Perfected by the Spirit

The city will allow what God demands Dr. Tony Evans is the Christian life can only be live with supernatural help. It is the job no celebrating 40 years of faithfulness. This is the alternative Dr. Tony Evan modern speaker, senior pastor of Oakland Bible Fellowship in Dallas Texas and president of the urban alternative.

Many religions focus on human movement making people better. Christianity is about transformation, making people brand-new from the inside out.

Dr. Evans will explore that process today as he talks to us about what it means to be perfected by the spirit. Let's join him as is Paul's best if you will, on the Christian's freedom in Christ some elections about the ball a lot longer making forward progress, spell, or large degree regressing even though they have a clear profession of faith concern in the book of Ephesians is really in chapter 3 verse three are you so foolish by the Spirit, are you now being perfect. Bob was the problem that is being addressed this issue as simple questions which you will as Jesus was publicly portrayed as crucified. In other words that come face to face with the death of Jesus Christ gospel Paul and proclaim the gospel and Jesus and become real to them as it has become anybody in here was a Christian. If you're Christian across 2000 became real to you and it became publicly portrayed in other words, it was a visual reality that Christ died for my neatest thing and you came to Jesus Christ and responded to him. The only thing I want to find out from you that the lead-in sentence. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law about the hearing of faith was gone back to God's standard on their own and that he calls that flash the flesh is simply your main demands of God.

You can always tell flesh is flesh is full of promises would do it is, number flashes full of New Year's resolutions flashes full break your teeth and make it happen flashes my determination and my goal may be mobile because I may be wanting to do something that God says I should want to know what you have the capacity to pull off what God demands. And that's why you all capacity by the perfect standard of a holy God woman. If a month will be running all over you run out of breath from please God, but God wants me to please him. One of us will be due again. Verse three are you so foolish begun by the Spirit, and are you now perfected by the flesh. What they did was they lost sight watch this now how more and the provision of the cross. That's fine, raises the question in verse one, before whose eyes Jesus was publicly portrayed as crucified nothing with which I painted a picture arbitrative I met you see him on the cross died for your sins and you most of us. Many of us understand the cross we look at a 2000 year old man that's going get to heaven and 2000, knowing that and we'll get to heaven, but that was your introduction to the cross. The cross, the Bible says goes beyond its historical cross by expression of provisional God.

The believer's when you came with Jesus Christ and him here based on what he did on the cross for you and may the holy. Why God provides for you and me the Holy Spirit is because it is the job of the Holy Spirit to take off to go and put it to work for you today. Good job on the Holy Spirit is to empower the new nature to satisfy the law or the demands of God. God is not expecting your/you make him happy because it when God is trying to satisfy him that righteousness which is totally unacceptable. You know why the law orientation called legalism seeking by my flesh to satisfy the demands of God not work for one page chapter 5 verse one it was for freedom that Christ set you free. Therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery verse for you have been severed from Christ, you are seeking to be justified by law.

You have fallen from grace.

If you got an electric cord to an appliance, you plug it in. You got the power of electricity flowing once you click on the button that plans will come on that is a lesson severed. Once you sever it is not a problem if the connection. Why don't we have no connection and he says the Lord Jesus Christ is to live to satisfy the demands of God.

No matter how sincere you are. He calls it slavery you will be enslaved to the bar because the court is, once you leave Christ to make you and you look to you to make you better.

You just got clips from Christ that is severed from him and what got me you are no longer operating under great you fallen from the gray standard and now you want a whole different standard.

Therefore, the benefits of grace no longer apply the warranty. The whole different approach were talking about today is not approach based on you keeping it holy and trying to decide on going and I will I die because I know I can without me you can do nothing and not the powerful statement without me you can do nothing with any benefit thing. Without it, nothing in terms of fulfilling his design for you will being fruitful. You will not produce anything in your life not telling you need to be produce for your life, unless I produce it in your life without me you can do nothing occasionally are addictions you can't fix your marriage. You can get out of the depression you get stuck without me and we constantly don't understand this principle raises a question on the biggest question of it all was the process. How do I move from this flesh standard to satisfy the expectations of God because Israel simple simple but is difficult is difficult because little by your people from flesh standard to affect standard for the twice verse two.

This is the only thing I want to find out from you.

Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or the hearing of faith. Verse five children see you provide you with the spirit and works miracles among you do it by the works of the law about the hearing of faith watches or do miracles among you was a miracle, a miracle is something outside of the human order of things a miracle to something that you can't pull off. It has to be pulled off for you by something greater then you that's a miracle now it's obvious today. A lot of us need miracles any sense, but the miracles don't come by the working of the law is working of the law engages your flesh once it engages your flesh, it cancels out any productivity in your life, establishing from Christ.

This is not how you get it Satan's way is man's effort and work God's way is grace working through faith. Please picture faith as a wire that the power of grace in the work of the Holy Spirit flows through to make the appliance get going to make your life begin to be miraculously changed. There is a wire called to say that conduct called grace that provides energized by the spirit.

For the moment of your new nature to couple so that we must answer the question what is thing is acting like God is telling the truth is not faith until you've done some bounces faith without works is dead to me how to get to heaven tell you how to get heaven and earth and its faith apart from works but you get heaven on its face that works so you got have a say that on some.

That's why the Bible says faith is the substance of faith is got have stuff substance in order for faith to do something it must be something to what we don't have faith that we told have in the word of God is about the hearing of faith. The hearing based on God's work. When told to believe that God does not live in is telling the truth, whether or not we feel it, that you may feel it, or you may not feel it, or you may feel it the day, but you may not faith is seen by function as my mom called walking by faith, not talking Buffy not having faith discussions not feeling by faith.

