The Spirit of Truth in 2020

It's time for the spirit of truth in the year 2020 stage for the line of fire with your host activist all the international speaker and theologian Dr. Michael Brown your voice of moral cultural and spiritual revolution Michael Brown was the director of the coalition of conscience have president of fire school of ministry get into the line of fire valves like always 866-34-TRUTH that's 866-34-TRUTH your Jim is Dr. Michael Brown will let me wish you a blessed glorious new year in the Lord, a time of refreshing a time of encountering the Lord the time of knowing him more deeply at time of bearing more fruit for him.

A time where you see the grace and favor of God in your life and the lives of those close to you a time when the spirit of truth will prevail. This is Michael Brown. Welcome to 2020. I would like to start the year together with you. I won't be taking calls today, but I want to open the Scriptures with you in a way that I believe will be really helpful and share my heart honestly and candidly in terms of pursuing a spirit of truth together this year in the Lord and I will encourage each of you individually to pursue the truth. You never have to fear the truth if your heart is right with God. You never have to fear the truth even when the season when the truth brings conviction even when the truth makes you uncomfortable. If you love the Lord and honor the Lord. That truth will only help you not hurt you if you humble yourself before God and pursue the truth. You will be blessed. It is that simple may have challenging times in this world, resistance, misunderstanding, many things coming against you in this world as you pursue the truth. You are ultimately pursuing what matters most to God and as you do that with a humble heart before him say it again you will be blessed look 2020.

Obviously the immediate thing you think I was seeing clearly in yesterday's broadcast. I talked about the year 2020. Being a year of chaos. But a year of clarity as well. As I was praying about today's broadcast that not reacting to anything in the news or anything happening in the world around us rather just looking at the word and going before God.

I really felt this theme laid on my heart. And importantly, and I want to reach you from John chapter 16 John's Gospel, and there is an extended discourse of teaching from Jesus begins in the 13th chapter as he washes his disciples feet. In response, and interacts with Peter and others, and then he goes into the 14th chapter. There's some interaction with his disciples. There just continues into the 15th chapter into the 16th chapter some instruction there in his high priestly prayer in the 17th chapter so it is the longest body of the words of Jesus that we have with minimal interruption from interacting with his disciples raise answering questions or responding to things and he's talking a lot in John 1415 16 about the Holy Spirit and the role of the Holy Spirit. So let's look John chapter 16 and will start in verse one. I've spoken these things to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will throw you out of the synagogue's memories talking to Jewish believers, fellow Jews and their good to be persecuted by other Jews. They will throw you out of the synagogues pictured Jesus talking to Christians today and settle throw you out of the churches as it would've sounded to them yes and hours coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. Paul the apostle was one of those people that he once thought before he knew Jesus that he was doing God's will by having followers of Jesus, kill, they will do these things because they have never known the father or me strong words, but I've spoken these things to use that when their hour comes.

You may remember that I told you of them.

I did not tell you these things from the beginning because I was with you. So is about to leave he said I can be with them any longer. They wanted to hear this noise is this.

But now I am going to the one who sent me, and not what he was asking me where you going, because I've spoken these things to grief is filled your heart but I tell you the truth is to your advantage that I go away if I do not go away the helper speak of the Holy Spirit will not come to, but if I go, I will send him to you.

So can you imagine that there face-to-face with issue anything. It's is better that I go log no. Don't ever leave it.

It's actually better than I go. Imagine that when he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment concerning sin, because they do not believe in me concerning righteousness because I'm going to the father and you no longer see me concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged the rich teaching itself, but one were not focusing on right now. I still have much more to tell you but you cannot handle it just now, when the spirit of truth comes to notice the Holy Spirit is called the spirit of truth, he will guide you into all the truth through that again.

When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. You must become his own, but whoever he hears, he will tell you and he will declare to you the things that are to come. You will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and clarity. Everything that the father has is mine this reason I said that the rock the spirit will take from what is mine and declare it to you one more time. Verse 13 but when the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth now friends as I speak this to you.

We have confusion in the world and confusion in the church we have so many saying we have the right doctrine. We have the truth, the Catholic Church claims to be the true church. The Greek Orthodox Church or Russian Orthodox Church claims to be the true church, the Protestant church claims to be the true church, you have different movements within Protestantism, claiming to have the truth or movement is the right movement. It's this group is this doctrine. How can we have any confidence.

