How Does God's Spirit Interact in Our Lives?

Thank you again, Mr. Ewell. Tomorrow, as we've already talked about, is the Feast of Pentecost. And in the book of Acts, chapter 2, we have the pouring out of God's Spirit on the church, in a very, very dramatic way. In fact, thousands of people, when they ran up and saw these disciples beginning to explain the truth of God, to talk about God, to talk about Jesus Christ, to talk about the plan of God, after having received the power, they saw, they witnessed, these disciples speaking with the power and the manifestation of God's Holy Spirit. And it was an amazing thing. In fact, the results were amazing. You know, if we were to read through the next few chapters of that book, of Acts, chapter 2, after Pentecost, there was an explosion in the church at that time. There were things that were happening that were going on. In fact, in one day, 3,000 people responded to what they heard, what they saw. These disciples who were speaking under the inspiration of God, you know, and they were speaking in tongues, and all of the people there were hearing them in their own language. There was an incredible miracle that God inspired there at that time, and there was a huge growth at that time in the area. There was huge growth in the Jerusalem church.

There had to be, because the Jerusalem church was going to be the seed, the planting of the first fruits. You know, if you look at the book of Acts, you see that there were other churches, but they weren't quite along the same size. They weren't very big. But the Jerusalem church at the very beginning was. It was significant. It had to be, because it was going to be the basis for the planting of the first fruits around the world.

And these people are used to do that. And now, here we are, two thousand years later from these events. And we are still the plantings of what was started way back then. Still going on.

Brethren, sometimes I think we forget that the same power that was given to them has been given to us.

It's the same power that was given to them has been given to us. Sometimes I think we somehow think it's maybe somehow of a lesser power. That maybe over time, God has given people less and less of His Spirit, less and less of His power.

And we think about that sometimes. But the same power that the Apostle Paul talked about when he wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 7 is that it is the Spirit of power and of love and of sound mind. That same power, brethren, has been given. For those of us baptized, has been given to you and to me. A Spirit of power, of love, and that Greek word is agape, and of a sound mind. You know, those are three different messages, really, in a sense, in themselves, aren't they? Three messages in itself. But that has been what has been given to us. It's been given to us. You know, as we look at the power that's been given to us, that Holy Spirit that's been given to us, I want to go back to a prophecy as we talk about this, about the church at the end time. Let's go to Matthew chapter 25 and verse 1. A prophecy about the church at the end of the age. Let's take a look at that. Now, I know some of you that have been in the church for a long, long time have probably read this parable and heard it preached about over and over again. But there's probably some of you that are here that have never heard this parable. So we're going to take a look here at what's written here in Matthew chapter 25 and verse 1. And let's understand that there is coming a time that this is what the church is going to become. So let's take a look. You know, this is... and sometimes we don't... we forget that this is part of the Olivet prophecy. We often think of Matthew chapter 24 as the Olivet prophecy. But really, there's no chapter break in Scripture. It's human beings that have put this in. And Matthew chapter 25 is also part of what we would call the Olivet prophecy. Sometimes we think there's a chapter break and so that somehow is changing it and sometimes it does. But I think we'll find that this is part of the Olivet prophecy. So Jesus says this in Matthew chapter 25 and verse 1. He says, Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now, most of us know that the Bible term virgins means those who are submitting to God and have received His Holy Spirit. They have God's Spirit. They are the firstfruits of God. You know, false Christianity has a different label. They're talked about the prostitute or the whore. You know, that type of thing. Women are disrepute. But here we're talking about virgins. These are God's people. They have His Spirit. They're firstfruits. False Christianity is termed with a different term, prostitute. So virgins are used to symbolize those who are spiritually pure. The firstfruits of God. Those who received His Spirit. All of them in this particular parable. And notice it says, Who took their lamps. Now we know that oil is used, or most of us know that oil is used in the Bible to help us to understand it's a symbol of God's Spirit. So oil is a symbol of God's Spirit. And the lamp, of course, is what burns. It's the fuel of the oil is what makes the lamp burn. It's a visible manifestation, if you will, of the oil. It's the use of the oil. And notice, and they went out to meet the bridegroom. And the bridegroom is Jesus Christ. So the meaning of what is covered here, if we read the New Testament, we know what these symbols mean. We know what they are. Verse number 2. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Now remember, they're all virgins. They're all members of the Church of God, if you will. They're all the firstfruits. But five were wise, and five were foolish. Verse 3.

And those who were foolish took their lamps, and they took no oil with them. So they were not responding to God's Spirit. They weren't necessarily filled with God's Spirit. Verse number 4. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. So they had their lamps full with oil, and they also had the vessels, which was kind of an extra container that you would use to fill up. The lamp would have a reservoir for oil, and also you had a separate vessel that you would use to fill up the lamp reservoir when it began to get low. You know, if we look at the time that this was written, the people that were listening to Jesus Christ and this parable here, they knew exactly what he was talking about.

These lamps were very common. These vessels for the lamps were very common. You know, this is a parable that might mean a little bit more to us if we were around in the 1920s or the 1930s before electricity was everywhere. People had lamps in their homes. They had reservoirs. This is exactly what they had in the first century. When Jesus Christ relayed this parable, they connected with what he was saying.

