the Roman Empire. Although this will gain greater focus in our impact chapter, we need to make some mention here. The Apostle Thomas or the Band of Assyrian Christians is said to have evangelized among the Jewish colonies. A media Iraq tradition also tells us that several of the 12 apostles and their immediate disciples journeyed to Persia, where Simon Nazar was martyred and ad 61 to Ethiopia and Ethiopia, where Matthew was martyred in A.D. 70. India, where Thomas was martyred. A.D. 82. I've been to his home, supposedly in Madras or Chennai. By the way, I'm having lunch Sunday with a man named Sam Camel Eisen. Great man.

[00:37:43] He disciple me when I taught at Fuller. He was two. He was vice president of World Vision, so we'd have breakfast twice a month in Monrovia there when I was teaching at Fuller. Great man. He lives. He's from Chennai Madras. It should also be mentioned. Animism and several religions and shamanism still dominated the territorial peoples of the world who were isolated from the major centers where alternative religion, religious ideas were freely exchanged within the Roman Empire. However, the story is different. Many of the local religious culture that smacked of tribalism simply disappeared. Some fell to more sophisticated worldviews and moral sensitivity. Most fell to an all embrace, an empire that would not tolerate threats to an end to an inclusive political unity. Pax Romana. Then political and social, so and so forth. Read that at your leisure. The Story of Evangelism. Abington 0607 Maybe Publication. Story of Evangelism. Now I want to have the devotional. Romans eight. Let's talk about the theology of the core. John Wesley. You heard of John Wesley? John Wesley preached more from Romans eight. Any other book in the Bible? He preached more from Romans 816. Any other person in the Bible? What's Romans 816. Spirit of God buries my spirit that I'm a child of God. Wesley, for the whole of his life, had an inordinate fear of dying. He wanted an assurance. He had his religious conversion in 1825, and he spent 13 years within a mystical tradition trying to find assurance with a wall around it called a union with God. And it delayed his evangelical conversion for 13 years. I spent three years of my life sorting through that problem. Mysticism in the Western tradition, by the way, it's just been digitized so you can get it for your Kindle.

[00:39:47] The sign of contract was honored in press for a book I wrote. John Wesley's Life and Theology. And a book with mysticism in the Western tradition. It's an interesting study. But anyway, at least I think it is. Wesley had this inordinate fear of dying, and so he wanted an assurance of salvation. The Spirit of God bears with my spirit that I am a child of God. The Aldersgate experience gave him a victory. He did not have in a ritual assurance. But if he could pray away doubt before he succumbed to doubt. After all this game, he still had. He still had moments of depression. But he could pray it away so he could get victory over it. Didn't mean he was without doubt. Alexander Knox, who wrote a wonderful book on Western called Enthusiasm, said Wesley for the whole of his life, a man that remained a hair's breadth outside of his own movement. He said, I tell the whole world I'm not a pain. The character I draw. He never claimed perfection for his own life. And I never had the assurance it came back from Georgia. You know the story. And I met and met at the dock by a man named Peter Burleigh, a moravian. Peterborough said first thing out of his mouth, You had to purge yourself of this philosophy of yours. What philosophy? His mysticism. So Peter Burleigh goes and visits William Lowe. It comes back to Wesley and said, I talk about Jesus here, talk about mystical matters. I talk about Jesus. He talk about mystical matters, I talk about Jesus. He talks about mystical matter. Birla says to Wesley, You got to preach faith. Preach faith. Not just internal, more subtle internal. West said their mistakes were the rock upon which he nearly made shipwreck.

