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The Spirit of Wind & Fire | Pentecost Sunday (Christ Church)
Christ Church on June 11, 2025
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How to Grow in Christ (Practical Christianity #10) (King’s Cross)

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INTRODUCTION

When anyone confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord and they believe that God raised Him from the dead, they are saved (Rom. 10:9). This offer is made to all freely and to their children (Acts 2:39, 16:31). And this is why all who believe and their households are offered baptism (Acts 16:33). This is what God calls becoming a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) and the new birth (1 Pet. 1:23). This is all pure grace, received by faith, not by works, lest any man should boast, but it is the kind of work that God does in us that causes us to begin working and growing (Eph. 2:8-10). We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works. We are saved in order to grow up as trees that bear good fruit (Lk. 6:43).

Therefore, after becoming a Christian, the task before us is growing up into Christ, growing into maturity, becoming fruitful in every way. So this message is about that.

The Text: “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil… And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Lk. 4:1-4).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

We might be tempted to think that being full of the Holy Spirit might mean everything going easy in our lives, but here we see that it was when Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit, right after His baptism in the Jordan River, that the Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Lk. 4:1). Not only was He being tempted by the devil, He ate nothing and was incredibly hungry (Lk. 4:2). Now God had just proclaimed that Jesus was His beloved Son at His baptism (Lk. 3:22), but forty days in a desert and severe hunger can make anyone doubt or forget and the devil started there, tempting Jesus to doubt God’s Word and double check “if you’re really the son of God…”, suggesting Jesus turn a stone into bread (Lk. 4:3). But Jesus knew to doubt His Father would be sin, and refused, quoting from Deuteronomy, that His life was upheld and strengthened, not merely by bread, but by the Word of God (Lk. 4:4, cf. Dt. 8:3).

SIX STEPS FOR GROWING IN CHRIST

Growing in Christ is a lot like growing up. So how do you grow up? Eat well, get enough sleep, exercise, go to school, learn from your mistakes, work hard, etc. Then it just happens. Plants and trees grow this way also: sunshine, water, good soil, fertilizer, pruning, etc. So here are six steps for growing in Christ.

1. Read your Bible: Many folks in our community do the Bible Reading Challenge, and it’s a bit like cross-fit for Bible reading. If you want to get in Spiritual shape, it really is a great blessing, and I commend it to you. But if you’re not in great shape, and you don’t have regular Bible reading habits, just start reading a chapter a day. If you’ve never read the Bible before, read the New Testament first and then start over in Genesis and read the whole thing. The key thing is regularity not quantity, but as you grow, you’ll want more. “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Pet. 2:2).

2. Pray: God is real. He created the Heavens and the Earth, and He made us in His image for communion with Him. Pray the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father…” Pray the Psalms– they are 150 inspired prayers that God loves to hear and answer. To be a Christian is to receive the Holy Spirit of adoption that means you have been granted the same sonship as Jesus Christ, and you are invited to cry out to God as your Abba Father (Rom. 8:15). What do you tell your father? What do you ask from your father? God is your perfect Father.

3. Read the Bible, pray, and sing as a family: Men, you are called to be the spiritual leaders of your home. Husbands, wash your wife in the water of the word (Eph. 5:26). This is how you love your wife like Christ loves the church (Eph. 5:25). Fathers, you are specifically required to raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). Dedicate a regular time to this and lead your family before the Lord. This can be very simple: read a little bit of Scripture, pray, and sing a song. When the kids are little, this can take less than 5 minutes; when the kids are older, it can grow.

4. Repent of your sins: This is the invitation of the gospel that Jesus Himself preached: “the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mk. 1:15). To “repent” means to turn around, to stop going one way and go the other way. The Bible describes this as putting off the old man and putting on the new man (Eph. 5:22-24). Stop lying and tell the truth (Eph. 5:25, cf. 5:28). Stop looking at porn and lusting, pursuing a wife and be faithful to one woman and the children she bears you (Prov. 5). Do not be drunk with wine/pot/drugs, but be filled with the Spirit, singing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to the Lord (Eph. 5:18-19). Stop cursing and using filthy language, but let your mouth be full of thanksgiving, praise to God, and edification (Eph. 4:29, 5:3-4). Be anxious for nothing, but with thanksgiving, let your requests be made to God (Phil. 4:6).

5. Forgive those who have sinned against you: this is perhaps one of the central acts of repentance. The old, natural man is full of hatred, bitterness, and resentment (Tit. 3:3). And this part of the old man dies hard. This is why Jesus taught us to pray that God would “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The warning of Christ is clear: “But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mk. 11:26). Bitterness is a root that will cause much trouble, and it defiles many families, churches, and communities (Heb. 12:15). We forgive for the sake of Christ (Eph. 4:32).

