The Finger of God | Dr. Mark Rutland

well this is the second in a series of theological messages I urged you last Wednesday night not to be afraid of the word theology that it just means what we believe to be true about God and about the things of God and and that a lot of times we think theologies are bad words sometimes in the broader of angelical community and unfortunately in the spirit-filled community we tend to kind of say I heard people say all the time oh don't preach doctrine to me don't preach doctrine to me but the only problem is see the New Testament says preach sound doctrine apart from that not preaching doctrine is a great idea so I'm dealing with a series of theological issues most of them relative to the character and nature of God in the light of these are in the context of these messages I've done something which I've never done in sermons before I'm just not a very I don't know how to say it I don't use a lot of props and things in sermons I'm just a preacher but for each of these messages I've written little skits that deal with encounters meetings with God in order to illumine certain Mis apprehensions from which people inside even inside the body of Christ suffer relative to the nature of God these skits are all being performed by David and Joshua they did a great job with the one last week and will you please thank them for it one on last week I just want to say this every preacher everybody who's ever preached will you please raise your hand everyone that's Brian's others okay look up here dr. mark there are just those moments where you have this sermon and here and here it is brilliant here I'm not the only preacher in the world that's ever trotted out a dog but last week that wouldn't begin to bark about five minutes into the message and you ever get you know what I'm saying Brian don't you ever get in the middle of a sermon and you just want to say to people I'm sorry so in case you left last week saying to one another what do you think he meant let me just clarify that quickly and then we'll get on to this we're dealing with the issue of the holiness of God the meeting that we dealt with last week was the meeting between God and Moses God in the personification of the burning bush and Moses and God says to Moses go down to Egypt and tell the people to follow you until Pharaoh to let the people go and Moses says when I go into the people of Israel so sand to them the god of your father's that sent me unto you they will say what is his name and God answers I am that I am that shall descended the children of Israel I am hath sent me unto thee in other words God's holiness is the integrity of his own being God is never one thing and than another he is not a the schizophrenic God sometimes we're afraid that if we call up will God be in a good mood or a bad mood we project onto him sometimes what we're feeling if we're down and discouraged we think God is depressed but God is who he is he's never I was he's never I will be his all together himself he is holy is a holy God but his holiness is not what separates us from him his holiness is what makes us know that when we approach him we will not find a monster we will not find a jealous capricious whimsical changeable psychotic demon we will find a holy God he will always be himself and then we close by saying this if God is holy that means that he's always the same but what is that but is that if God is always holy what does it mean when John tells us God is love therefore from the brow Mount Sinai itself I am is God is I am is loved as I am is holiness is God God is I am love always love now what separates us from God is not his holiness it's our sin so that brings us to the second issue in this theological journey and that is what about what about us if God is always holy what about us if you have your Bibles if you'll take those in turn to the Gospel according to Luke the eleventh chapter I want to begin reading with verse 14 Luke 11 and 14 and he now that he is Jesus of course and he was casting out a devil and it was dumb mute in other words in other words there was a person who was demonically possessed and that possession manifested itself as an inability to speak and he came to pass when the devil was gone out that the dumbs fake and the people wondered but some of them said he casteth out Devils through Beelzebub the chief of the Devils and others tempting Jesus sought of him a sign from heaven but he knowing their thoughts said unto them every Kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation a house divided against the house falleth if Satan also be divided against himself how shall his kingdom stand because you say I cast out Devils through Beelzebub now pause right there Jesus is refuting them with simple logic if Satan has possessed this boy why would Satan deliver him so Jesus says look if I'm using satanic power to cast myself out we don't have to do anything to resist the devil he's his house is divided he's already in rebellion he's going to fall but look at verse 19 but if I by Beelzebub cast out Devils by whom do your sons cast them out therefore shall they be your judges again pause right there he says to them you claim that I cast him out with Beelzebub it doesn't make sense that I would but let's suppose for a moment that I did at least he's free and now he speaks to the to the religious leadership by whom do your sons your ilk your disciples your followers by whom do they cast out demons some commentaries say that Jesus is talking about vagabond Jewish exorcists they go around casting out demons I don't believe that for a moment