So the wise had their lamps full of oil. In other words, God's Spirit was in them. It was active in their lives. The light was burning. They were interacting with God. This oil comes from God, and it was filling their lives, and their lamps and vessels were filled with it.

Verse number 5. But while the bridegroom was delayed, it says they all slumbered and slept.

I want you to notice, there's a belief sometimes in the church, there's a belief that at some point in the end time, that some are thinking, you know, Christ just isn't coming. Or if he's coming, it's not going to be in my lifetime. Either he's not coming or it's not going to happen during my lifetime. He's just not coming. And people begin to lose sight of something. You know, we can tend to lose sight if we begin to fall into that line of thinking. And I think it's noteworthy that Christ says it isn't just the five foolish that do this. It says they all sleep. They all sleep. All of them. The entire church comes to the point where it loses something. It loses its enthusiasm. It loses its dedication. And the relationship between the members and God isn't what it should be. It's not what it should be. And everybody tends, seems like everyone sort of goes to sleep. Let's pick it up here in verse number six. And at midnight a cry was heard. Behold the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him. Then all of these virgins arose and they trimmed their lamps. Now all of them at this time have oil burning in their lamps. They trimmed their lamps. But then the five foolish begin to realize, hey, wait a minute. Wait a minute. We don't understand what's going on. We don't have a relationship with God like we should have. We don't have God's Spirit filled in our lives. Our lives are messed up. We're not interacting with God's Spirit. We're missing something here. We don't have what we need to be able to carry on. We need the power of God. We need the power of God and of love and of a sound mind. It's not a part of who we are right now. It's not a part of where we should be right now. God's power isn't in their lives the way that it should be. They don't have that power. They don't have that love, that agape love. They don't have the sound mindness. And they suddenly realize, I'm not prepared. I'm not ready. There's a trial here that I can't get through. I don't have what it takes right now. I don't have a relationship with God. And I'm not what I'm supposed to be. Verse 8, And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. You see, our lamp isn't burning the way that it should be. The light in my life isn't what it should be. There's light there. Remember, these are virgins. You know, they do have some of God's Holy Spirit. But there's a point that they realize, I'm not prepared for what's happening in the world. I'm not prepared for what I'm finding myself having to face. I'm going to have to trust God at a level, far bigger level than I'm trusting Him right now. And I've got to get connected with my Maker. We heard in the first message, God hasn't been my everything. And I've got to get back to that. And right now, I don't have the ability to do what I need to do. And my light's going out. Verse 9, But the wise answered and said, No, lest there should not be enough for us and for you. But go rather to those who sell and buy for yourselves. The wise virgins say, we can't do that. We can't give you our oil. I mean, where does the oil come from? It comes from God. You know, we can try to help people, but we can't carry people into the kingdom of God. We can't. None of us can. It comes down to your and my individual relationship with God Himself. The One who is the Almighty, and His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Savior, our Creator.

Verse 10, And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came. And those who were ready went with Him into the wedding, and the door was closed. And afterward the other virgins came also and said, Lord, Lord, open to us. But He answered and said, Assuredly I say to you, I do not know you. Now, that's a pretty frightening statement. For other than the reason, I think that Jesus Christ gives us this parable, the purpose behind it, is that we had better be right with God all the time. We can't think maybe tomorrow. We can't think next year, I'll do this or I'll do that. I think it's a relationship that has to be ongoing all the time. Now, we didn't just say the relationship between the virgins preparing for this wedding and the bridegroom. I think it's very important that He uses the analogy of oil and the lamp. He uses that analogy, oil and the lamp. It has to do with our interaction with God's Spirit. That we have a part to play. You know, the oil supplies fuel for the light. They work together. You know, all of these here are virgins. We know that. They're people of God. People of God who kept the Ten Commandments, most likely. People of God who were trying to follow Him in His laws, keeping the Holy Days, trying to keep the letter of the law, if you will. They're people who were trying to obey their Maker, but it seems to indicate that their lives were more in the world than in the Kingdom. Than on the Kingdom. That Scripture seeks first the Kingdom of God. But remember, everybody sleeps. Everyone sleeps. He says, watch. He says to watch because we have to make sure we don't go to sleep here. We don't want to do that. We have to be awake. Because the time is coming. This time is coming. And maybe it's coming quicker than what we think. And even if it doesn't, we can't go to sleep. We can't go to sleep. So how do we respond to God's Spirit? This oil and this lamp, this analogy that Jesus Christ gives. How do we respond to God's Spirit? I'm going to cover several aspects here of how God's Spirit works in our lives. We often think, how does it work? Does this interaction take place? We're going to cover a few things from Scripture today. Several points of what God's Spirit will do in your life and in my life. Now, before I get started, though, I want to cover a couple of points of what God's Spirit does not do. Okay? So we want to make sure that's clear. A couple of things that God's Spirit does not do. Number one, God's Spirit does not possess us and force us to obey Him. God's Spirit does not possess us or force us to obey Him.

You know, I think it's noteworthy that when Satan or one of the demons possesses somebody, they control their mind. They control their mind. That person actually begins eventually to lose their mind. It's taken over. You know? God's Spirit doesn't work that way. You know, God's Spirit doesn't possess us, but what He does is He takes His mind, His power, His thoughts, His love, His way of thinking, and then He combines it with the Spirit that's with us. He doesn't control us. He doesn't take over us. He doesn't possess us. But He begins to interact with us. He begins to interact with who we are.