While I actually have the utmost confidence that if I will humble myself before God. If I will recognize my limitations and the limitations of my upbringing and the limitations of my experience I've had a lot more experiences than many by God's grace been exposed to a lot more spiritual emphases than many in and been to many different nations in many different settings with many different groups and yet I fully understand the limitations of my experience.

I should site understand. I guess I fully understand them, but I understand the nature of my limitations. I understand the reality of them understand the reality that that my own mind is limited that my background is limited.

I grew up in a certain country in a certain culture understand all these things we have limitations. And yet I feel confident that if I will humble myself before God and I will earnestly pursue the truth that the Holy Spirit will lead me into all the truth now that doesn't mean that I ultimately believe that I will be right on every single point or that any human being outside of Jesus himself would have perfect Revelation on every subject every doctrine, every emphasis, every truth every verse. No, I don't believe that I believe that I will be led into the center of God's heart and mind and plan right that I won't end up in some friends are appropriate. Remember that the the caveats if I humble myself and earnestly seek the truth right so I've got to renounce pride of gutter announced thinking I have it. I know better.

I'm smarter I'm better educated. I have been spiritual expense. I hear the Lord whatever whatever stupid thought would enter someone's mind renounce that from the harsh got him nobody and nothing. You are everything everything I need is found in you. If I'll do that persistently and consistently. This is Proverbs 2 and three and four exhort earnestly seeking God more than someone would would seek silver and gold seeking wisdom.

If all apply myself to that.

I firmly believe God will lead me into the truth and that I will recognize. Okay, I only have partial insight on this. Someone else may have more insight on that II.

My group has is very strong here. We may be weaker there and I was part of recognizing the truth is recognized.

If you have what you don't have. It's not the recognition that your group or my group has it all, but the recognition that our group is strong in a particular area in your group is strong in a particular area and we can learn from each other in these groups we exclude and say they are not part of the kingdom there outside the boundaries of truth, and in this is a freeing thing from 64 doubling in 2020. March I turn 65 and it's amazing the field is useful and excited and vibrant, healthy, by the grace and goodness of God at this agent and it's in my mind, it sounds like a young age as well. But, but it I have great confidence moving forward because I am really not trusting in me. I'm really not building on me.

I'm really trusting in God, and know that I could trust in him much more deeply that you think at this stage of life that you want to have everything worked out.

I mean, it's been 48 years. I'm in the Lord now and obviously been the word intensely over the years and you'd like to think that you have it all worked out like to think you've solved every doctrinal puzzle and got an understanding for every verse and work everything out. You you'd like to be at that point but I'm not.

I'm still seeking I'm still learning still growing the fundamentals. I've been utterly convinced of for 48 years, and those having change that hasn't wavered the foundations of the faith, the nonnegotiable's. Those are strong now as ever, if not stronger. And yet I'm in constant dialogue with those who differ with me and I'm constantly looking for blind spots in my life or for areas where I might be missing something or for shortsightedness or for just my way of seeing things I've seen it for years, which is not really accurate and their areas. I'm praying about whole passages of Scripture up, but I need more insight on this is much as I hold to certain end time views and certain things are nonnegotiable to meet their other areas where I keep learning looking and try to see where others may have more insight, different views they have of the end times, so it's nice to just be in our cozy little cocoon of doctrinal smugness and we are totally right on every point. Very secure feeling, but is not reality because look just those listening to me and watching me at this very minute, it any two of us with our different beliefs can't be right about everything, let alone with its 2000 or 200,000 to 2 million people listening three is not possible that you have a right you have a right you have her at every point because some of our points mutually exclude the other, not just the fundamentals which we agree on but but all the points so to be that smug and self secure is is is self-deception. Rather, say Lord I know the foundations the faith. I know the truth of your word, and the truth of the gospel and those things don't. Don't waver from me there bunch of other things feel strongly about this incompetent about this but want to keep learning and growing. May 2020, the year the Holy Spirit's us to come back I will talk about was the turning point in my own spiritual crisis crisis that is been very and walk with God. Ever since new year against a like error on the line of fire with your host Dr. Michael Brown, the voice of more cultural and spiritual revolution there again is Dr. Michael Brown. Welcome to 2020. This is Michael Brown, line of fire. It should be really easy to remember this year right.