6. Go to church, keep Sabbath, and tithe: “Going to church” means worshiping the Lord, and “worship” means complete surrender. When you become a Christian, you surrender in principle. This is what it means to confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord.” This means beginning to obey Him in everything. But two particular ways you demonstrate that complete surrender is by keeping Sabbath and tithing. From the beginning, God’s people have imitated God’s own rest, when He finished His work of Creation. Christians rest on the first day of the week because that is when Jesus finished His work of New Creation (Heb. 4:9). And we tithe, giving God ten percent of our first fruits, confessing that all that we have is from His hand, all that we have belongs to Him (Gen. 14:20, 28:22, Mal. 3:10).

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Jesus the Giant Killer and Dragon Slayer (King’s Cross)

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INTRODUCTION

You could summarize the story of the whole Bible as “Kill the Dragon; get the girl.” This is what Adam failed to do, and it is what our Jesus has done. We remember and celebrate Palm Sunday as the beginning of that great combat, when our hero rode into Jerusalem to face down our mortal foe.

The Text: “… When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils” (Lk. 11:14-22).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

One of the highlights of Jesus’ earthly ministry was casting out demons – demons that deformed the image of God, as we see here with someone who could not speak (Lk. 11:14). But some accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of some greater demon, the “chief of the devils” Beelzebub and demanded a sign to prove otherwise (Lk. 11:15-16). But Jesus pointed out the folly of such an accusation, since that would mean that Satan was divided against himself and was fighting against himself (Lk. 11:17-19). But rather, if Jesus casts out demons, it proves that the Kingdom of God has come (Lk. 11:20). For when an armed strong man is secure in his palace, everything is calm, but when a Stronger Man comes and kills him, He strips his armor and divides the spoils – and that is what Jesus was doing (Lk. 11:21-22).

DRAGONS & GIANTS 

The Bible clearly teaches that there have been dragons in this world, and they are frequently associated with evil powers. In the beginning, God created great sea monsters (Gen. 1:21), and the same word is translated “dragon” in Isaiah: “In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea” (Is. 27:1, cf. Job 41). In the wilderness, Israel was attacked by “fiery serpents,” literally “serpent-seraphs,” suggesting that Satan is a fallen “seraph,” which Revelation seems to confirm: “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev. 12:9) – which also explains why he showed up as a dragon-serpent in the garden (Gen. 3:1).

The Bible suggests a similar typology with giants: “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth…” (Gen. 6:4-5). The word for giants is “nephilim,” which is what the spies saw in Canaan, which was likewise full of wickedness (Num. 13:33, Gen. 15:16). Some believe that the “sons of God” were angels that intermarried with human women, which might account for where giants came from, and Jude suggests that something like that has happened, as suggested by the perversions of the men in Sodom (Jude 6-7, Gen. 19:5). I think “sons of God” more naturally refers to the descendants of Seth in Genesis, but I also think weird demon-human relations likely happened at some point, given what Jude says and ancient mythology (e.g. Ovid’s Metamorphosis).

Regardless, a great deal of the conquest of Canaan included giant-slaying, and these were vile, wicked men (Dt. 2:11, 20, 3:13). Chief among the wicked giants was Og king of Bashan, whose iron bedstead was 13.5-15 feet long and around 6 feet wide (Dt. 3:11), suggesting that he was perhaps 12-13 feet tall. Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, was over nine feet tall (1 Sam. 17:4). “And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him” (1 Sam. 17:5-7). He was clearly a gigantic man, and the word for coat of “mail” is literally “scales,” like a dragon. David and his “mighty men” were giant-dragon slayers (cf. 2 Sam. 23).

BINDING THE STRONG MAN

There really were dragons and giants on the earth in those days, and they were often the instruments of the Devil, the dragon of old and his “giant” power in the earth. As with the men of Israel before the Philistine “strong man,” their greatest power was fear. And this is why Jesus came, to destroy that power: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:14-15).

The power of the Devil, and all his demonic seed, is fear of death, and men fear death because of their sin. For sinners, death is a judgment: “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:13-15). So this is how Jesus bound Satan, stripped his armor, and divided his spoil.

He took the death that we deserve, forgiving all our sins, blotting out all the laws we have broken, and rose from the dead to set us free from the tyranny of the Devil.

APPLICATIONS

The name “Satan” literally means “accuser.” In Revelation it says, “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night” (Rev. 12:10).

When was the accuser cast down? “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This He said, signifying what death He should die” (Jn. 12:31-33).