[00:41:28] Of all the enemies of Christianity, they're the worse. They stab Christianity in the vitals because it's a more subtle form of internal works righteousness. Not external work. Anybody can see that where you are, you're relying on your good works for salvation. This is relying on your internal work's righteousness. And so Wesley said, How can I preach faith when I don't have faith? And Birla said, Preach it, Do you get it? And then because you have it, you approach it for a preacher the first time. Wesley preaches justification by faith. He goes to a prison, Newgate in London, and preaches to a condemned felon named Clifford. We know the man's name Wesley, and the man accepts Jesus. Wesley rides on the cart with him to the gallows, watching Clifford Praise God. Delivered from his fear of death. He dies with a grin on his face. Now, here's Wesley has this inordinate need of assurance. And the very first time he preached justification by faith. Whoa. And then Aldersgate is where he experienced. You see, just But he still struggled with assurance. He said, Well, I preach faith. I got faith. I think I'll preach assurance till I get assurance. So for the first ten years, the revival. Wesley preach repentance and faith justified by greatness as confirmed by assurance. That's not biblical, folks. He goes to Germany to check out the Moravian to see if you have to have a chance to be a Christian. He says, How do you how do I know I'm a Christian? I feel I feel it the most of the most and infallible proofs is feeling. Where is that? In the Bible. Wesley had some spooky stuff. I'll tell you what. We got over it. But he preached justification by faith as confirmed by assurance for ten years until the bishop of Bristol smoked him on the issue.

[00:43:14] What we call a perceptible inspiration. So after 1748, Rector says, you don't have to know your say. But it's a common privilege of ever Christian to know you're saved. But he was consumed by Romans eight. Romans eight one into this is the devotional. Therefore, are you listening carefully? It's really important. This is why I know you came this morning. Therefore, there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of life, who set me free from the law of sin and death. How many of you folks came in here with condemnation? Oh, about half of you. God bless your little hearts. What? Condemnation. Unresolved guilt. Condemnation of bad things guilts a good thing. This is good theology, folks. We're talking about the theology of the core. If you can't get your mind around the core, you won't be consistent with the core. You'll drift off into the baggage. You'll be making Baptist and Catholics out of Christians rather than rather than Christians and non-Christians. You're going to be a prophet eliding rather than the alliance realizing. That's why he, Stanley Jones, got burned out on the Pentecostals. They were proselytizing. Not Evangeline. They were making Pentecostals out of Christians rather than making Christians out of Buddhist or Hindus. Guilt a good thing. Remember going to Calcutta? Weren't you with me? Going into the home of Aleppo, Syria. We were there 5 minutes probably, and she had us working dress in the rooms. Elaborate. Remember that? What's up with leprosy? But, you know, the nerve endings die. So that when you hurt yourself, you don't know it. I was talking about on a plane yesterday at about time I spent in Indonesia. I maybe it was the year you were in Indonesia.

[00:45:08] Yeah. In Malaga. Right. I went on to Bali and broke my ankle. Slept on the floor. I pretend it wasn't broken. And Fernandez hovered around. I took our favorite it and said, But because it hurt so badly, I didn't ruin it. I favored it. Had it not hurt, I would have run out, driven it right into the ground. I came back to Wilmore and got an X-ray. Yeah, Broken in two places. But I favored that thing. Pain's a good thing. The thing with leprosy, it's the devil's masterpiece, brewed in some malevolent cauldron deeper than the bowels of hell. I mean, the nerve endings die. So when you hurt yourself, you don't know it. So they're always checking themselves. To see if there's if there's any one that doesn't become infected, because it doesn't it never hurts. Pain is a good thing. Pain teaches us. When you hurt yourself, do something about it so it doesn't fester and become infected. Hebrews 12. Let me read it. Boy, what a wonderful book. Says. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sand that so easily entangles and let us run. With perseverance, the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and protector of our faith, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame and set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from central man so that you will not grow weary and lose heart in your struggle against him. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. That's not so much for your blame as your shame. You'll be heard with authority to the precise degree you want to put your life on the line.

