The Necessity of the Holy Spirit – Part 2

Here's Aaron Graham was when we choose to live our old nature. What were doing is strengthening the old nature and it remains dominant, and it overwhelms the new nature even though the new nature is fueled by the Holy Spirit. So you and I we need to choose to live in the new nature that was n-gram lots and you're listening to the weekly program living in the light in today's message and will explain that our old and new natures share the same eyes the same year the same out, they share the same hands and feet, but one has got to die so that the other can live. Let's join in those we learn more about the Holy Spirit from Romans chapters 6 and seven and eight.

There are actually two people who live inside of me and to natures that live inside of me and the first one nature that were born with. This is what the Bible calls our old man.

Our sinful nature are Adam's called her Ishmael are self are flash and so the black spots are our sin.

And when you're born of the human race you're born as the center. Romans 323 makes it clear that all of us of sin always come short of the glory of God. James 210 says if you ever send one time in all of your life, then you have the disease of sin shows that your body is permeated with it so little baby can be innocent when it is born, but you get a little baby a chance and after a few months at all. Talk back to its mom and steal a cookie able to get sibling and you know that and it's that old nature were born with that when we are born again. The Holy Spirit comes into us and were given a new nature. So we have a new emotions the love God and the love somebody made. We didn't even like and you will to do the right thing new intellect to think the thoughts of God and to understand the Scriptures and said that's our new nature within and John 33 Jesus said you must be born again because the old nature can't see God is the new nature that is the one that is pleasing to God, and that there is the eternal fruit, and that one day will go to heaven. This is the apostle Paul. This is his testimony in Romans seven. Beginning in verse 14 he says we know that the law and we can think of that as the 10 Commandments of God's word or coming to Bible study or coming to the cove.

We know that spiritual but I'm unspiritual sold as a slave to sin, because that old nature is dominating. I do not understand what I do for what I want to do. I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I don't want to do.

I agree that the law is good. God's standards are right going to Bible study coming the code, but as it is, is no longer myself to do it, but sin living in me and others, I recognize I have a major problem here for I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature can't make it good and bye-bye did you think that was some good in your sinful nature people save you some good in everybody.

Well, there is not from God's point of view, there is none righteous, no not one. All of our righteousness is as filthy rags. Even the good things we do permeated with sin. So there is none righteous, no not one is no good in any of us at all.

In verse 18. I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. I have no power in myself, for I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I don't want to do this I keep on doing now. If I do what I do not want to do is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it old nature will never change the old nature will never get better the old nature will never improve and you get so exasperated that's God will just let you fail and fail and fail and fail until you so exasperated that you admits from experience there is nothing good in you at all.

So, picking up with verse 21. So I find this law work, although I want to do good, evil is right there with me for in the interbeing. I delight in God's law. That's his new nature. He loves coming to the cove. Going to Bible studies reading God's word, being obedient, knowing God at your new nature, but I see another law, another nature work in me waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me and then he has this emotional outburst are what a wretched man. I am in that word wretched is the same word that is used for a soldier who's been in battle and he's been slinging his sword all day and he comes in mighty can't even lift his arm anymore. He's just exhausted. Somebody here exhausted from trying to do the right thing. Trying to be the person that you're supposed to be trying to be a good mother, a good wife of good sibling trying so hard to be the person in church that's your Sunday school class want you to be, or thinks you are and you just you trying senior exhausted and he says oh wretched man that I am, I'm just absolutely exhausted. Who will rescue me from this body of death.

This is so graphic in olden times when somebody murdered another person, the murderer was arrested and the victim the dead victim was strapped to the murder, face-to-face, chest to chest like the leg until he rotted.

That was the body of death and Paul is saying, this old nature is like a body of death is just clinging to me face-to-face chest.

The chest you know like the leg who will set me free from the body of death and Paul is just think this is absolutely almost unbearable and your new nature of being born again should be wonderful, filled with love and joy and peace and that were in conflict ends conflicts, you know, at that point, I think when the conflict is raging. I think a lot of people start wearing a mask and they start pretending to be more spiritual than they are and they put a little pasty Christian smile on their face and they do little Christian things and they go to little Christian groups and everybody thinks are good little Christian on the inside they're miserable.