I think he is saying if I used Satan to set this boy free at least he's free by whom do your followers set demon-possessed free people free the answer is they can't do it at all therefore he says they shall be your judge their impotence convicts you that your accusation of me is out-and-out blasphemy verse 19 if I by Beelzebub cast out Devils by whom do your sons cast them out therefore shall they be your judges but now here's verse 20 here's the key verse but if I with the finger of God cast out devils no doubt the kingdom of heaven is come upon you let's pray if you'll put your hands on your Bible and let's pray together Heavenly Father I thank you and I praise you the next few moments your Holy Spirit will overwhelm our every resistance burst through every locked door enter into the chambered nautilus of our souls into the last and deepest cell and may we there hear from you save us and we shall be saved Heelys and we shall be healed in the mighty name Jesus the strong son of God amen amen and amen in verse 20 Jesus uses it is translated here in English of course from a Greek Bible but Jesus was neither speaking English nor Greek he would have been speaking Aramaic or Hebrew but he uses an Hebrew idiomatic expression he says if I by the finger of God in Spanish you have devil videos if I by the finger of God have cast these demons out then the kingdom of heaven has come upon you it is a powerful passage but it loses some of its punch in the translation into English because the finger of God is not an original statement with Jesus it is a Hebrew idiomatic expression that stretches all the way back to Exodus and it means the Holy Spirit it is used previously in this way the law that was written in stone on Mount Sinai was written by the finger of God so the the finger of God writes the law so Jesus says in other words if I have done this by the spirit of holiness which wrote the law on Mount Sinai then the kingdom of heaven has come upon you now the second part of that is startling because again in English it sounds positive almost the kingdom of heaven has come to has come for you but that's not what it means has come upon you in the in English it doesn't send it sounds almost positive but it means this if you say the criminal was hiding in the in the bushes and the cops came upon him that's what it means if I have done this by the finger of God that rape wrote the law of mount sinai that wrote le le that wrote and in the in the walls of the other of the palace of Belshazzar and said you have been judged and found wanting in the balance if I'm doing this by that same finger the same finger of God if you remember when the magician's tried to turn the dust into lice in pharaoh's palace they said we can't do this we don't have the power to do this some of the things we could do they turn their staff into snake Moses staff a air and staff ate theirs but when it came to turning the dust Indus into life they said to Pharaoh we can't do this because this is the finger of God in other words Jesus says if I cast this boy out by the power of the spirit of holiness that writes the law of God then it is manifestly obvious that the kingdom of God has apprehended you you have been found out it's kind of can I just put it in modern American English if this is the finger of God you have just been busted by the Holy Ghost now that's what he says it is a it is a powerful powerful statement now our problem theologically is this we we get concerned we begin to see God mistakenly we begin to think about the law of God and we think of God as a legalist a kind of a kind of a cosmic cop up in heaven waiting for us to do something wrong so we get this fearful feeling that the law of God the finger of God that wrote the law stands against us and that he's just waiting for us to do something wrong oh hello are you God are you ready because it's almost time for the tip-off what tip-off Hey 3 2 1 all right let's go okay well um I've been sort of going through a tough time and I came here because I was needing some offsides number 24 offsides yeah I didn't tell you that you can move you're supposed to wait on my signal yeah you were offsides five-year penalty repeat first down five years now uh what do you want well I was just going through a tough time and I was just personal foul number 24 started prayer by talking about self instead of praising cosmic referee two year penalty plus the loss of one prayer look I I don't know all these rules personal foul ignorant of heavens rules 10-year penalty wait just a minute technical technical foul technical foul what that's right you heard me technical foul what do they do you told that Cosme referee what to do you don't do that when when did I do that who said wait a minute okay I heard you what yeah yeah yeah you said wait a minute I heard you look right wait what do you have to say for yourself this is this is terrible technical not knowing what to say the price of the cosmic referee technical that's too technical you're out of here mr. two technicals are you kidding I never kid hit the showers Buster you're out of here I just I just I just wanted some help I love my job so here's the dilemma that we face in the Ministry of Jesus in Luke chapter 11 he says he sets this demon-possessed person free by the finger of God but if the finger of God writes the law then is the house of God as divided as he says the house of Satan is can God bind us up with the law and then set us free by the same power that writes the law the question then is we have a clear theology of the holiness of God God is holy as I am his love but what