[00:47:00] We will not die for this stuff. Yeah. And have you forgotten the words of encouragement that addresses us, you as a sons or daughters? My son or daughter do not make light of the Lord's discipline. Do not lose heart when God rebukes you because the Lord disciplines those whom He loves and punishes everyone He accepts as a son or a daughter. What's up with that? How does God discipline us through our conscience is usually. So when I mess up, I feel guilty. Guilt a good thing. You die spiritually. Are you listening? Write this down. You die spiritually when you're rationalizing. You're rejecting God's discipline. You die spiritually when your rationalized sin. God disciplines those whom God loves. And so if you no longer feel guilty, worry about that. But when you do feel guilty, repent and believe. Don't wallow in it because unresolved guilt turns into condemnation. Guilt a good thing. Condemnation is a bad thing. Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. But the law of the spirit of life has set me free in the life and in death. What's the law of sin and death? It's the law without the spirit, without the power or the inclination to measure up. It's requiring you to jump tall buildings in a single bound. George and I once went around the world, literally around the world. We started One Direction and just kept going. And we got back where we started. I had an agenda. And I was writing a book on transcultural common denominators, looking for concepts and ideologies that communicated with equal effectiveness in every culture, not just cross culture, not just from one culture to another, and in every other common denominators understood in every culture. I came back with a book for, but the key that turns a lock is one.

[00:49:02] When one matter, you're listening everyone the world over unless you're psychotic. I mean, we're the windows are up, but the house is just empty. I mean, if you are sane, everyone the world over has a need to measure up to some form of law. Olafson and Ed. Everyone is universal. Every non-Christian has a need to measure up some form of law. Do you realize that there's something inherent within all of us a priori, that makes us open and receptive to the gospel? There's not the same law, but all of us have a need to measure up to some law. And what's the gospel all about? It's about the power of the Holy Spirit, which enables us to overcome the stuff that would attempt us, what enables us to measure up. I've taken this into many, many different cultures, many different religions. I mean, Islam, boy, you talk about a loss in a death. What's the law? The spirit of life. It's the same law, folks. Jesus didn't come to destroy the law. All right. But to what? Fulfill it. The same law, but now the law, the spirit of law. That same law now empowered by the spirit, so that now we have both the motivation and the power to measure up. Lost and in death. The law without the spirit, without the power, not the incarnation. Law. The spirit of life. Same law now in power by the spirits with the now had both the incarnation and the ability to measure up. In God. Good. That's what the work of the Holy Spirit is all about. Why are we seeing a lot the spirit as holy? The Father and Son are also holy because it's father, son and spirit that makes us holy. Hallelujah.

[00:50:50] But get happy here. Therefore, there's no condemnation for those who wouldn't in Christ Jesus, for the Law of the Spirit of life, who set me free from the law of sin. And how does that work? Talks about the next verse. Says for what the law was powerless to do, in that it was weakened by the simple nature God did by sending his own son in the light and the likeness of central man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin and simple man in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us who do not live according to the simple nature, but according to the spirit. To how do we access the power of the Holy Spirit? This is the core of the Gospel. This is what I want you to share with share with you with your unsaved neighbors and Christian unchurched neighbors. How do you access the power of the Holy Spirit? Somebody comes in your church, they're naked, you're clothed them, they're hungry, you feed them, they're in bondage to sand. You tell them about the power of the Holy Spirit available through personal faith in Jesus Christ. How do you access the power of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ? Some of you, perhaps, of I know George has heard me talk about high pressure. Low pressure. Hebrew word for wind is ruga, right? Translated by white in the 70 Numa, the word spirit translates. When? Why? Because that's no accidental metaphor when moved from high pressure to low pressure. Let me tell you, I live in Florida, folks. I have a house on the Saint John's River. Don't tell me about low pressure. I've had low pressure come over my house one year, three times, 200 miles an hour.