Your pretending or they just lower their standards because nobody their church is really authentic and everybody is just going through the motions and we commonly teach Sunday school. We take care of the little kids we feed the poor. We have a clothing closet and we send money to missionaries. We do all these things in them when we get home we kick off our heels. We let on our hair and yet we can enjoy a good story and we just let ourselves go on. We talk about other people and we gossip and we just everybody does. So it must be. That's the way it is resaved. Were going to heaven praise God. And I've even heard people say were saved would go to heaven.

God sums up everything in grace. It doesn't matter how we live down here on earth, so God's standards haven't changed, and when he says, to be holy as I'm holy he means it's you and are to be like Jesus. The problem is how we want to be but how and this is the how and there's no quick fix is no easy fix. Okay it requires making choice after choice after choice after choice. I shared with you some of the choices I made. Those are just two or three this past week I received an email somebody just jumping on me critical spirit judging me for something that I hadn't done and I can tell you that old nature just flared right up and you know. Thank goodness I didn't do it. Email is so bad about that because you just send something off and let them have it and who are you to tell me whatever and you know and Musetta prayed about it and I waited for action overnight and I asked the Lord how would my new nature, supposed to respond to this and he whispered something to me, I believe, and so I journaled it down. Thank them for pointing out something to me that I should've noticed and just smooths it over, and something that could have been a disaster turned out to be something that was just nothing was okay but we constantly have to make those choices choice after choice after choice. Colossians 3 verse five says put to death. Therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature. Many listen things sexual immorality, impurity, last evil desires. So this just think about that so we put it to deftly put it out. We know that where to put these things out, we apply the magazines that come into the home. The TV shows that you watch of the junior when you channel surf websites that you visit the pop up things that you punch on your computer and your plat that than to obey you have to get rid of those magazines.

You turn off the TV, you change whatever website you look at or maybe you even do away with your computer and you have to put it to death and greed which is idolatry and I thought about that when right at the Christmas shopping season room that Black Friday coming up, and when we go shopping for Christmas you go through the malls and everything just presented so attractively and how many of us buy more things for ourselves and we buy for others.

And Paul says that's read. That's idolatry. So we need to get that greed under control.

Only the shopping and I talk to myself on that song verse eight, but now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these, anger, rage, malice, slander, slander, telling the truth about somebody to make them look less and someone else's eyes, filthy language from your lips. Verse 10 put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge, in the image of its creator. So your new nature will never fully develop into you choose to crucify the old choice by choice by choice, and so brought this is one of my books.

A magnificent Obsession and this is a story of Abraham and when Abraham through Ishmael else. Galatians uses that as an illustration of what is the throughout her old man, so I won't go through that whole story, but I've got some examples in your from my life that I'm going to share the just easier than trying to come up with new ones. So this is living in the old nature. I got my new nature, but I'm going to live in the old nature okay if I hurriedly run to the grocery store to pick up a forgotten item because I have company coming any minute and I found there are five people in the only line open in the checkout clerk is gossiping with her friend on her cell phone making everyone wait, I have a choice to make, if I rudely tell her off when it's not turn up just exercise my old nature just had a ring is like rings in a tree.

If I go to the church picnic and see there's a shortage of my favorite casserole have a choice to make, if I choose to quickly grab a serving for myself before somebody else gets it of exercise my old nature. If I'm stuck in traffic and someone's trying to merger my right after choice to make.

If I pull up to the bumper of the car in front of me an edge that merging car out of my lane of exercise my old nature. I can tell other people done the same thing I did my grandchild repeatedly interrupting what I'm trying to answer my emails before the family gathers for dinner. I have a choice to make. If I command her sternly to stop bothering me, and leave the room, exercise my old age, you see that I got a whole page of examples from your life. I think I can read your those so when we choose to live in her old nature.

What were doing is strengthening the old nature and I don't know if we could say it grows but remains dominant, and it overwhelms the new nature even though the new nature is fueled by the Holy Spirit. So you and I we need to choose to live in the new nature live in the new nature when delayed at the grocery store. If I choose to patiently wait my turn helping the clerk back another customers items as well as my own, commenting that I know it must be tough to be the only checkout clerk on duty have exercise my new nature.

If I'm at the church picnic.

