Refreshment for the Worried – Part 2

Those of us who have received the Holy Spirit. We know Jesus is living inside of us. We know we know is no doubt blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Welcome to today's edition of living in the light with Bible teacher and Graham lines in a message underscoring the apostle Paul's command to be filled with the spirit here now as I am friend.

Please don't misunderstand.

If you asked Jesus to come into your heart and life. He came in in the person of the Holy Spirit.

Whether you named and that we are not. When I was a little girl and I asked Jesus to come in my heart I did know about the Holy Spirit. I didn't understand I just wanted Jesus to come live inside of me. But you know something Jesus is in a man's body. He lives up in heaven he could possibly come inside me when I asked him to come in. He comes in and the person of his Holy Spirit. So let me put it another way, when you asked Jesus to come and when you deliberately with your adult conscious mind told him that you know you are a sinner and you're sorry and you asked for his forgiveness and you believe Jesus died on the cross as God sacrifice for your sin is no other. You put your faith in Jesus alone, not Jesus. Plus your good works of Jesus, but your church that for Jesus was and it just Jesus you put your faith in Jesus, you ask him to forgive you. Cleanse you, and your hearts, you surrender control to him when were you born again.

If you can't remember a point in time you did that.

How do you know you did.

Are you living your life in a very dangerous option because a member of the church had been that way since probably the day you were born him. And if you're from the South.

You were all raised in the church as part of our culture and you can make the assumption that your Christian just because you're born in the garage doesn't mean your car you be born and raised in the church. That doesn't mean your Christian doesn't mean you been born again.

So if you can never remember point in time when you deliberately, intentionally confessed your sin claim Jesus as your Savior open up your heart invite him to come in surrendered your life to him and would you do that before you go to bed the night and you write down this date in your Bible. Maybe there's somebody here who's just not sure and let me rattle the cage for moment because those of us who have received the Holy Spirit. We know Jesus is living inside of us.

We know we know is no doubts that blessed assurance, Jesus is mine and I know there may be some things I struggle with but I don't struggle with that and so if you're struggling with it and if there's doubts, then I suggest maybe even though you've invited Jesus in July, many times every time you hear invitation like this every time you hear present and you do it all over again and maybe have never done it once by faith because faith says Jesus.

I confess my sin in your words as I confess my sin, then you'll be faithful and just to cleanse me as I take you at your word. Thank you. Confess must probably been forgiven and say says Jesus you said about open up my heart sort invite you to come in, you would come in and not done that. So I believe you live in Sodom and just take him at his word. And Jesus says if you ask him to give you eternal life. He will also ask him and then you say thank you. I believe I have eternal has nothing to do with feelings and feelings.

I catch up and I pray God would give you a beautiful awareness of his presence and he can do that solicit interest in fighting, so don't go to bed tonight you know for sure Jesus in the person of the Holy Spirit and you know he's come to indwell us ever since.

Pentecostal never be another Pentecost, because that was a point in time. Just like Bethlehem was a point in history and the cross is appointed for the resurrection and ascension, Pentecost once and for all it ever since Pentecost anybody everybody who put their faith in Jesus as the judge of receiving him into their hearts, the person of the Holy Spirit. Praise God, he hasn't left us like orphans is come to us come to live in us not only to come to indwell us but he came to and Phyllis and this is in this passage on Wanda digress for a moment, because I think this is something that's you and us. Christian leaders need to be aware of that he wants to not only live within you but to fill your life and we get nervous and some I start to talk about the filling because were part of the first filling the second filling the third billing and we think of all sorts of signs and wonders associated with.

Let me give you a definition for the filling of the Holy Spirit, moment by moment surrender to his moment by moment control.

Ephesians says be filled with the Holy Spirit and means that the commands the Holy Spirit is a person you not going to get them in pieces. Okay, so don't get a part of them when you're born again a part of and later when you surrender and a part of an when you come to the coven up, you know, you don't get them in pieces so when you receive Jesus by faith as your Lord and Savior. He comes into the person of the Holy Spirit you have all the Holy Spirit you're ever going to have so you have all of the Holy Spirit.

This is where the problem comes, he seems to get you and me in pieces so we have all of him but he doesn't have all of us so we give them Sunday morning want to go to church. Of course, and we give them when we go to a Bible class. Of course we can become the Cove. Of course, but what about Monday morning when you go to work or Saturday night when you're being entertained, or when you're with your friends or when you're just relaxing and private in the door shut. There's nobody else in that right but you and that computer. So you want to fill your life.