about holiness in the life of the believer can the power of holiness also set us free the same power that writes the law so in the conversation between Moses and God we didn't read it last week but further on in the conversation God says to Moses when thou shalt come unto the children of Israel saying to them you shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy you shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy am I the only one or does that feel a little unfair I want to say sure your only your God I live in Georgia the problem is this you can say anything wrongly if you put the emphasis on the wrong syllable any word sounds funny so let's just suppose let's just suppose slim if this is a class if you don't mind this is a class I'm the professor first day of class it's an upper division math class boolean algebra at some high-class institution and I walk in the first day of class and I look down at you and I say you shall make an A you shall make an A because I'm the teacher you shall make an A I don't know about you but that's where I just gather up my books and head straight to the drop/add counter say to the nice lady there I'd like a course in something like basket weaving and a professor who's not a psychotic please but let's suppose it's the same class same class same course same professor and he says the same thing on the first day of class and he says look up here I know you're nervous it's your first day in an upper-division math class but look at me you shall make an A you shall make an A for I and the greatest math teacher that's ever lived and you shall make an A that's when I say yeah I'm a major in math you see if God says you shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy didn't we find out we begin to visualize God as the cosmic referee just peering into our into the action of our lives with it with the whistle and his lips and the yellow flag on his hip there's waiting for us to do something wrong and I remember I played high school basketball you know right at the end of the Civil War and it was a it was an exciting time really to be on the court and but there was one referee I played in a in a County Carroll County Maryland and I remember there was one referee everybody just hated him because of no matter what he called he didn't just call the fell personal foul he would point his finger at you and yell I saw that you wanted to choke him to death is is that your God because if that's your God your God is my devil he's not leaning over the parapet of heaven lean looking at you and screaming I saw that he's saying to you look I want to write the law in your innermost being I shall no more write the law in tables of stone but I will write the law in the hearts of you in the flesh of you in the spirit of you I will write the law in you so that the holiness of God Romans chapter 1 the Spirit the Holy Spirit the spirit of holiness that raised Christ Jesus from the dead that spirit of holiness is not the spirit of law and bondage and death and accusation it is the spirit of resurrection and life and newness of life this please do not hear this as saying that God doesn't care how we live he says you shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy and at a previous university where I served as the president a kid came to me with this same verse of scripture and he said mister president look at this verse it says you shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy he said I don't understand is this is this a command or a promise and I said yes you're finally getting it yes it is a command but he will never command you to that which is beyond your capacity to find it apart from His grace to provide it what does the quraían chapter 4 say it's not by might its not by power but it's by my spirit says the Lord of hosts in other words he says I am holy you shall be holy you will have the law but the law will not hang over you like the sword of Damocles we don't live our whole lives just terrified the monofilament will snap and down comes the sword if we resort to putting ourselves under the law then we must obey the whole law and its entirety and no one can do that by his own strength and therefore the law will fall on you and crush you to a powder one is desperately dangerous living the living of an outlaw the other is desperately destructive living which is the living of a legalist believing that he can obey the law and himself what then is the answer he says I the holy spirit is the finger of God and the finger of God always does the same thing he writes the law but the law within you becomes the law of Liberty becomes the law of change becomes the law of transformation in the same interaction between God and Moses God says the Moses after he commands him to go down into Egypt take the people out confront Pharaoh all alone 80 year-old man with nothing but a staff and his brother just you know topple the Egyptian Empire that's all I'm asking and then Moses starts away and God says oh wait a minute one more thing he says put now that I hand into that bosom in other words put your hand in your shirt front put now that hand into that bosom he says now pluck it out Moses draws his hand out and who remembers it was what leprous covered with leprosy that must have been a wonderful moment for Moses so this is great disrupt my life at the age of 80 summoned me into Egypt where the price on my head told me to lead two and a half million stiff necked rebels into the wilderness where there's no food and give me leprosy what a good God and then God says now put thy hand yet again into that bosom