He doesn't possess us. We must develop with His help that sound-mindedness that He has, that love that He has, the power that He has. And He helps us to do it. He doesn't force us. He assists us in this process. And that's an important difference, isn't it? Between God and between our enemy. That's a very important difference. You know, Satan wants everybody to worship Him by force. God wants us to worship Him because we love Him and because He loves us. Boy, what a huge difference that that is. Two different viewpoints. So He doesn't possess us, brethren. I want to make sure that's clear. He gives us, if you will, a piece of Himself. You know, a little bit of who He is comes into us. It's an amazing process that God has started with this Holy Spirit. It's an amazing thing. And a loving thing in the way that He does it. Now, we have to be involved. He's involved, but He wants us to meet Him. I wouldn't say halfway is probably the best way to describe it, but we have our part to play. He definitely reaches out to us. Further, the second thing that's important to understand about what the Holy Spirit is not or does not do, is that the Holy Spirit does not immediately do away with our corrupt human nature. It just doesn't. It doesn't do away immediately with our entire corrupt human nature. It would be nice if it did, though, wouldn't it? But that's not the way God designed it. You know, it doesn't work that way. The Holy Spirit comes into you, and now God is living in a corrupt person. That's how He starts the process. He lives in a corrupt person. You know, some people believe after they're baptized, when you receive God's Spirit, they think, oh, good! You know, everything's going to go great now. Everything's going to be perfect now. You know, my life is just going to run perfectly. But you know, just the opposite is true. Because that's when a struggle begins, an internal struggle. An internal struggle is because there's two natures in us now. There's a corrupt human nature, and there's the mind of God, the divine nature, now that's in us. There's a battle that's going on. I think Paul kind of describes it pretty well. He says, that's what I want to do, I don't. And that's what I don't want to do, I do it. You know, he describes I think that better than anything, in that particular phrase. So don't misunderstand, and I think a lot of us do understand, but maybe not all of us, is that life is not just going to be perfect when you're baptized, and you receive the gift that God promises to give when you're baptized and you repent. And hands are laid upon you of His Holy Spirit, because now there's two natures that are battling within us.

Brother, part of the work of the Holy Spirit is to battle our nature, and then to change it. Part of the work of God's Spirit is for Him to begin to change our nature. And to change that, brethren, we have to be participants. We have to willingly submit to that process. You know, we have to follow its lead, we have to submit to where it's leading us to go. You know, if God was simply going to possess us, He wouldn't have had to do it this way. That's not the way He works. That's not the way He's working. We're participants. We participate with this gift, and we have to let that Spirit lead us, working in us. We have to participate with the work that God does in us through His Spirit. I think that's one of the reasons why it's important for us to understand that the Holy Spirit is not a person. It's not a person. He doesn't come in and possess us. It's a power of God, which He utilizes in our lives. So before we address the topic of what does God's Spirit do for us, how does it work with us, I think it's important to understand that, number one, it doesn't possess us, and number two, it does not immediately change our carnal, human, corrupt nature.

So then let's turn our attention to what does God's Spirit do. What does God do through His Holy Spirit? Well, let's cover the first of several points. The first thing God does is when He gives us His Spirit, He gives us a guarantee of eternal life. Now, I don't want you to misunderstand what that word guarantee is, because that's been misunderstood by some. Let's turn over to 2 Corinthians 5. We need to focus in. We need to know what it does mean, and we need to know what it doesn't mean when it says it's a guarantee of eternal life. 2 Corinthians 5. I'm going to show you what I mean here, because this is a misunderstood concept, and yet it's important. But it can also be very encouraging to understand, and we have to understand what it is saying. In this context, before we begin reading, and we're going to pick it up in verse 1, before we begin reading the context here, is that Paul is talking about a physical body and a future spiritual body. He's talking about a tent and an eternal building that God is going to create in us. He says we want a spirit body. We want to be resurrected from the dead. But how does this happen? Let's pick it up in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 1. For we know that if our earthly house, this tent is destroyed for into our body, physical bodies, we have a building from God. A house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. So God is going to give us something else, isn't He? He's going to give us something else. He's going to give us a body that's spiritual. That's what he's talking about here.

Verse 2, for in this we groan earnestly desire to be clothed with our habitation, which is from heaven. He says we really desire this spiritual body. We groan for it. We have a desire for it. You know? Because sometimes we groan in this life. We've got problems. We've got sickness.