I see there's not enough of my favorite casserole to go around and I choose to wait until everyone else helps themselves before I do I have exercise my new nature. If all I'm stuck in traffic. Someone tries the merger and the right and a slowdown, signaling the other driver to slip in front of me have exercise my new nature. If my grandchild interrupts me repeatedly while I'm trying to answer my emails and I choose the gently explained to her that I'm trying to get some work done and give her a tablet of paper and a pen suggesting she worked quietly while I do exercise my new nature. You see, so we just add rings of the new nature and the new nature grows until one day it's just the fullness of Christ. This is a person you can see Jesus in, but it's required choice after choice after choice. You can ask know what difference does it make if I tell a little white lie or if I just snap off my coworker doesn't make any difference in your salvation. Your saved praise God. Your forgiven praise God.

The difference it makes is that your exercising a choice in that old nature and the damage you do is not so much about the person it's to yourself because that old nature will enslave you and then it just because it's old and is familiar and somehow it just easier just your hotel. Somebody offered the latter get our way or to manipulate something or to grab what we want or we can just live in that old nature, but that's not the life that Jesus died and raised to give you and me. That's not abundant life is not were jewelry and peace and blessing is that's not the fullness of Jesus living in you. So you and I need to make choice after choice after choice to live in the new nature. I don't go to the gym and never have learned to work out on those machines, but I walk so that strengthens small lower body but I wasn't exercising the upper body. So several years ago I went to her personal trainer and she taught me how to use bands and I hope the bands on the back of the door so I got them up in the cabin and several times a week of a pull on those bands to strengthen my shoulders and arms and upper body and I could pull those bands a few times and think this doesn't work, it has made any difference.

I don't see anybody toner strength. I just quit and it doesn't make any difference. So what I have to do is pull those bands again and again and again do various repetitions and do different sets of them in, day after day after day until I can build up the strength of my upper body and then see some tone and muscle in one of the hard things about this last year was when I couldn't even get out of bed. You know, I lost all that work time so you have no strength, no muscle tone and I've worked really hard to get it back and I'm still working on it but the same thing is true with your old nature. If you just decide you just tired of the fight was going to give in your old nature is going to live in it than you going to lose all of your muscle tone, if we put it that way in your new nature and your old nature will take over opposite is true. If you live in your new nature choice after choice after choice, like pulling on the bandages repetition after repetition after repetition until it becomes second nature to respond in your new nature, you recognize the old nature when it pops up its head and tries to get you to do something wrong and you can quickly pray Lord help me. I just feel like I'm just just about to lose my temper. I'm just about to tell that person often just catch yourself and and then it's the Holy Spirit. Of course, who kicks in and helps you do the right thing. So I want to tell you why this is very important and let me tell you something else that struck me are old and new natures. I didn't think about that really took this week, but are old and you nature is they share the same.

They both see have the same as they share the same years they share the same mouth.

They share the same hands, they share the same fee says like Siamese twins. One has got to die for the other live and you can't be using these eyes to look at something that's inappropriate and then use these system found somebody that you want to share Christ with.

You can't use this mouth in profanity and use this mouth then to reach out and bless somebody you can't do it in one's got to do, so that the other one is freed up and I want to show you why this is very important right so the person on the left has been living in the old nature there saved and they're going to heaven, but they have added all those rings to the old nature ends.

The one on the right has lived in the new nature and this is a little discouraging thought, but that old nature will be with us until we see Jesus.

It doesn't drop off until we see him face-to-face and then it drops off, but that's what so critically important because the old nature drops off when we see Jesus so can you look at the different sizes.

The one on the left and you nature how small it is an old nature drops off and I don't know what that means one on the right is going to have an abundant entrance into heaven. One person suggested that the one on the left when we squeak in the door of heaven and there dressed like in a slip and the one on the right has his gorgeous wedding gown with all the layers of foam under this difference positions of service and I don't think were going to be jealous and be raveled with each other but maybe more responsibility in the one on the right is going to be given a responsibility in service and the one on the left will be in heaven but you know there's something missing their first Corinthians 3 says when we get to heaven were going to be standing before the judgment seat of Christ, and were never going to be judged for our sin. Let me make that clear. Because Jesus paid it all. He took the judgment for our sin at the cross. We are forgiven, were set free will never be held accountable for the guilt of our sin, but we will be judged for a Christian life from the day we receive Christ in the day we see him so are our Christian life is going to pass through the fire of his holiness.