In fact, it doesn't just want to he demands it. Every nook and cranny every part and parcel to fill your I grew up right across the valley but is about halfway up the mountain to access it by this narrow mountain road and at one curve is a spring when I was little girl is not bubbled up else on the ground in the wintertime that water would flow across the road and it would freeze and would form a sheet of ice so mother got a pipe and she put into the spring and then she put the pipe over below wooden bucket to the working through the pipe filled up the bucket and then went down in a ditch beside the road and then the hazard was avoided and don't take this illustration too far. Okay. But the Holy Spirit is like the water and he flows through into our lives to fill us up so that we overflow in a way that brings glory to God and blessing to other people, but sometimes there's something that blocks the flow and we would walk down the mountain would see the water all over the road again. A mother would go up to the pipe and should take a stick and should run it through the pipe and sure enough she found a little pebble I got in there or salamander or rotted leaf and so should run it through the pipe to clear it out in the water would flow again because if it got stuck in the water came up out of the ground flowed across the road made a mess and you, the Holy Spirit flows into our lives, but we can be a mess if there is something obstructing his flow that should Phyllis and it can be a pebble.

It can be something hard. It's like bitterness and anger, unforgiveness.

It can be something rotted or rotted leaf lying tongue or critical spirit or can be slippery salamander just some of those little sins from the past things that nobody knows it just sort of school around and things we see in things we watch and things we listen to. Maybe nobody knows, but but those things you think are harmless. Nobody knows not murdering or raping or killing up but those things will block the flow of the Holy Spirit in your life, so he will never leave you and never forsake you. When you can feel like he has if there too many blockages in the system and he is come not just to indwell you but to fill you with himself. So when you're listening to somebody who's filled with the spirit you can tell the difference. Can't you and I would look at my sweet mother at the end of her life when she couldn't move, she couldn't do the same for herself couldn't even pick up a Kleenex and her eyes sparkled in her mouth smiled as you always ask about other people and always interested when everybody else was doing and she was just old, with the Holy Spirit so strong in her spirit so I can ask you, are you filled with the Holy Spirit and is interesting in the New Testament.

Nobody ever claimed to be filled with the Holy Spirit because I think if you're filled with the Holy Spirit.

One characteristic is that you're totally unselfconscious.

You don't think about yourself, your focus is in fair your focus is on others or focuses on the Lord, your focus is on the gospel but was said about other people. So maybe I should ask you, what would other people say about you other people see Jesus and your love. The story of the little boy he went to church and the pastor was preaching about this very thing that you can invite Jesus in your life. Instructors will boycott the best in the parking lot. He said you know you said that Jesus could come into my heart and the pastor said that's right. And he said that Jesus is a man living up in heaven. And the pastor said that's right Lisa Levine by Jesus to come into my heart will be sticking out all over the pastor said that's right, Holy Spirit filling has other people see Jesus in so he's coming to indwell lessees come to fill us up and I'll tell you what. If you're somebody who's worried weary working so hard. You need the refreshing Kelly of the Holy Spirit. I'm telling you, Holy Spirit makes the critical difference in whether or not you live the Christian life with triumph and victory, or whether you just keep sawing without activating the power. Thirdly, just mention his power because the Holy Spirit is God Genesis chapter 1 in the beginning God create the heavens and the earth. Verse two and the earth was without form and void and the darkness it was upon the face of the deep and the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the Holy Spirit hovering over planet Earth that was empty without meaning, no purpose, just like up blob dangling in space hovering over preparing to receive God's word. Verse three and God said the word went forth every day God's word went forth every day there was a change until the in between the proclamation of the word and the preparation of the spirit planet Earth was transformed into something that was beautiful, a place in which God could see his own image reflected so those of us in ministry. You know when you get in front of your class to your church. Please pray in advance for your people that the Holy Spirit would hover over their hearts and minds and prepare them to receive the word that you going to impart at the Holy Spirit would hover over your heart and mind preparing you to receive the word as it comes out that you might be left trash that you might have a fresh encounter with Jesus that this might be one of those watershed moments in your life, just in a suite quiets wonderful way. Those of you administrator God's kind of people you know everybody else, apathetic, complacent's wringing their hands rolling their eyes and her doing something God loves you, and he's given you and me, the Holy Spirit, who is the power of God with Jesus in acts 18 you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes into you.