You know, we get old. Verse 3, if indeed having been clothed, then we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed. We want that spirit body. Why? That mortality may be swallowed up in life. That's fascinating how Paul puts that. That our mortality may be swallowed up with life. Then we come to verse 5, which is the one I really want to focus on here. Now, he who has prepared us for this very thing, for being prepared for that resurrection, that spiritual body. Now, he who has prepared us for this very thing, who has given us the spirit as a guarantee. That's part of the reason for the Holy Spirit. That is given to us. It is a guarantee to receive a spiritual body at the resurrection. Let's focus on that word, guarantee, because some people have the misconception, Oh, it's guaranteed! Our eternal life is guaranteed. I think that's where some of the thought comes, that once saved, always saved. Once you're baptized, once you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, it's your gift forever. It can never be taken away, and I'm saved, and I can never be rejected by God. But I think what's very important is what this Greek word that is translated into English, guarantee, means. We have to focus on what that means. Now, this is a very ancient word that actually comes through a couple of different ancient languages until it comes to Greek, finally, and then is eventually translated into English. In some English translations, in the New King James it says, guarantee, I don't know what translation you have, but in some translations it doesn't get translated, guarantee, it gets translated, pledged, or earnest payment. I think the Old King James puts it this way, that God gives us the earnest of the Spirit. And, brethren, earnest payment starts to get to the real meaning of this word. Let me read from one Greek dictionary what this word actually means. Here's what it says. It means, the earnest money deposited by the purchaser and forfeited if the purchase is not complete. The earnest money deposited by the purchaser and forfeited if the purchase is not complete.

Now, who purchases us? Who purchases us? But it's forfeited if the agreement or the deal is not complete. Brethren, the word he picked here has a very definite meaning to the people he wrote to. You know, guarantee in English doesn't have the same meaning. It doesn't have the same impact. Earnest payment is a much better translation.

God is trying to inspire us through Paul in the written word here. He says, you're going to be resurrected. You're going to receive a spirit body. And you already have the down payment. You already have the earnest payment right now. As long as you don't forfeit it. Now, I find it interesting that you and I don't give the down payment. The purchaser gives the down payment. God gives the down payment. But it also means that if we don't complete our part of the transaction, the whole deal can fall through.

It means that Jelena and I have purchased one house in our lifetime. It's the one we live in. It's the only one we've ever owned. And when we put down that down payment, or that earnest payment, we thought, it's ours. Even though we haven't yet closed the deal. We're thinking, this is going to be our house. But if for some reason the other party didn't do their part of the transaction, we may not have gotten into that house.

We would have gotten our down payment back. But both parties have a part in the transaction. And when you put down that earnest money, you feel like that house is yours. When God put that earnest payment into you, when He gave you the gift of the Holy Spirit, He feels like you are His child. He's impregnated you with the Holy Spirit. He feels like you are His. But we have a responsibility, too. We have been given an earnest payment of eternity.

A down payment of eternity. A house here. A body, in a sense, that's forever, spiritually. And this is the first thing that God does through the gift of His Holy Spirit. He gives an earnest payment to you. And He says, this is your down payment for eternity. Wow! That's pretty big stuff. Brethren, when God gave you the Spirit, did God call you to fail?

Did He call you to fail? Brethren, the power of your and my success has been given to us as a gift from our Eternal Father. You know, the only way that we can fail is if we don't want it anymore.

If we don't want it anymore, we cast it aside. You know, we're the only ones that can do that. We're the only ones that can fall asleep. We're the only ones that can let the oil drain down and not refill it, to have enough for the reservoir. You know, does God's Spirit fail? Does God fail? You know, does His power fail?

And He talks about the power of the Holy Spirit, and what it is, is He talking about a wee power? A small little wee power? You know, is it a different power today? Is it just a little power? Is that what that means when we read the Scripture about the fact that God's Spirit is a spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind? You know, is that what that means? Is that God can't do His part? Of course not!

God's Spirit isn't going to fail. It's not. He's going to see it through. He's going to see His part through. He's given us what we need. He's given us the gift. It's His Spirit. He's not going to forfeit the deal. We can forfeit the deal. Brethren, let's not forfeit the deal. Let's not forfeit the deal. He has given us this power. He's given us this Spirit. He's given us that earnest payment. He's given us a down payment of eternal life. It's pretty big. It's pretty big. Second point. The Holy Spirit literally impregnates us with God's nature. The Holy Spirit literally impregnates us with the divine nature.

Let's look at 2 Peter 1. 2 Peter 1. God does not want to give eternity to us as corrupt beings, sinful beings. He's forgiven us, and forgiveness is the first step. We've covered that in Passover. And then we began to understand the part that we have to play in the Days of the Eleven Bread, and we rehearsed that as well.

And now we're talking about Pentecost. And the next step is really Christ in you. That Jesus Christ came to be an example, to be a model for us as an older brother, that we can imitate, and that we can look at the Scripture to see how He lived His life, to see how He responded to circumstances, and that's there for us.

The brethren, He gives us that personal leadership, and He is the head of the church. And He does bring us to the Father. But it is the Spirit of God. It's the Holy Spirit of God that gives us the power for our nature to be changed. Now, Christ can be an example, but we need that Holy Spirit in us to give us the power to change.

Now, for Christ, there's a difference when we talk about Christ. Christ had human nature, but He wasn't corrupt. There's nothing corrupt about His human nature. He had the perfect nature of God, and He was a human being at the same time. He had the perfect nature of God within a human being, within a human body. And how did He live? Well, He lived like a perfect God being in human flesh. That's how He lived His life, because He was God and a human being.

But when God gives you and me His Spirit, we're already corrupted. So there's a different process that's going to have to take place in us. And that's how God designed it. You know, the work of the Spirit of God is necessary to change our nature. So this is why we begin, when we first come into Christianity, we begin by doing some of the simple things.