And what kind of death did Jesus die? “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:14-15). Jesus died the death of a poisonous serpent/dragon because that is what our sin is. “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

This is what we celebrate on Palm Sunday: our Jesus riding into Jerusalem as our Great David, our New Adam, our Stronger Man come to strike down that dragon of old, our Goliath-Accuser and set us completely free.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Whoever believes in Him cannot perish but has eternal life.

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Preparing for the Kingdom (Christ the Redeemer)

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INTRODUCTION

Culturally we have a relatively strong liturgy for Christmas but a weak liturgy for Easter. This is an area where recovery and reformation are needed. That reformation must start in the church. One way to begin this is to become very familiar with the story itself. Just as you should read and re-read the Christmas story, read and re-read the account of Christ’s final days on earth. Scripture spends significantly more time on the final week of Christ’s life, leading to his death and resurrection, than on his birth and life as a child. So naturally we should do the same with our time spent reading this story.

THE TEXT

Luke 19:11-28 – “And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and realest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.”

SURVEY OF THE TEXT

In verse 11 we see that Jesus is nearing Jerusalem and He sees that the people expect him to bring the kingdom of God immediately. They think that he will bring political deliverance in Jerusalem and so he tells them this parable: There was a certain nobleman who went away to secure the kingdom (vs 12). Before he left, he charged his servants with engaging in business until his return and gave them each a mina which is about 3 months salary (v13). We see there is an antithesis in the kingdom for his citizens hated him and sent a delegation to try and stop him from receiving the kingdom (v14). This delegation fails for in verse 15 he returns having received the kingdom and calls his servants to account for their work while he was gone. The first servant had faithfully earned 10X interest and he is rewarded with authority over 10 cities (v16-17). The second servant faithfully earned 5X interest and his is rewarded with authority over 5 cities (v18-19). But the third servant comes making excuses. He has his one mina, but he did not earn anything with what he was given. His excuse is that he knew his master was harsh expecting to take more than he had given and so he was afraid to lose the money he was given (v20-21). The master condemns the wicked servant and uses the servant’s own words to convict him. He knew what was expected of him, he knew his master’s standards and he did nothing (v22). He could have at least placed his money in the bank to receive some interest. That little would have been acceptable, but instead he did nothing (v23). The master takes his pound and gives it to the one who made 10X interest (v24). This causes an outburst of surprise from the others. Why give it to the one who has the most, why not give to the one who has less? (v25) But the king declares that to those who have been faithful will be given even more. And to those who have made nothing, even what they have will be taken away (v26). And lastly those enemies of the king who did not want his kingdom to come are brought before the king and killed (v27). After saying this parable Jesus went on ahead to Jerusalem (v28).

INTERPRETATION OF THE PARABLE

So how do we interpret this parable? Jesus is the nobleman who is going away to the Father to receive His inheritance. He has given gifts to men and commanded them to use those gifts to bear fruit. Those who bear fruit will be rewarded but those who bear no fruit will be condemned. The wicked citizens who hated the nobleman are those men in the dark who reject the light of the gospel and reject the kingdom of God. They will be judged on the last day with eternal death.

APPLICATION OF THE PARABLE 

The context of the parable is important for its interpretation. We are told Jesus gave the people this parable because they expected the kingdom to come immediately. The point of the parable is then a proper understanding of the kingdom and the proper response to such a kingdom. Like the crowd we are not to expect the kingdom to come instantly. It was not to come in a political coup. But likewise, it would be just as wrong to assume that there is no kingdom or that you will never see it. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem where He will enter as the true king. The king whose kingdom is not just over Israel but over all of creation.

CONCLUSION

We are all servants of the true king, and our lives are to be marked with diligence in bearing fruit. This involves investment, education, hard work and in all of it faith to see the race to the end. Our king came humbly on a donkey and went as a servant to the cross. How much more are we the servants of such a king to serve others?

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Biblical Counsel vs. Psychology (Practical Christianity #6) (King’s Cross)

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INTRODUCTION

We live in a therapeutic age, and we must acknowledge that humanistic therapies and psychologies have become in large part rival religions to Christianity. While the Dominion Mandate certainly includes studying the

science of the brain, there have been antagonistic philosophies at work in much of the secular therapy world. There are many trials in this life, but God has given us His sure word to comfort our hearts (Rom. 15:4).

The Text: “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican…” (Lk. 18:9-14).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

This parable is for those who trust in themselves, think they are right, and thereby, whether they know it or not, despise others (Lk. 19:9). Jesus chose for the parable a man from one of the most respected classes (Pharisees) and a man from one of the most despised classes (tax collectors) (Lk. 18:10). The Pharisee prays in the temple with a lot of gratitude, and he is thankful that he hasn’t fallen into many different sins, and for the spiritual disciplines of fasting and tithing (Lk. 18:11-12). The tax collector, on the other hand, stood in the back, and refusing to even look up, simply begged God for mercy (Lk. 18:13). And Jesus says that the beggar went home made right, but the other was not because God exalts the humble and humiliates the proud (Lk. 18:14).