2020 we enter the 20s. There is the roaring 20s of the 1900s. What will the 20s be of the 2000s. While 20/20 may be the year when we see more clearly than ever. Obviously, 2020, who just think about at some point right so what time of the Holy Spirit leading us into all the truth.

There are verses in the Hebrew Bible like Deuteronomy 429 in Jeremiah 2913. The tell the Jewish people scattered around the world that if they will seek God earnestly seek him with all their heart, that he will hear them and he will regather them and in their promises like he was living six in the New Testament where God says that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him is not salvation by works, or earning righteousness by works. It is a fact that God responds to us that we reap what we sow the God responds to us in accordance with our heart cry that it's only right that if you gonna throw up a lazy prayer once every six months. All God like to know you better that that's going to get a different response from the person who so desperate to encounter God that they wake up in the middle of every night and get to their bedside and cry out for help, got to know you got understand you will walk with you right it's only right. It is only relationally right. It is only in keeping with the nature of God that he'll respond to one differently than another. He may work sovereignly for his own purposes in someone's life.

But we can be sure of is if will do what he says that he will do his part. If we is James Jacob. The fourth chapter says if we will draw near to him, he will draw near to us. These are promises in the word of God so in my own experience, you know that I'm Jewish. Most all of you know that and when I came to faith at the age of 16. The number one stronghold in my life that was stopping me from believing it was pride that was deftly the biggest issue but immediately behind that was drugs and sinful living drugs, in particular in the whole rock scene going to be a rock star and in all of this playing drums in a rock band of that was a tremendous stronghold of my life and I knew that following Jesus would mean that I would have to turn away from these things.

I didn't want to. In my pride didn't want to say I was wrong.

So what happened was that the when the Lord save me the number three thing on the list. Pride right at the top immediately behind that drug use and sinful living drop-down ways.

The number three issue was being Jewish.

That just wasn't the big thing to me at that time it was yeah being Jewish was meaningful in my life but I'm a Jew I can't believe in Jesus that that was down the list because I was living a sinful life I've been a traditional Jew that would've been the big issue that I would've thought I was being disloyal to God by believing in Jesus, but in point of fact it was it was on the list but was down ways once I started walking with the Lord now became a bigger issue when I told my dad was going get baptized. He was very concerned. He said Mike were Jews.

We don't believe this is meet with the local rabbi local rabbi, I became friends that right may begin to challenge me. You don't even know Hebrew. How can you tell us what to believe, he probably meet other rabbis. He was really interested in my spiritual condition to the tremendous interest and make calls tried to connect you with this remedy.

Have a good expense with this one without and then in August 1973 so I get saved.

November December 1971 now is August 1973 he brought me to meet some ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Brooklyn, New York. Lubavitcher Rebbe is Hasidic Jews and it was it was a shaking experience for me because here I mean they look like more sensibly Jewish and connected to the Bible than I did on my church known Sandy peak in their synagogue, and you got these Jewish men with beards studying tolerance seem to be closer to know what Moses and the prophets were into what Jesus would've been exposed to what he would've lived in them going. Some church somewhere and then meeting with them.

They seem to be very devoted spiritually want superficial like that the Jewish community. I grew up and was very nominally Jewish and whatever I threw it. Then they threw back and ass.

I remember in the previous six months or so. I have been really from January to June of that year before start working full time over the summer. My schedule changed some full-time work and then go to church almost every night other things and have the time that I had before.

But up until that point I was spending six or seven hours alone with the Lord every day reading scriptures and praying at least three hours in prayer at least three hours in the word included in that three hours and the word was memorizing verses one hour day I memorized 20 verses a day trip from six months so your time adjusting that period of time memorizing up 3600 verses or something and and I was just immersed in Scripture and anyone I talked.

I just mowed them down with my with my quotations knowledge of Scripture me that it had all the compassion and wisdom but boy I could mow you down. The Scripture but to work with these rabbis I throw these verses them in English and and they said tell this English translation Cisco.

Can we look at the Hebrew and and I can believe in. Remember the letters for my bar mitzvah and that's a superficial Jewish upbringing was so challenging even even though I knew Jesus had radically dramatically change my life. These rabbis challenge me and it it it led to a second visit some months later.