[00:52:31] Took out every one of my trees. I know about low pressure. When moved from high pressure to low pressure, the point of least resistance. You don't have to convince wind to move from high pressure to low pressure. That's what. When does. The word spirit translates when because that's no accidental metaphor. Spirit, like when moved from high pressure to low pressure, you don't have to convince the Spirit of God to move from high pressure to low pressure. That's what the Spirit does. How do you create low pressure? Repent and believe. Let's talk about repentance and faith. We're talking about the theology we've given you. We've given you the biblical evidence, the covenant. We've talked about the history. That time was right. And you can get more of that in finishing that that those chapters I gave you. Now we're talking about the theological evidence. Let's talk about repentance. Boy, do we misunderstand repentance. What the God. I just had to read the Bible over and over and over and over and over again for this it dawned on me. It's like reading the pastors and realizing how much power emphasizes unity. All of you. Straight, straight to the Bible. Two sins come at you time and time, and they pound away at you. You know what the number one sin is? Self-Reliance. Tilak was right, trying to live as if there is no God trying to do it out of your own steam. You'll burn out in 2 to 5 years. You know what the next biggest sin is? This restricted the Bible genesis to Revelation. I do it every year. Thank you very much. Oppressing poor people. You really don't want to do that. Self-Reliance and oppressing the poor. Oppressing the poor. You really don't want to do that, darling.

[00:54:27] And I'll watch your socks. So what is repentance? We tell you, Hanoi annoying a pistol. Awful. God forgive me. I've hung up more students on Mata Oya. Which means what? Turn around. As if you could turn your back on sand. You just try to turn your back on sand. But trying to turn your back on sand, it'll eat your it'll eat your lunch. You just try to take your mind off sand, but trying to take your mind off sand. The split second your mind goes, wrote You have thoughts in the middle of the Lord's Prayer. I'm feeling alone here because I probably the only one here who has that experience. Yes. You've had experience. Thank you, ma'am. So what is repentance? You can't turn your back on saying that's what the word implies. That's one time. But etymology will deliver you into the pit. We biblical theologians are so enthralled by word studies. Sometimes they can help you a bunch. Sometimes they will deliver you into the wrong place because. But Mom was right. We don't understand culture. Repentance is not turning your back on saying this is repentance. Are you listening? This will change your life forever. Repentance is grieving over the separation. Your sin is God. You know why? What is sin? Sin is separate. It's being separated from God ourselves and those around us. And if it's not separate, are you listening? If it's not separate from God, yourself and those around you? Stop worrying about it. I'm sick of it. I had more sin. Confessed to me the first five months teaching in Asbury Seminary than I had in 25 years in teaching and at a seminary. These students are coming in, confessing stuff I never heard of. They're making it up.

[00:56:22] I'm saying grow up, for crying out loud. There's enough real sin. And you still need a savior, but you don't need to go making it up. And we had berry people deliver people into that stuff. We had the silly little ethos thing, Don't tell your daddy I said this. Saying you can't have a glass of wine. You can't because you're an alcoholic. Never, ever, ever again have a glass of wine. I would never have a glass of wine around you. And I was the I was the faculty rep for the board of trustees of telling you ended this last night. I got up one time and said, you know, we need to rework this ethos statement. When are you going to stop straining that net, saying it's a plan to have a glass of wine? What have you people in the room. Have wine. If you're going to enforce this, you need to resign. Don't mess with me. I think that. I think you drank this stuff with my own eyes. Don't mess with me. I did change it. I wrote an article in the Herald and said, John watched it, said, How dare you condemn our spirit in the lamp when one of the finest of all cordials. But he was a teetotaler. Why? Because he didn't want to be a stumbling block to the weaker sister. A brother. So what's the better part of holding off? Telling people to stand, to have a glass of wine? And, you know, it's not our asking. Our students don't do the kinds of things that will cause us a weaker sister or brother to stumble. Holiness is the disposition of mind and spirit is not a bunch of do's and don'ts. Then the moment you reduce it to do's and don'ts, you're going to leave something out.