THERAPEUTIC FAILURE 

Much like the Pharisees, the medical profession has been one of the most respected classes in our modern world because of their (often) selfless service in saving and protecting life. But where there is much good, there is also often a temptation to arrogance and pride, and right after that, much evil (think abortion, trans-surgeries, COVID madness). It is often assumed that if someone has good intentions and wants to “help people,” they must be virtuous and doing some good. But we really ought to have a bit more biblical cynicism. Thoreau once said, “If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life.” Good intentions are not enough.

Since the explosion of humanistic therapies over the last century, one wonders what good it has done us. As one commentator put it, “Despite the creation of a virtual army of psychiatrists, psychologists, psychometrists, counselors, and social workers, there has been no letup in the rate of mental illness, suicide, alcoholism, drug addiction, child abuse, divorce, murder, and general mayhem. Contrary to what one might expect in a society so carefully analyzed and attended to by mental health experts, there has been an increase in all these categories.” Like the woman in the gospels, we have suffered many things from many physicians, and we have only gotten worse (Mk. 5:26). It is also striking that while therapies have increased, Biblical preaching and counseling has largely cratered, with a great deal of it simply echoing therapeutic mantras.

SELF-ESTEEM VS. DIGNITY OF GUILT

At the very center of the problem with many therapies is an anti-Christian anthropology (doctrine of man). The assumption of much humanistic psychology is that people are basically good and bad feelings and habits are a result of their environment (e.g. what has been done to them, chemicals in their brain, genes, deprivation, weather, poverty, etc.). But Scripture teaches that despite the real challenges in our fallen environments, every human being is born in sin, inclined to sin, and morally culpable for their actions and reactions to their environments (Rom. 3). This is the dignity of guilt. The humanist wants to absolve humans of guilt and so destroys human agency: “it isn’t your fault, it was your dad, your mom, your brain, the weather, the economy…” But by blaming everything else, the humanist destroys the individual’s meaning and value. Some of God’s kindest words in Genesis 3 are “because you have done this…”

And this brings us back to the parable. Humanistic psychology often preaches a gospel of pride and self-esteem: talk about how good you are, how valuable you are, all your accomplishments, think positive. But Jesus says that is the path to humiliation and shame: everyone that exalts himself will be (the Greek word is literally) “depressed” (Lk. 18:14). People are often depressed because they are constantly trying to lift themselves up, prove themselves, have high self-esteem. But the gospel, the “good news” of Jesus Christ, begins with the dignity of guilt: “All have sinned.” And the first step towards healing is bowing your head in true humility and pleading with God: “Be merciful to me a sinner.” And Jesus says, that is the path to healing. Taking humble responsibility for our own sin is the path to being lifted up (cf. 1 Pet. 5:5-7).

APPLICATIONS

Are we saying that all therapists and psychologists and their treatments are evil and worthless? Not at all. We are saying beware. Be careful. Be on guard. Some Pharisees were good men, but Jesus said, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Beware of the leaven of the humanistic therapists.

Many modern “psychological disorders” are simply the result of unconfessed sin, sinful lifestyles, and sinful habits. Even when it comes to true medical matters, the Bible teaches that we ought to consider whether we have any unconfessed sin (Js. 5:14-16). When it comes to our thoughts and feelings, we ought to do so even more since the Bible explicitly teaches that unconfessed sin results in feeling awful and loss of joy (Ps. 32).

Just as some medical conditions having nothing to do with personal sin, so too, some psychological disorders are true medical conditions that are simply the result of the Fall (Jn. 9:2-3). And sometimes there is a challenging mixture of both.

Many humanist therapies arrogantly teach that it is “abusive” to tell people that they have sinned, that they are wrong, or to correct them in any way – especially victims of other sins/crimes or certain classes of people (often women) because correction makes people “feel bad.” But that is like refusing surgery on cancer because it will be painful. But this is the sin of empathy, and in the name of compassion despises people.

This same arrogance often calls biblical spanking of children abusive. But the Bible is extremely clear: “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him” (Prov. 13:24 ESV, cf. 22:15, 23:13-14). And God disciplines us as His children because He loves us and He wants us to become holy like Him (Heb. 12:5-11). Some trials are God’s fatherly discipline that we are called to endure patiently and joyfully. We do not have some “right” to always feel good.

Humility recognizes that we don’t always understand the connections between the mind and the body, but humility trusts God’s Word above all other words. And humility looks to Christ.

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