By keeping the Ten Commandments, all of a sudden we actually begin to observe them and to keep them, and to take them seriously. That's kind of where it starts. But, brethren, we need God's Spirit to take us beyond that. I mean, that's the beginning. But He's trying to put within us the divine nature. You know, there's no one else that can do that. But God, through the power of His Spirit, you know, I can't do that in you.

You know, if you've got issues with alcoholism, you know, I can maybe help to try to... I can't change your nature. There's no way I can do that. I mean, I can point you to the Scripture of what God has to say about, you know, alcoholism and drunkards and what have you. And I can maybe point you to a few things, you know, some resources to possibly get help that might help change your behavior. But there's no way that you're going to change without the power of God's Spirit. There is no way.

And that's really between you and God alone. You know, other brethren can help. They can encourage. You know, we can direct you to what it says. I can direct you to what it says. If you've got marriage problems, I can talk about what the husband's responsibilities are from Scripture, what the wife's responsibilities are from Scripture, and how you need to live your own verse and not try to live your own verse until somebody else lives theirs. I'll start loving you when you submit. Well, I won't start submitting until you start showing me a little love, you know.

I can talk to you about keeping your own verse. Brethren, I can't change your nature. I can't do that. Only God can do that through the power of the Spirit, that gift that He's given to you and to me. Only He can do that. 2 Peter 1, verse 2. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. Now that statement is either true or it's not true. When you received God's Spirit, you were given, as it says here, everything that pertains to life and godliness.

Now I think that covers a lot of ground. You were given everything, the power that pertains to life. I think we're talking about eternal life. And we're talking about godliness. We're talking about the divine nature, aren't we?

For them, is that statement either true or not true today? We saw the power in the first century, power in the first Pentecost. God says He has given us the divine power to do those things. He's given us what we need. Do we think that God's holding back now in this age? What's God holding back from you and me? What's He holding back? If God's not holding anything back, then maybe we should be asking ourselves, what are we holding back from Him? What are we holding back from Him? Because either God is holding back something from us or we're holding something back from Him. Or, well, we'd all be living perfect lives, wouldn't we? I don't think God's the problem. I don't think God's holding anything back from me. I think more often than not, I am holding back things from Him. So we hold back. But this is what God gave you. And you know, for those of you that are contemplating baptism, this is what God is going to give you. All things that pertain to life and godliness. And without that, we cannot attain those things. It's impossible. This is a very vital and important gift that God gives to us. It's pretty powerful. All things that pertain to life and godliness. Verse number 4, By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Brethren, we become partakers of the divine nature. Now that means there's work that's got to be done, doesn't it? Because God's not holding anything back. He's given us what we need. He's given us what we need. And so that means there's work to be done. That means there's sin that has to be discovered, exposed, if you will, and begin to be rooted out. It's a hard struggle. Because we've got our part in the deal. We have our part in the transaction that's going on here. That guarantee, that earnest payment has been given to us, but now we have a part to play in this deal, in this contract, in this agreement now. The kingdom's been prepared for us. All that's being done and prepared right now. And then we have to come into harmony and adapt ourselves to the way of God. To begin to become one with Him. So that we have become prepared for the ultimate gift. At the resurrection, or at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Because we can't do it ourselves. So we've got to become prepared for what He's going to give us. Because remember, eternity isn't going to be given to us for a state of rebellion against Him. It's not going to happen. He just won't do it. So we have to come into accordance with His will. Let's notice 1 Corinthians 6. Let's turn over there. 1 Corinthians 6. And we'll pick it up here. In verse 9. 1 Corinthians 6.

Verse 9. Don't you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? You know, the idea that just everybody is going to get into the kingdom just plain and simple isn't true. It's not one saved always saved. Let's just be clear about that. Don't be deceived.

Fornicators won't be there. Idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, those that covet, those that are drunk, drunkards, revilers, nor extortioners are going to inherit the kingdom of God. But notice verse 11. Then such were some of you. You know, some of these people had been this way before in their past life. Some were such of you. And you know, we call this a sin list. And there's a couple of sin lists that Paul writes one here and one in another one of his books.

And we put all of these together, you know, all these sin lists, I guess, if you will. I think it wouldn't matter who we were. We would all be able to say afterwards, and such were all of us. Such were all of us, every single one of us, had done something, at least one thing on that list.

What changed them? What changed these people? What changes us? He goes on to say, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, you were cleaned up, you were sanctified, which means set apart for holy use. You were justified, which means you've come back into a relationship with your Creator. In the name of the Lord Jesus, who came to repent, accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, and noticed, and by the Spirit of our God. Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says God.

For this is what the Holy Spirit does. It works with us, with our nature. It battles our nature. It helps us to begin to change our nature. We have our responsibility to submit to it, to follow its lead. We have to stir it up as well, to submit to it. God's always talking to us. No, He's speaking to us through this Holy Spirit, through His Word.

It's here, He's always talking to us. It's we sometimes that shut it down. Or we decide to put our hands over our ears. We don't want to listen anymore, because we don't necessarily like what it says.

We don't necessarily want to submit, because God's asking us to do something we're not really very comfortable with. It doesn't fit with our nature. So we shut it down. Stop listening. That's the problem. But it's there. God's always saying, do this. And then we sometimes shut it down.