And if I've lived my life in my new nature in the right side just in obedience to God's word and surrendered to his will and doing things his way.

Choice after choice after choice after choice day after day after day until I run a minute, then it's going to be like gold, silver and precious stones and passes through the far end and Jesus is going to give me a crown and reward to the life of live down here for him. On the other hand, if I live in the old nature and not just decide you don't have time to read God's word and I know I'm safe so uncomfortable being saved by don't have time to seek his will can't do things his way because I want my way and we live in our old nature and our life passes to the fire of God's holiness is like wood hay and stubble, and that old nature is burning up and we have very little to show for the life that would live down here on earth and someone once asked an audience was and I've never forgotten that when you stand before Jesus and you fully comprehend all that he is all that he has done for you to open heaven and receive you into his presence to live with you forever and when you see the nail marks on his hands and his feet in the scars on his brow where the thorns were in you. You just fully comprehend for the first time what it cost him to welcome you to heaven. Don't you think you're going to want something to give him in return for what he's done for you. I know I will and will you have a crown that he's given you and reward for life.

It's been live for him down here that you can lay at his feet or we have the ashes of a wasted life depressant was nail scarred palm I can tell you every day that motivates me to make choice after choice after choice.

I don't care how other people in my church, a living, I don't care what people around me.

Their standards are so lower their pretense want to be pleasing to the Lord. I want to live for his pleasure. I want to be like Jesus. I want him to see Jesus in me.

I want to be the friend of God. So I would just ask you which are you right now how would you describe yourself someone who's given up the battle a long time ago.

Somebody who's remembers it and wanting to come back to living in the new nature.

I think that's what this message is for that you're here and it's not too late wonderful thing is that Paul says in chapter 7 verse 24 what a wretched man. I am who will rescue me from this body of death and then he says thanks be to God Jesus to the rescue. So we have lasted the liberating power of the Holy Spirit. Chapter 8 verse one. Therefore there is now no condemnation to live in defeat for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law will spirit of life is set me free from the law of sin and death. Second Corinthians chapter 3 verse 17 says now the Lord is the spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Let me just rephrase that, for the spirit of the Lord is Lord there is freedom. The key is the surrender to the Lordship of the Holy Spirit's and we let him fill our lives and take over and take control and make choice after choice after choice, but I can testify from our own life that he gives me the power to make those choices and the follow-through and is almost effortless. In 1903, the Wright brothers flew the plane down in Kitty Hawk in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and it was the first on anything heavier than air and flown it went 852 feet and it came back down and today there are planes that way so many more times than that first little plane and they take off and they fly around the world and was the difference is the power and the Holy Spirit has the power to set us free. The Holy Spirit has power as you make choice after choice after choice, the just enable that new nature to grow into the new nature dominates the old and in other people. They look at you. They can even see the old nature just seems to melt away. Still they are and is still dangerous and you still have to keep you around and sought to deny you still have to crucify you stop to put it often raises its ugly head and will do that until we see Jesus face-to-face with the person on the right is living in the new nature and that person is experiencing victory and joy and peace and blessing. And that person is someone that is poured out his blessing on this person.

The blessing is flowing through that person to others, and that's the person I want to be a person on the left people even doubt that person saved you have a hard time seeing Jesus and that person question their salvation. Are they really saved in the act like that answer.

I don't want to be. So my challenge would you surrender to the Lordship of the Holy Spirit were going to talk about and I can't wait to share with you about the identity of the Holy Spirit.

So would you acknowledge that you have a major problem for two people living inside of you and would you embrace the basic principles that were know God's word were to apply God's word and would obey God's word and then would you confess that the basic principles don't seem to work there. Such conflict in you and then would you make the choice to live in your new nature surrendering to the Lordship of the Holy Spirit embracing him choice by choice by choice until other people can see Jesus in who are you and whom we are living proof of the necessity for the Holy Spirit in our lives should be a demonstration at the Holy Spirit can sell us and use us and shine his life through us ordinary little dust people little clay pots. I have people can see Jesus and praise God.

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