She talks about faith as a step you take. Not a feeling you have Dr. Evans will come back in a moment to explain how those faith steps with the power of the Holy Spirit in action, but first I wanted to mention that what you been listening to today is the last message and Tony's comprehensive series examining what it means to have God's Holy Spirit living inside us that means this is also the last day to take advantage of that special double offer we put together to help you dig deeper and what we been learning it begins with all eight full-length messages from the life in the Spirit series, including material we didn't have time to share on the year. These messages are available to you on CD and digital download that with them. We've also paired Tony's powerful book on the Holy Spirit called the fire that ignites this special package of resources will teach you how God spirit takes up residence inside us to focus our thoughts empower us to face life's challenges transform the way we live and help us grow and mature fully dedicated followers of the Lord, and if you make a donation to the ministry of the alternative today will send this complete package to you as our gift and appreciation for your support. Just visit us@tonyevans.org make your donation before time runs out and let us send you these life-changing resources. Again that's Tony up and start all the ore, stair night at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our helpful team members assist you. That's 1-800-800-3222. Dr. Evans will come back with more of today's lesson right after this way, then you're more than a job title your graders and the balance in the bank status face the character and courage to leave a legacy that lasts only hear yesterday's finder tomorrow made for much more.

In a sequel to the instant bestseller can demand to me having to keep him in rising urges men to embody the greatness of God's already given the kingdom in rising to discover how available April 6 so exercising faith even when you feel if you like God is telling the truth back so strong is this principle of the Bible says without faith it is impossible to please try to do this. How do you activate the work of the spirit that you already have batteries included me. The things ready to go. It just must be activated by dispatch that the switch is faith and you know you exercise faith that you've done something that you been commanded or expected what she says in verse five creates a divine opportunity for miracle meaning God doing something outside of the natural order of things for the pilot issue is not you wish all you want to do with accessing father. Right now I choose to do what you say it ought to be done in this situation but I need the power to do this just was this when you take the step when you do, my God sent not be God, your Holy Spirit kicks in time though and all of a sudden you all going in America. Some of our marriages will never be saved. The length of the miracle will not be saved unless there is a miracle. He says that the Holy Spirit is among you. You have an upset stomach not feeling too good to go to Walgreens with some Pepto-Bismol work is still maybe a minute seem okay with this back again one week offensive against them stronger and so you get some stronger you get to three different things that do not try to fix it network. Now you make another decision I need to conduct. I got a call to cause over-the-counter network my own human effort to fix me. His work, so maybe questions that maybe something deep is wrong if my own human ability to go over the counter came fix it. Maybe I'm dealing with some deeper than I thought. So now I know twin expert. I need somebody to look deeper then my eyes and my feelings can be putting me. I go to the doctor and he says tell me the symptoms of I got an upset stomach and I got begins to put me through a battery of taken blood doing x-ray make me drink stuff nasty in Pepto-Bismol, so we put cameras all in me and I am now very miserable and doable to begin with. Now he's making me stop looking. Miserable. Guess all you have been so that I could not know that my problem was. And also I just think I some wrongful point, upset stomach, but because of his past, which made things worse for this, many of us came problem is we don't know what the problem we just know what it feels so we deal with a symptom, human solutions always do this, for a while, but they don't then take a piece of paper called the prescription rights now and what is written on. If you know and now some to the real problem you take the solution to the real problem for your phone. I'm back at Walgreens but I'm now back at Walgreens in a different location see some people come to church over-the-counter solutions you in the wrong department should go to the pharmacy.

That's what happened you give it to the pharmacist and says… You stuff that pulling stuff in capsules into a little ball you know but believe that all this and recognize that the capsule you look at you have to make the decision. The key decision… No, we talk about something. I don't think the most things at all like the thing about the stomach and I got a bad mama Pepto business is not the pharmacist always doing this could be this could be like poison. This could kill me.

This could be the wrong medicine which could've been that somebody else and he just put in the wrong thing that you spent a whole lot of time doing or you can decide the doctor knew what he was doing. Even though you couldn't fully understand what you read, but that he knew what he wrote and that what was written was accurate and wanted was handed off to you how to perform it so that now all you got to do with take it. So now is taking medicine probably never understood this, that the symptoms are gone because the group has been addressed to root issues only send issues the sin issue that would send the issue that we think it is one thing, what is really so much God wants to do with but we don't want to go to hell so I can write this not working with you. Dr. Tony Evans will come back with a closing thought in just a moment as he wraps up our current series and if you could use more help learning to tap into the power God spirit provides.

Don't forget to request a copy of all the messages in the life in the spirit collection for yourself will help you get past a lot of the mystery surrounding the Holy Spirit learn exactly who he is, how we receive him and what he'll do in our lives.

As I mentioned earlier, the CD and digital version of this eight message collection is our thank you gift for your contribution in support of Tony's ministry here on the air where completely listener supported. Your faithfulness is the only way we can keep bringing you these broadcasts each day and if we hear from you today will also include a copy of Tony's popular book, the fire that ignites get all the details and make your request online at Tony Avenue and start org right away or call us at 1-800-800-3222. Our friendly resource team members are available around the clock to take your call to reach out any time of the day or night again at 1-800-800-3222. When we hear a person described as lame a number of different meanings or images may come to mind. But tomorrow, in a special presentation drawn from Dr. Evans feature film kingdom men rising you give us a perspective on that word, you've probably never thought of before. Be sure to join us for that right now though he's back with this final comment for today I will disclose what about the stuff he says if you let me check out my yoke is easy and my burden is light and I will give you rest to your soul. I'm gonna cause you to always send you today's you can pull this thing off. That's why gave the spirit only operates by faith in what God says and he doesn't want your flesh mess in the alternative, with Dr. Tony Avenue is brought to you by the celebrating 40 years of faithfulness, thanks to the generous contributions of listeners like you