Or don't do that, and we sometimes shut that down. But it's here. It's there, rather. We have to submit. And we have to be sensitive to it. That we know that if God wants me to do this, then I've got to do it. God knows what He's talking about. I have to trust Him. Let's go on, brethren. Sometimes we know that the Spirit of God talks about a Spirit of a sound mind. The Spirit of a sound mind. And God's trying to create a sound-mindedness within us, too.

And, of course, God tries to do that through His printed word here, spoken word, under inspiration of God. Sometimes God does it. He gives us a certain nudge. He inspires a thought that, you know, maybe you should be visiting that person. You know, this thought comes to your mind, it's been a while, I haven't touched base with them. And sometimes that's how God's Spirit moves us in that way. Just a gentle nudge here. And sometimes the Spirit leads us to places that we don't want to go.

You know, where has God's Spirit tried to take you that you don't want to go? You know, at first we thought, well, we're willing to help in India, but, you know, that's one of the last places on the face of the earth that pastors want to go. Most don't want to go there. And humanly, after we went through the first time, we could understand why. The culture is difficult and challenging, a lot of illness, a lot of malaria.

The food's touch and go. But God's people are there. His sons and daughters are there. You know? And you think about your own life. You know, where does God's Spirit sometimes want to take you that you don't want to go? It's going to be hard, God. This isn't going to be easy. What's God say? Okay, I know that. I already know that. But I'm not going to forsake you. I'm not going to leave you. You know, I'm going to be there. I understand it's going to be hard.

So those are the things that we think about. Sometimes God speaks to us through His Word, sometimes a thought. And sometimes, you know, He talks about be instant in prayer, be immediate in prayer. But sometimes we wait. And then we find ourselves halfway through the sin before we go to Him. And by then, it's kind of late. You pull the gun to be the robber, and then say, Oh God, what am I doing?

You know, it might be a little further down the road than you really want to go. So the immediate prayer brings us into this context because God hears. He says, I'm going to abide in you. For the more we submit to the Holy Spirit, the more our nature begins to change. It's a conversion. That's why God utilizes that word conversion.

To be converted. Change from one thing to another. And God's Spirit helps us to convert from a human, corrupt nature to the divine nature. Let's look at a third point. Through the Holy Spirit, we become the children of God. Kind of touched on that already. Through the Holy Spirit, we become the children of God. And we are in a father-son or father-daughter relationship. Really, it's kind of simple what God is doing.

He's creating a family. He's having a family. Spiritual sons and daughters. And when we are changed, we will be the Spirit-born, eternal sons of God. You say, well, I'm not changed yet. I'm not resurrected yet, so I'm not a child of God just yet.

But that's not how the Scripture refers to it. He talks about that we are in a child-parent relationship right now. Let's notice Galatians 3 and verse 26. Galatians 3 and verse 26. That you and I actually have a brother-to-brother, brother-to-sister, child-to-parent relationship right now. A relationship with Jesus Christ as an elder brother right now. Galatians 3 and verse 26.

It says, for you are all sons of God. I think that pretty much explains it, doesn't it? You are all sons of God through faith in Christ. He says you're already in this relationship right now. At baptism, we have the laying on of hands. God's Spirit then is given. He gives the gift to the Holy Spirit. And you become His child. He impregnates you with His Spirit. And that is the relationship that God desires. Now, we don't have that relationship prior to baptism.

We don't. You have a different relationship with God. Sometimes in counseling with baptism, we talk about how the relationship changes. You know, right now, before baptism, you have a relationship with God as Judge. Not with God as Father. You know, if we break the law, Judge says, guilty? Punishment. Once you become a child of God, there's a different relationship. It's a relationship not of Judge, but of Father or of Dad. And you break the law, hey, we're going to teach you something through that.

And that you can learn something so that you don't do it again. He's trying to help us to learn. He utilizes the law to help us in that way. You know, I'd rather go before Him as Father instead of Judge. Wouldn't you? You know, Father may punish me, but He's got a different motivation than a Judge. Dad's got a different motivation. Punishment is to teach you a lesson. Punishment is to help you to learn, help you to grow, so you don't do it again.

So right now, verse 26, for you are all the sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free. There's neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you're Abraham's seed, and you're heirs according to the promise. Now, I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, doesn't differ at all from a slave, though he's master of all, but is under the guardians and the stewards until the time appointed by the Father. Even so, when we were children, we were under bondage under the elements of the world, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who are under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons. You know, sometimes we'll replace that word adoption with sonship. There's a reason that Paul gave this word. We'll talk about that in a moment. In verse 5, this word adoption. Verse number 6, And because you are sons, you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So we're talking about a very close relationship here. Abba is a term of endearment. Verse 7, Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then you are an heir of God through Christ. So it's noteworthy that Paul uses the word adoption here. I think what's noteworthy is that in the Roman world, the word adoption had a lot different meaning than maybe what it does today. I mean, in the United States, you have to legally adopt someone for them to become your child. In the Roman world, in the first century, they did the same thing. They had to make it legal. But what they went way beyond, they thought of that person then as blood. Not just an adopted son, but as your son. You know, in a situation of a Roman father, of a family, maybe he's a wealthy man, and normally the eldest son would be the one that would be the heir that would get the vast majority of the estate. But if you had a son that was a deadbeat, and maybe there was a nephew out there, or there was a neighbor's son, that you had a relationship, and you began to grow into a relationship as a father and son, you could actually adopt that person, and they would be like blood. They'd be like family. They'd be like blood ties, bloodlines. And they'd become your heir.