and draw it out and this time it's what clean I don't know all that God was saying to Moses in that meeting but at least among the things that he was saying he must have been saying this you cannot change your heart with your hands your heart changes your hands the condition of your heart will sooner or later work itself to the extremities of your life so God says I don't want to be the cosmic referee in your life I don't want to be screaming at you I saw that what I want to do is change you what I want to do is write the law inside of you I was preaching at a Methodist Church in this very state some years ago and I was preaching on the baptism of the Holy Spirit and it was a men's group on Saturday morning I've been preaching through the week on the baptism of the Spirit it was stirring up some controversy Saturday morning was the men's thing and the men were kind of confronting me a little bit and there was an elderly man there and he spoke up and he said now I got something I want to say he said I know exactly what this young man is talking about because I experienced it he said 35 years ago I experienced it and he said it set me free he said I'm the freest man in Cartersville Georgia he said I can do any thing I like and they jumped him I said now mr. Franco are you saying you can do anything you like and remain a Christian he said since I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit I can do anything I like I'm absolutely free in God they said well we just don't believe that you can't just do anything you like he said I can do anything I like he said it's just the 35 years ago at the Indian Springs camp meeting God changed my like her he said I can do anything I like I just don't like that stuff anymore so hey so here's the thing we talked about the holiness of God and that's not to make us apprehensive it's to make us know that God is dependable and approachable that He loves us he's holy but what if what if tonight somebody came in never been in a church didn't know anything about God just totally and completely and they came up here and came to pastor Tracy in me and said look I I want to get saved I want to give my life to the Lord we said well we all know you know we don't you never know with God just sit down here we'll go up on the platform and the Holy of Holies and we'll send up a few trial petitions it looks like God's in a good mood will clap our hands three times you come up we'll ask him who knows maybe he'll forgive you but if it looks like God's got a grouch on stomp my feet three times you run home and get under your bed cuz God's gonna kill you sucker no the holiness of God is what underpins every promise of God when God says if any man any man anyone will confess their sins God is faithful and just to forgive him and cleanse him of all unrighteousness how can I know that I can say that to anybody from from the halls of Congress to the to a prison cell which is not all that wide of a gap all the time but but but I can say that to anybody anywhere anytime and know that that promise is not going anywhere because God is I am is holy the holiness of God is what makes me know that when I enter his presence I find God but then God says now when I enter into you what I want to do is a work of transforming grace look I have I believe in the baptism of the holy spirit I preached the baptism I believe in the gifts all the gifts they're all real and they're all real for today they're all real for today I believe that but listen to me if you seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit only for gifts that's like putting electricity in your house because you think the switch plates are pretty the real reason for the baptism of the Holy Spirit is sanctifying grace in other words to write the law within you within you God says I don't want to lay it on you I want to create it within you God says Owen I want to change you're like her if I by the finger of God have cast out these demons in other words Jesus says the Holy Spirit that is the spirit of God's holiness that wrote holiness under the Lord on the tiny little bells on the warhorses of the of the Jewish warriors that wrote holiness under the Lord on the golden Laver in the temple then wrote holiness under the Lord on the on stones on Mount Sinai imagine as Moses held those stones and the finger of God came through holiness now he says present to me your heart not a table of stone hold your heart up to me and the finger of God come Shh holiness and that is freedom not bondage let's pray all over the house if you will bow your heads and close your eyes Heavenly Father I thank you so that you are a God of holiness infinite unsearchable unchangeable unalloyed holiness when we have sinned it doesn't change you when we are corrupted by the world in which we live it doesn't change when we're depressed or discouraged or lonely or lost or fearful or when we've been betrayed it doesn't change you thank you God thank you God and Lord I thank you if the law of holiness does not stand over against us but that you long to ride it within us now with your heads bowed and your eyes closed if you say dr. mark would you please pray for me please pray I've been living the life of an outlaw the law is against me because I've been against it I've lived as a rebel an outlaw and if the law were to follow me tonight I'd be crushed to a powder will you pray for me I don't want to live under the law anymore I don't want to live outside the law anymore if that's you then lift your hand up right where you are yes all right yes way back there we over there hold your hand up high