Maybe one reason you don't have powers because you have had the Holy Spirit in you for the Holy Spirit. I can testify he can give you power to do things you could never do in your own and whatever the situation is in your life. I'm telling you he doesn't give you the courage and that you're not going to feel courageous, but you choose to be courageous and the powers that be. There and to serve him in such a way that other people's lives are changed just important not to touch the Gloria's and that's when people come to faith or people's lives are changed.

I now that it's just evidence of the Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit coming through his word, making that kind of impact and the power of the Holy Spirit is available for whatever you need. His grace is sufficient to strength is made perfect in weakness. Weakness can be a blessing because it just helps us remove ourselves out of the way so that God can take over. But in this passage John chapter 16 are two ways that his power is mentioned to things that he does one applying this to us power to change us when it says that he convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and the Holy Spirit's one of his objectives is to conform you and me to the image of Jesus Christ. And so he comes into us and begins to separate us from sin and begins to conformist first Corinthians tells us that we change as we behold Jesus in Scripture. Nothing as we get into God's word. We spend time in prayer the Holy Spirit takes that changes us from glory to glory character to character until first John says we see Jesus were going to be like him and the Holy Spirit will complete what he has begun which is conforming to the image of Christ. And so, he will convict you of sin, things that need to go out things that need to come in. He manages your life, you know. Romans 828 we love the quote that all things work together for good to those who are called according to his purpose and we think all things work together for good meeting on were to be happy and healthy and prosperous and problem free and is not are good is it not our ultimate good.

The ultimate good. Is it we be conformed to the image of Christ, as of the Holy Spirit's responsibility is to take all the things that happen in our lives and manage them and maneuver them and use them so that you are being constantly conformed to the image of Jesus. So sometimes those hard things that happen, the suffering, the pain, I don't know why he can't mold us without that. But he's he can't seem to take me deep anyway without its in there certain things in my life it just have to be polished, often sometimes it hurts but he's taking the things that come in a mall whole thing and using them to conform me to the image of Christ. That's not ultimate good. Not only has the power to change me, but power to change others who you wanted to change. I got a long list of people I love the convict known starting with family members and then moving wideouts, but is not our job.

Visit is not our job to convict them of their sin so we can pray for the person and impart the word to the person doesn't mean that like our children. We don't correct. We don't try to hold them accountable but we'll have to go around being served like the heavenly policeman and telling everybody for the going on with her doing this just so judge mental self. I just as one reason the world hates because all they see is us pointing her finger at them is the Holy Spirit's job to do that we can share the gospel. We can share God's word get them into a Bible study, pray for them, but then is the Holy Spirit's job to pinpoint their sin and show them what they need to put out and what they need to put in and were free to just love the person you name it wonderful.

We'll have to go around making everybody good we just go around telling them about Jesus and sharing God's word and praying for them and kill make good and we can just love is such a freighting thing. If you can wrap yourself around, especially if you have adult children somebody you're worried about husband, a child in law standard, family member, friend, neighbor, pray that the Holy Spirit's who is summed up the power of God within them would begin to convict conform hovering over your hearts and minds listen if you could do it.

The planet Earth. He can do it to whoever is on your list and you're the interesting thing in Genesis 1, when he was doing that nobody would've known because you would look at planet Earth and it says in verse two he was hovering over it which you would think energies assessed a stub blob in space. What a waste.

And we wouldn't even be able to see with our the invisible Holy Spirit preparing it to receive God's word and then the changes took place so gradually, maybe we would think they weren't even taking place just a little flower here and a little animal they are in a little we know, until he was transformed. So sometimes when we pray and we see no evidence that God is moving. Don't think he's not moving because I believe in response to the prayer of faith.

He will be active because God is activism.

One of his nature to be active when you pray he will act in response to your prayer but you may not see evidence of active maybe I'll never see evidence or maybe just not immediately but he's going to be moving in responding to your prayer phase Holy Spirit has the power to change us in the change others not experience that's in my own life and ministry and family seem to stretch me way beyond what I can do on my own and how many times I've cried up back when he first called me in the ministry ends outside the home, and I told God I just can't do that and I could almost hear that chuckle and sang and I know you can't but I can and I think God I'm so adequate I don't have training I don't have knowledge of not been to seminary I don't know to be a leader and I'm so inadequate and he says and perhaps the fish and I say Lord remembering some physical problems and am so we can and straw and you just the obedience and you do what I tell you, you hold on the manual on the Mount word together will do it and do it in my power and strength, and I'm telling have experienced it over and over and over, and I know you have to to get out of our comfort zone would crawl out of the boat and start to walk on the water, we discover the power of God right so somebody you're clinging to their comfort zone.