How many of you have seen the movie, oh, Charlton Heston, Ben Hur? Ben Hur? Okay, not a lot. Okay, it's an older movie, isn't it? It's a good movie if you haven't seen it. It's a pretty good movie. And I don't recommend many movies. But in that particular story, he's a Jewish person. He gets sold into slavery, kind of thrown into slavery. He ends up being adopted by a Roman general. And he becomes his son, like blood. Remember that part of the story? Ben Hur? It's quite a fascinating story. But that's how it is. And so, I mean, in the other books that are not written by Paul, when they're addressed to the Israelites, they're often using terms like children of God. And they had a natural proclivity of that. Yeah, we're the children of God. We're born as children of God. But the Gentiles often felt that they didn't measure up. You know, the Old Testament was for them, the Israelites. And Paul is saying, no, no. You are like blood to God. If you're impregnated with His Spirit, it doesn't matter your ethnicity. It doesn't matter your background. It doesn't matter. You are His child. That's the way it's designed. That's the way it works. That's what God's doing. And so God's Spirit, brethren, when it impregnates us, we become His children. It's as simple and it's as powerful as that. Let's go on to the next point. Point number four. The Holy Spirit helps us to get through our human weaknesses, to communicate with God. When there are times that we can't. The Holy Spirit helps us to get through our human weaknesses, to communicate with God. When there are times that we can't. Brethren, if you've ever had a time when you were so frustrated, when you were so messed up, when you had maybe all of these things coming at you from different directions, you couldn't even pray.

You know? And there are times when I find myself upset with something and I can't even talk to God. And I'll find the reason is that maybe I don't want to pray, because I already know what He wants me to do. And I don't want to do what He wants me to do. I don't want to do what He's leading me to do. Then you finally realize it's like this heavy hand on you and you finally realize, okay, I've got to go to God. Or I've got to fast. This is pretty serious stuff. And I realize I have to fast and pray. And I've got to go back to God. Let's notice Romans 8, verse 26. Romans 8, verse 26. Brethren, the Holy Spirit helps us when we get to a certain point. When we tell God, I don't even know what to do here. I don't even know what to say to you. I'm not even sure what is happening. I'm not sure how to proceed. You know, you get down on your knees and you start to pray. God says, come on. He says, I know. I know what you're going through. It's okay. You know, I can help you with this. Romans 8, verse 26. Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. Okay? So God's Spirit is going to help in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought. Sometimes we don't even know what to pray for or how we should pray. But notice, but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. Now, He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because it makes intercession for you and me. For the saints, as it says here, according to the will of God. Brethren, it's okay to go to God and say, I don't know what to say. I'm having a hard time here. I'm not sure how to proceed. I'm just so distraught, I don't even know how this can work out. I don't even know what I should do to have this work out. I don't even know how to explain this. And God is inside. As He abides in us through His Spirit, God says, I know exactly what you're thinking. I know what you're thinking, and I know what you're feeling, and things are kind of messed up here, aren't they? We'll work this out. Sometimes God doesn't even give us an answer right away. Sometimes all He does is give us comfort. And then there's this calm that comes to us as we've begun to submit to Him. There's a calm that can begin to come to us. You know, sometimes that's all we need. But where does that come from? Where does that come from? Because we went to God and we asked for help. God's Spirit, remember half of those virgins? That lamp wasn't burning bright. The oil got burned up somehow, and it hadn't been replaced. They hadn't gone to God. Or we, if we're in those shoes, haven't been going to God. Enough. He's the source of all of that. They weren't on their knees and going to God and saying, God, help me through this. I don't even know how to pray about this. So, brethren, it's a help to us in time of need. It is a spirit. Because our light can begin to go out. It doesn't matter where we are in our lives. Sometimes it's burning bright, and there's other times when it's close to being snuffed out. Brethren, I fear is when things get more troublesome, as we get closer to the end of the age. I think we're getting a little bit of a taste of that in the world today. But it's going to get worse. It's going to get crazier. Brethren, I fear as things get crazier, there's going to be a tendency for us to get crazier as well.

We're going to need to be submitting to God's Spirit, aren't we? You know, as we get closer to the end, if we're not close to God, I think we're going to be influenced by some of the things going on. We're going to go crazy as well. That sound-mindedness that comes from God doesn't come from us. Can't get it from the world. Can't get it from our culture. It only comes from Him. Hopefully we'll be on our knees saying, this is crazy and I'm messed up and I need your help and I want to be close to you to help me through this.

Brethren, that's a gift that God has given us to help us to get through those types of things. It's a very, very important gift. It's a very necessary gift. God says, I know it's hard. My son tells me how hard it is. I know it's hard. We'll work this out together. We're going to need his help. Let's go on to the fifth point. It's through God's Spirit that we learn spiritual truth, that we cannot know otherwise. It is through God's Spirit that we can learn spiritual truth, that we cannot learn otherwise.