[00:57:56] More important. You know, we want to cross the T on on sexuality. We single out homosexuals when when the statement sex sex has to be practiced between a man and woman within the context of Christian marriage. Boy, do I believe that is true. How in the world can you have a homosexual relation within those parameters? You cannot we saying out homosexual. I said you need to grow up. How come you single out homosexual? The whole world thinks Astbury Seminary is homophobic. Why prove it? I won't sex between a man and a woman within the context of Christian marriage. I was telling George this morning. I have lowered my expectations. Of God. You know why? Because my expectations were unrealistic. I have. Oh, Lord. My expectations of my wife. She is born again. I expect her to be faithful to the marriage vows. And she expects me to be faithful to the marriage. And if I were you, if I didn't think I was faithful to my marriage vows, I wouldn't give me the time of day. You have a right to expect that of me. I think holiness is important. I lowered my expectations of God. I'll tell a rock in the car yesterday. I've never been shy in the spirit. You know why? Because those of you who have talk about it as if you were electrocuted, for crying out loud, since I've never been electrocuted, I've never been slain in the spirit I can't get. I have been Dr. Toronto to Brownsville and to Cuba. I've been the only frickin thing left standing in the church. Everybody slaying the spirit with me. I'm the only one almost dying. Whoa. How about me? What's wrong with me? What am I? Not only me, but I laid down the carpet and carpet and let Spirit wash over me.

[00:59:46] Got blessed. I'm blessed and telling you this story. I can't get a c d. You know what a CD is? A courtesy drop. I want to get slain. This is so bad. But can't do it because my expectations are not realistic. So I have lowered my expectations. You know, the only way I can remain a United Methodist is to have zero expectations of the system. She never disappoints me, and occasionally she'll even surprise me. I told the Council of Bishops that I told Wil Willimon that this took months ago. I thought, Well, well, you better play it hands on me instead of you going on to perfection. You know what I said? What's the alternative? I don't want to go on to perfection, for crying out loud. Grow up. What kind of system do we live with? Oh, my. Well, anyway. Repentance is what? Grieving over the separation. Your sin is caused so that you're willing. What is saying that what separates you from God yourself and those around you? That's what sin is. And it's not separate from God, yourself and those around you. Are you listening, Larry? If not, separate your God from God, yourself and those around you. Stop worrying about it. I mean it. Quit making it up. ERs are not real, Senator. Everybody needs a savior. Trust me on that. Repentance as grieving over the separation. You've seen his call so that you're willing to pray this prayer. Write this down. God. As far as I know, my own heart. I'm willing for you to take this from me. God, I can't give it to you. If I could give it to you, I wouldn't need you. That's Capernaum, by the way. God. If I could give it to you, I wouldn't need you.

[01:01:47] As far as I know my own heart. I got up this morning praying that prayer. God, if there's anything in my life, these students are going to have me for lunch. I want to go in and clean anything in May to separate me from you, myself, and those around me. Take it from here while I'm begging you. Take it from me as I renew my faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Swoosh. That creates low pressure. Who moves to low pressure? The Holy Ghost. Hallelujah. Bless God. Hallelujah! The Holy Ghost. So the next time I'm tempted, my first incarnation is to resist the temptation. I am righteousness prone. I am born again. In this good. It'll be easier to obey God than to disobey God. You don't think that's good news? Try that on your unsaved neighbors. Who are sick and tired. You don't have to die to go to hell. Too many of my friends are there already. And what a waste. What an utter waste. You don't have to wallow there one minute longer. Repent of your sins. What's it mean to grieve over the separation your sinners cost? So that you're willing to pray this prayer. God, as far as I know my own heart. I'm willing for you to take this from me. I want to renew my faith and trust in your son. Jesus Christ. Sweet Chris. Low pressure push. So the next time I'm tempted, whatever temptation my first incarnation will be to work will be to resist the temptation and obey God. It'll be easier to obey God than to disobey God. Now, if you screw up, what do you do? You don't go back to the cross and get saved all over again. Grow up, children. You just renew your opinions and faith, and you get greater and greater distance on those things that separate you from God yourself and those around.

