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Sermon Date: 2007
Outline:
INTRODUCTION: Today, I am going to deal with the age old question, why do we exist? What is the meaning of life? Why has God placed us on the earth? Another question I will challenge us with is the question of whether we are being good Christians or not. Are we living lives of obedience to the Lord? I’m afraid that we will find that over 90% of us are not. The last question can be answered with another question: where were you on Tuesday evening? Now that’s a weird way of answering such an important question, but it’s accurate.
BACKGROUND: In these few verses we read this morning, there are five pictures I want you to see.
1. Abraham is a picture of God the father.
2. The eldest servant is a picture of the Holy Spirit of God.
3. The bride is a picture of the bride of Christ, the church.
4. Isaac is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. The bride of Christ is the church.
5. The far country is a picture of the world.
6. Now within these pictures God allows us to see our purpose for living and God’s purpose for mankind.
7. Abraham is arranging the marriage of his son Isaac. That’s how they did it in their culture back then.
8. So the servant goes to the far country and finds Rebekah and decides that she would make a great bride.
9. So he approaches her and gives her a test and she passes the test of the watering of the camels.
10. So realizing that the Lord must be in this, he begins to convince her of her need to go with him to his master’s house and be the bride of his master’s son.
11. Now, can you imagine the awesome task that this man had to convince this woman he’d never met before, to travel hundreds of miles to marry a man she’s never even seen before.
12. So one of the things this man does to convince her is to literally shower her in gifts. (24:22, 53)
13. The idea is that he wanted them to know that his master is a wonderful man and he painted a picture of the kindness and the heart of his master by giving these gifts (24:34-36). He is bragging on his master’s son.
14. You get the idea here that the only thing that this servant was concerned with was getting a bride for Isaac.
15. What is the reason the servant is going to the far country? The only reason is (say it) to get a bride for Isaac.
a. He didn’t go to be nice and show everyone in this land how wonderful the people of Canaan can be.
b. Is he going to the far country to have an emotional experience and sway his arms back in forth in praise?
c. Is he going to speak in tongues or have a healing service or to make sure everyone understands the Book of Revelations? No. That’s not why. He’s going for one reason only: to get a bride for Isaac.DECLARATION: The reason you and I have been placed on the earth is to get a bride for Jesus.
1. I want you to understand that God choose for us the ministry of the Holy Spirit of God.
2. Every ministry of the Holy Spirit of God is wrapped up in this one idea: Getting a bride for Jesus.
3. The Holy Spirit did not come to talk about himself, but to talk about the groom. (John 16:13; 15:26)
4. This is why I know that the charismatic movement is not of God. The emphasis has been placed on the wrong part of the Godhead. The emphasis in the Christian life ought to be on Jesus, not on the Holy Spirit.
5. I don’t care what any other church is teaching, if their teaching on the Holy Spirit is centered on anything other than getting a bride for Christ, it is false and you need to stay away from it.
6. Now when the servant here gives the bride gifts, it’s for no other reason than to persuade her to come.
7. Anyone who talks about the gifts of the Spirit but won’t use them to get someone saved is deceiving you.
8. You say, “Preacher, you act like winning souls to Christ is the most important thing in the church.” It is!
9. You and I have been placed on this round ball of clay for that reason and that reason only, and if you are not a soul winner, than you are not fulfilling God’s purpose for your life and just taking up space.I. THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS A METHOD’S COURSE IN SOUL WINNING. (GALATIANS 5:22-23)PROPOSITION: Are you fulfilling your purpose in life? Are you getting a bride for Jesus?
TRANSITIONAL SENTENCE: There are three aspects of the Holy Spirit that I want to show you today.
1. So far there is no law against love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. No law says you can’t love or you can’t have joy or any of the rest.
2. Paul says that these attributes are the fruits of the Spirit. When you think of God you think of love. (I John 4:7-8) “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth . . .”
3. Joy and peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. How about longsuffering?
II Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
4. I could go through the whole list, but the point is that these are attributes in God. The Holy Spirit is God.
5. So what is fruit? Fruit is that which comes from the tree.
6. Once we get saved, the Holy Spirit is producing fruit in us and this fruit becomes available to us.
7. Back to the story of this servant going to get a bride.
a. If he comes to her with a joyful attitude; in a loving spirit; peaceful and longsuffering; with gentleness and goodness in his heart; confident yet meek; he has a better chance to persuade her to come than if he comes with a bad attitude and tries to force her to go with him.
b. So if the servant goes and he has these traits in his life then he is more apt to persuade a person.
c. (Illus.) Going to someone with a baseball bat and trying to force them to get saved.
8. The fruit of the Spirit is an aid in helping you to get a bride.
9. I’ve seen people go soul-winning that seem like they want to pick a fight if someone won’t listen.
10. (Illus.) A father sending his son to the store for milk. “Now son, why are you going to the store?”
a. “Now when you go down to the store, remember who you are? You represent God.”
b. Am I sending him to the store to love others? No. But I hope he does show love while he goes.
c. He comes home a couple hours later with a huge smile on his face. “Dad, I loved the whole store. I told everyone how much I loved them. We had a group hug in isle 7. One guy broke out in tongues for twenty minutes. It was an experience I’ll never forget.”
d. “Son, did you get the milk I sent you to get?” “No.” (Good son or bad son? Bad)
11. So you can speak in tongues and not even be a good Christian. It’s amazing what people measure their spirituality by. You don’t gauge spirituality by how much you shout.
12. You’re not even on a preschool level in you study of the Holy Spirit if it isn’t about getting the bride.
13. God did not give you the Holy Spirit just so you can tolerate people, but so that you can go up to that old drunk on the street and give him the gospel. (continued...)
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