This time I came with my Christian friends and he sat with one of the rabbis I sat with the other Rebbe, and so the Rabbi and I talked to him around and around and around and around like my Gentile Christian friend to stay on one point. Don't need blood don't need blood so I could hear him knows I'm talking this rabbi he's going to the rabbi's brother and Ed and the that Rabbi was making less progress with him and had less interest in him because he was a Gentile, didn't really mind. If he was Christian.

I was a big issue. The issue is me to do following Jesus, but this other rabbi reroutes that this point would to this point with this point. At this point in an and didn't really feel like either of us made me headway in presenting an argument to the other, but when I got home sometime that week. I got hit with doubt I get hit with deep questions I I I mean now I was really troubled and I didn't have ready answers and end at this point but you know just learning Hebrew not in a I can interact with them in any serious and intelligent way. I was troubled and and Ira. I remember really praying and in our pastor who is not a theologian anyway and when been able to help me answer some questions that were raised to me, but he was away and we had another guest pastor there for four week with us in itaconic.

They were just there to be at all the meetings. Whatever we did, we had and the pastor there and didn't really have answers for me and I remember is just over a period of a few days. I got hit like this that I was home alone in my room and and I got on my face before God and the Bible open King James Bible had that open and I settled on the floor closed but I was good reading Scripture. And I'm I was on my face before God and I said God I just want to please you and be faithful to because I knew that the Jewish people are calling according to Scripture, I knew that we had a history I knew that I was Jewish. These rabbis were cha-cha's women think about your feeling that there's a traditional all the way back to Moses and the gods entrusted to us and going back before the to Abraham and it is our role in the world to have a certain function as Jews. This was precious in God cited these rabbis.

I was completely wrong away from it and breaking his train of thousands of years of tradition and and and my ancestors had died rather than believe in Jesus and I was really believing them and telling other Jews to believe so II really wrestle before God and I said God you know I I just want to please you. Be faithful to if that means renouncing what I believe using all the friendships and relationships that I have and having the reproach of the church community that that I deny Jesus if that's what it means to honor you. God is a faithful Jew. I will do it.

But if what I believe is true and right then I will follow you. I will follow your son Jesus. No matter what reproach it means no matter how much I get rejected by the rabbis in the Jewish community.

I will follow you and your truth.

I don't care about the cost of the consequences. I honestly poured my heart out before God and he knows the absolute sincerity of my heart at that time. Not only so, I was so conflicted.

I thought, do I pray in Jesus name or not.

I mean if I pray in his name. Is that prejudicing my prayer saying I'm ready telling what I believe.

But if I don't pray this name and he is the Messiah will not even hear this prepping this. This is how much I was wrestling with things before God and II can't tell you for sure that I remember the decision I made about how to pray that prayer I just know I prayed with all my heart before God probably prayed in Jesus name, but knowing that God there was just where I am right now and if it's wrong. Show me that's how sincere I was about this and and I opened the Scriptures just open the Bible, just random.

Just on my face is open it and of course where is it open to Isaiah 53 and as I read those words which had read time and time again before in which I heard rabbis tell me why they didn't apply to Jesus and printer those debates back and forth, and a thousand times since interacting with rabbinic community. I was so overwhelmed by the words they sold jumped off the page. They struck me was such overwhelming clarity that I knew right then that if Jesus was not the Messiah than God was a deceiver that he put words in the text that so clearly describe the Savior, the Messiah, that to believe in them would be the right thing to do before him, and therefore if you didn't mean he was a deceiver.

I mean it was that overwhelmingly clear the doubts vanished just disappeared. And of course since then I studied all the more the learning Hebrew and other languages and spent hundreds thousands of hours interacting with traditional Jewish viewpoints and and could argue the points fluently the perspective of those I differ with that experience was a real life changer for me because I forgot I said I will follow you anywhere and follow you anywhere friends is a great confidence till this gives the line of fire with your host Dr. Michael Brown get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34-TRUTH dear again is Dr. Michael Brown welcome friends to the year 2020.

This is Michael grandma special broadcast. Today on the spirit of truth, I would encourage you to pursue the truth. We encourage you if if you don't believe what I believe. If you consider yourself agnostic, maybe even atheist. Remember, of a different religious faith, could you at least said in your heart. I'm I I'm determined to follow the truth wherever it leads. If there is a God and an this is reality and he wants to have a relationship with me. II want to know that if my own religious faith is wrong. I want to know that if there aspects of my faith that need to be changed my worldview, I want to know that I want the truth. If you'll do that earnestly from your heart. God will lead you into the truth. I want to encourage every fellow believer in Jesus not to be afraid of having your views challenged bit because truth is unshakable. My views or shake a ball. My opinions unshakable with the truth is unshakable. So as you pursue the truth and build on the truth. Your foundation gets very, very secure and look, I don't mean that you have to open yourself to every argument.