You just take on just what you know you can handle, so afraid of failing.

Talking about Esther, the fear of that little girl to step out of her comfort zone but think of the blessing she would've.

Ms. Mordechai told her Esther God will raise up somebody to do this, but who knows. But that you've come to the kingdom for such a time as this. You going to miss the blessing if you don't get out there and do it.

So don't miss the blessing. Don't miss the thrill of walking on the water because you won't get out of the comfort of your boat forcefully at me remind you of his precepts in verse 13 and chapter 16 is called the spirit of truth. The Holy Spirit is not a feeling or an emotion or an ecstatic experience. He is the spirit of truth and he wrote through human authors. This book, every word is inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Let me tell you something, he is the spirit of truth. He does not lie does not make mistakes.

He does not record miss from Genesis to Revelation, the book that he inspired is the truth and to say that the Bible holds errors from this or is not true is, the slower the integrity of the spirit of truth. So what your view of Scripture nail it down.

How can you be teaching and promoting. If you don't believe it yourself and adjust act of faith on my part, I believe, because this is God's word, probably because it was inspired by the Holy Spirit is true I can't answer all of your questions about it. I don't understand at all, but I believe it's true. And when I get to heaven if I find out instead of 200,000 people killed in some battle. It was just 20,000 go somewhere along the line is zero, was that it don't care if I get inside. I picked and chose my way through Scripture because I couldn't believe Jonah was wrong about fish and I couldn't believe a snake would talk and I can't believe you know get all those animals not cannot pick and choose cannot find out it was all true. And I was discarding things that were the truth that had tremendous meaning for my life and I so doubt in the minds of other people, God forbid, that whatever happened to put my faith in God's were not taught. It's not every single part of it but I've taught it enough and I thought it long enough and I've applied it to my life not live by what is it say what is it mean was at Mama like applying at living it out and I can tell you on the back experience that is true it works just decide your view of Scripture.

Put your faith in it is God's word is the spirit of truth. He doesn't law you can trust in you can take him at his word that remind you of his purity is also so obvious that we miss it sometimes, but he is in chapter 14 verse 26 he is the Holy Spirit.

He is completely separate from sin in the Holy Spirit. There is no meanness there is no unkindness there is no rudeness, there is no selfishness. There is no bitterness there is no one forgiveness is no jealousy all the petty sins pridefulness is no sinfulness at all.

And when he comes into my life and when he comes in your life you look around. Then you begin to separate you from sin shall begin to convict you of sin.

So when you gossip and you just having fun but your stealing somebody's reputation and he's going to give you that prayer is a conviction is a distal nasty inside her that white lie just a little white lie now but it sounded good and exaggerated and made the story better, but you get back anything that wasn't the complete truth. You lose your temper more that person deserve to have you give them a piece of your mind that you think could handle that differently it's it's paying almost like a spiritual pain not say what keep short accounts you keep coming to the cross. Confess your sin, because if you don't you lose that pain you become accustomed to the pain and you begin to get anesthetized to and you're harder for the Holy Spirit to convict.

Now here's and with this final word.

God's word tells us in first John 19 if we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Still, you may find yourself asking, Lord will hear you right did you say all unrighteousness. Did you mean all my sin, past, present and future, even if it sin.

I consider little and insignificant, you really mean all my sin is forgiven yes hear him whispering to your heart.

The blood of Jesus purifies you from all sin. But listen to me if you don't keep short accounts and daily confess your sin to God as you commit it. Increasingly, you will not lose your salvation but you will lose the joy of your salvation you will always be forgiven but your fellowship in friendship with God, will become strained and tense. So right now confess the sin that is come to mind. Thank God for your forgiveness and asking to cleanse you then surrender are new to the Holy Spirit and ask him to keep working in your life to make you home to make you like James living in the light is a weekly study in God's word with teacher and author and grandma learn to listen to his voice, then start making the choice to keep on going and believing and trusting who God is go to n-gram lots outboard take advantage of the many helpful free resources to get you started this again for living in the line