[01:03:45] And one day you wake up. Sanctified. Glory to God. Hallelujah. With a fresh anointing. Suddenly you start to share the faith and it makes sense to the people around you. It's just just bigger than you are. You are absolutely amazed that God could use such an instrument. I am amazed sometimes what God can do in my life. Absolutely amazed. It just amazes me. God would use me as an instrument of grace effecting eternal change in the hearts and minds of others. That's what brought me to Christ. After 21 years, 20, all 20 years old, never been used to God and effected any kind of change in anyone else's life. Why should I think I want my life to count for something? I was in law school, for crying out loud. Do kind of three three program after your third year of undergraduate school, If you accepted in law school, your fourth year of undergraduate became your first year law school. So I was still an undergraduate. I'm in law school. Listen, torts is really boring. Oh, sure. I don't think I want to do this. I don't like. I won't spend the rest of it. Nothing wrong being a lawyer. About a third of my know do it for the right reasons. Half the doctors and only two thirds the minister do it for the right reasons. I don't know. I don't think I wanna spend the rest of my life chasing dolls and climbing ladders. I think I want my life to count for something. I didn't know. Jesus didn't know I had to be saved. I've saved two weeks and didn't know it. My life has just changed. I wrote a book on conversion, said, Whoa, what happened to me? I just got saved.

[01:05:27] My goodness gracious. I had no idea. I just went to bed and black and white got up and down to color. I knew my whole life. I didn't know I'd been saved. I knew my life was changed. Our lives have been saved after the fact. Whoa. But I tell you, I was different. And I wouldn't hold anything back. You know, my little Pentecostal friends think you got, you know, this until you get baptized. The Holy Spirit. I think normally you baptize with the Holy Spirit when you're saved. I think there are occasions where exceptions like Acts eight. So that when Peter and John get to get to Sumeria, they can see the Holy Spirit poured out on a bunch of Happy Days, exactly the way the Holy Spirit was poured out on the pure Jews of Pentecost. Peter has had has the gall to go to Samarra with a flat knife in his pocket. Won't everybody become a Jew before they become Christians? Took him forever to get over that. Paul said, I wish I had slept with that man. If I had to do a number on yourself crying out loud, leave me alone. Everywhere Paul and Barnabas went on the first missionary journey. So, Judy, I just came in behind them and put them back into bondage. Got and freed up into grace. Oh, Judy. Oscar were there, printed and put them right back in the barn. But at the barn. You know, this is clearly not work. We got to go to Jerusalem at a Jerusalem council, what, 49 A.D. Maybe give or take a year or two, and they take Titus with him. Imagine who's a Greek. Imagine taking a Greek amongst all those flint knives. And I don't lay a hand on him.

[01:07:09] You know, he had some anxious moments, I tell you. Whew, boy. But I only had four stipulations. I said, don't be immoral as Gentiles are prone to be. Don't eat meat that's been strangled. The blood still in it and blood is a symbol of life was saved by the blood of Jesus. Don't eat meat that's been sacrificed. I'll say more hearty, but somebody's going to misunderstand. And remember the poor. So it takes off on the second, second missionary journey. The doors. The earlier had been What? God not only opens doors. God. What? Act 16, The Spirit of God forbade them. Twice. It said the Great didn't have exclamation point. When you want to emphasize something, you it says it all over again. And the spirit of God kept us from going there. God, I want to be the kind of Christian why rejoice just as much when God closes doors as when God opens doors? I am not there yet. Get your children, especially five year olds, to pray for me. That's the kind of Christian I want to be. All right, Josh, just as much when God closes doors as when God opens doors, Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory to God. As break. We're going to talk about faith. We talk about repentance. What is repentance? Grieving over the separation, your sin cost? So are stories. You know your own heart. You're willing for God to take this from you. And we'll talk about faith and the comeback after the break. Chris, low pressure, get the Holy Ghost to do a number.