I don't mean that you have to watch every crackpot video. I don't mean that you have to give credence to every's theory out there, but I mean, your attitude should be. Hey, I'm not afraid of the truth. I want to pursue the truth.

Look many of you know about that wonderful relationship to my wife Nancy and I have we met and 74 at the age of 19, she was in a hard-core Jewish atheist. She remembers his little girl no older than age concluding that God didn't exist and we met at 19 she despised religion and thought that people who had a religious faith were just weak and and leaned on her crotch and were afraid of the truth and God saved her brought us together so we been best friends since 1974 married since 1976, which means gobbling in March of this year we celebrate 44 years of marriage that many of you know about my relationship with Nancy. She sees a truth teller. She just doesn't know how to do it. Otherwise, you don't ask her opinion. Unless you want the truth is, it's that simple. Our daughters realize that very quickly.

Growing up I remember as they were teenagers. They put on announcing this in mom, this is maybe look fat you yes my there is just simply don't ask if you don't ask, don't say anything, but if you ask a tell you honestly, that's just the way she is. It doesn't dawned on her to do anything other than tell the truth know she understands compassion and wisdom, but she can tell you the truth, and sometimes it makes me uncomfortable because the goal only Melanie me with me. I just me with a worker some work at our house sort or something like that when they do a bad job and so so it's that's reportedly done. I was expecting better but that makes me uncomfortable but that's census but it is it is poorly done and they can do better and and sure enough, you have a and up okay sorry about that will improve the.

The fact is truth can make us uncomfortable. If were insecure or if we just overly sensitive but if if we love what is best, then we learn to welcome truth so I often have to brace myself. I will send something to Nancy to look at to proofread. Hey what you think about this new chapter for a book or what you think about this as a title or hey, I'm thinking of sending out this E blast to church to raise support for particular cause. When you think of it, and I have to brace myself emotionally because I know she's gonna be truthful and she's got a great.

I also just got great discernment. I know she's gonna be truthful do I really want to hear the truth or do I just want my ego stroked now everybody's wired differently. I am Mr. optimist I am Mr. confidence. I am like a helium balloon ready to take off and we joked that she is the lead weight to my helium balloon that that keeps me from just flying me.

I am, I was asking myself the question, as I look forward to 20 tribes think about your twitter poll on on the switch which in post is a look forward to 2020 am I looking for with optimism or pessimism or fight cancer. Of course, is optimism is a great expectation of what God's going to do when and how ministry is going unfolding and how the worst thing that the world brings is going to be the greatest opportunity for God's cause and all. I'm not very excited very excited about the future and Nancy is very realistic and sees concerns and issues are together it's it's a great balance and I can encourage her and encourage her faith and and and and she can encourage me that to be to be fully truthful in terms of assessing things in understanding the challenges and things like that so it's it's a great relationship. It works wonderfully for us, but I once wrote something and I said hey I'm thinking of sending this out to raise support for this particular project. What you think of it and and she wrote back to since probably the worst in the email you wrote that. Okay I guess I need some input wasn't offended.

I wasn't upset, and it's not like I thought this is the greatest masterpiece of all time in the Holy Spirit's bargaining agreement.

Though it's just I was trying to convey my heart sense way too long and this wasn't good. This this this out so it's great thank you I welcome that. So I want to encourage you to be secure enough in God that you welcome truth that they got threatened by that, even if it messes with you like this. I mean I'm wrong on this point Samina misunderstood this verse that's okay were growing were moving forward were securing the foundations.

Those are immovable unshakable foundations of what we believe, but we keep growing and learning in here and 64 about to turn 65, gobbling and I keep growing in the Lord. I want to be more like Jesus.

There areas where I am much stronger than I ever was much closer to God and there was another aesthetic matter at this age you kidding me like a baby now take a look at me. First John chapter 2 verse John chapter 2 John writes children. It is the last hour and as you've heard antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. We know from this that it is the last hour that some have wrongly understood from this that the John was saying the world was coming to an end or even more bizarrely that when the Temple in Jerusalem was