it's a big house and it's a little difficult for me to see way in the back of there and just here yes way over there okay I see you now yes Heavenly Father I know that this is not what you want for our lives you don't want us broken and in sin and in rebellion and bondage I know you don't I'm believing you got tonight to bring them out from under that keep your eyes closed for a moment but take your hands down and then the second group you would say I've been trying to make the law work on my own I've been trying to do this and just doesn't seem to be any Liberty there doesn't seem to be any power in it I've been trying it by my might and my power and it's just not happening as it ought to happen the finger of God is not making me joyful and free and full of love and peace of power is making me angry and frustrated I'm failing I'm failing at this if that's you then you lift your hand up all over the house let me see where you are yes yes all right all right yes way back there yes over here yes Heavenly Father I thank you and I praise you that you're willing to do within us what we cannot do ourselves that you were willing to baptize us with the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit now one last question your heads bowed in your eyes closest if you'd say doctor mark will you pray for me I'm a Christian I love the Lord but I just have been feeling something's missing in my life and now I realize what it is it's the finger of God I want the Holy Spirit all his power all his gifts and all His Holiness within me I want that baptism of power within me and I need it tonight if that's you now you lift your hand right where you are yes oh my so many so many now listen to me when I say I'm into this prayer we're gonna stand and begin to sing and as we sing I'm going to invite you leave where you are immediately don't hesitate if you hesitate you're undone step out from where you are come here to the front of this church and we're gonna pray with you that God Himself and no man will so baptize you in the Holy Spirit and that the finger of God will write the law of love within your innermost be and you'll leave here not bound up in bondage but free in the power of love now Heavenly Father I'm believing you to break every bondage tonight set men free I believe you for it and I thank you for it in the wonderful name Jesus the strong son of God amen amen let's stand in as we sing if you're ready to receive you come right now come right now as we sing come right now I [Music] [Music] now I'm going to lead you in a prayer and then people are gonna pass among you and we're gonna lay our hands on you and God and no man is gonna fill you with the Holy Spirit I want you to pray with me pray right out loud will you you've been bold to walk up here this is very bold in front of these people walk up here so now you've been this brave don't pray like a pray out loud are you ready pray with me right out loud Heavenly Father I give you my whole life everything I am I don't want to be an outlaw and living under the law is stealing my joy I need the law within me I need to be sanctified holy I need to be changed I need your power because mine isn't working I give you my life everything I am all that I will ever have my pride my ego everything name of Jesus whose blood cleanses my sin I'm asking you baptize me with the Holy Spirit fill me with the power of holiness that raised Christ Jesus from the dead now as we sing people are going to come and lay their hands on you and you'll receive [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] we're gonna sing that last little part one more time holy spirits are welcome here now I want you to think here here that's good here Church that's good here around me that's good here you're welcome here to change the atmosphere of my life Holy Spirit you welcome here to come inside of me and when the finger of God comes he always does the same thing what is it he writes the law he writes the law not in stone that falls on us but within us to transform us put your hand here sooner or later maybe not fast as your mother-in-law wants but sooner or later here changes what you do here amen let's sing it together and you say it all over the house host be your welcomes here [Music] [Applause] the atmosphere of the life cannot be changed without word appearance the atmosphere of a life has changed by the change of inner reality amen the holiness of God is not the scary thing it's the thing that makes us know we find God and the law of God as long as it's in the right place within us is what changes everything turn to your neighbor and say theology is not as scary as I thought [Music] now those of you that are here at the front I want you to remain just a few moments there are people around you that are going to talk with you make sure that you are connected to a spirit-filled Church if you're not this is the church for you we just want to talk with you pray with you all of you when you look right up here now and now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling and to stand you before his own presence without fault and with unspeakable joy to the only wise God Our Saviour be glory and Majesty and Dominion and authority before time ever began right now tonight and throughout all the ages to come and when the battle is over we'll all wear crown god bless you everybody good night god bless you good night [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Free Chapel

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Length: 43min 53sec (2633 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 06 2018