Let's go to 1 Corinthians 2. 1 Corinthians 2. You know, it doesn't matter if you're brand new in the faith, or you've been around doing this for 50 or more years. It doesn't matter if there are sins in your life that you're hiding and you're not overcoming. It doesn't matter whether the problems that you're going through, whether they be job problems, whether they be marital problems, whether they be alcohol, whether they be personal, whether they be pornography, whether it be emotional problems.

This is the only power that can help change that nature. It's God's Holy Spirit. There is no other method that God's given us. He's given us what we need, that we have a part to play. You know, I can try to help you. I can only take you to God. We can sometimes only take each other to God. But it's between you and God, it's between me and God, and our nature actually beginning to change, and us to come out of some of those things that Paul talked about, and some of you were those things.

They had changed. God's Spirit had helped them to come out of it. This is the power that has been given to you to conquer these things. You can go to God. You can take each other to God. But He does it. He does it. You don't do it. He does it. And we submit to it. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 9. Brethren, if we don't submit to it, it only gets worse.

If we don't submit to God's Spirit, it's only going to get worse. Remember how David tried to run from Bathsheba's situation? Remember that story? He committed adultery with Bathsheba? He tried to run. He didn't confess his sin. He didn't take it to God. God's hand got heavier and heavier on Him. He knew something was wrong. Finally, God got His attention through Nathan the prophet.

But, brethren, if we don't submit to the following the lead to God's Spirit, it only gets worse. Until there's nothing left. David got to the point, God save me or I'm going to die, basically. I realize that my eternal life is in jeopardy.

Don't take your Holy Spirit from me, He said. Take not your Holy Spirit from me. He knew what was about to happen to Him. He was this close. He was this close. His eternal life was on the line. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 9, But as it is written, I, has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of men, the things which God has prepared. That's a whole other message in itself. I know we talk about that to encourage one another, every now and then. Our eye hasn't seen, our ear hasn't heard, and it hasn't even entered into our hearts completely what God has prepared. It's going to exceed our expectations.

But God is prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. So He's giving us the foretaste as we look through a glass darkly. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God, for what man knows the things of a man, except the Spirit of man which is in him. Even so, no one knows the things of God, except the Spirit of God. We can't know spiritual things without this gift.

We cannot understand them. Now we have received, verse 12, not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches. So now we see that God's Spirit teaches us things. Comparing spiritual things with spiritual. Verse 14, But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. They're foolishness. Without God's Spirit, the truth of God is foolishness. You know, we heard the story in the sermonette about the farmer.

He was listening to a program, and his helper was listening to the same program. Totally different reaction. Delinda and I had a meeting this week with a perspective member. Amazing story. Amazing story. She started reading the Bible about three years ago, cover to cover. She got all the way through it. She started reading it again. She came upon the Beyond Today. She's come upon our literature. She's come upon our booklets.

She put leavening out of her home. And she knows about the Holy Days. She knows about the feasts. She has all of this understanding. And then she wants to share it with either relatives or friends. And when she brings it up, there's an awkward silence. They don't take the ball and run with it. They're not interested. God hasn't opened their minds. We have to give them that. Just like most of us were in those shoes not that long ago. But you know, it's foolishness. It's foolishness. To the world, it's foolishness. It's not foolishness to God. It's the precious truth of His. But to the natural person, they see much of this as foolishness.

But God's Spirit brings us to understand this and to love it. To understand it and to love it and to want to live it. And we do this because we love God. We already know He loves us. But we begin to do this because we love Him. We love this way of life.

We love Him. We love His Son. We love each other. Talking about Spirit of power and of love. That agape love. And of a sound mind. Brethren, so much here. I've got to wrap things up first. Let's go to point number six. Brethren, point number six. God, through His Spirit, gives us a Spirit that will give you and I the power to endure even when we think we can't. He will give us the power to endure even when we think we cannot endure anymore. Brethren, that Spirit will give you the power to go through things that you don't think that you can do. Things that you can't do on your own. There's things you can't do on your own. And only God can do it through you. Only God can do it in us. And once again you may say, well God, can't you just do it through me? God says, okay. Submit to me and do this. And we say, I don't want to do that. God says, I'll do it through you, but submit to me and do this. We say, I don't want to do that. It's a human thing. I just want you to do it through me. I don't want to be involved. Just do it through me without me having to do anything. It's not how God works. There's submission involved. Let's look at 2 Corinthians 4. 2 Corinthians 4, we're on point number 6 that God gives us the power to endure things that we can't endure ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 6. It says, it's God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Go back to the fact that we are still flesh and blood. We still have a carnal human nature. And we have this treasure. Interesting how God puts it. This gift that He's given to us is one to be treasured. We have this treasure in a tent, in a physical body in earthen vessels. At least for the moment.

Notice, we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. Brethren, He says you and I can't do certain things, but God in us can. Through that gift, through that Spirit that works in you.

Verse 8, we are hard pressed on every side, yet we're not crushed. Can you imagine what Paul went through? Remember all the things that he went through? And we talk about Paul getting stoned. You know, you just think about, oh, okay, he got stoned. We just read over it. Well, can you imagine what he was going through at the time? Here, his contemporaries that he probably knew were raising up stones. And he was about to be bombarded with the weight and the hardness of all those stones coming from all different directions with people that he knew most likely, some of them. And you know, they thought, and can you imagine having that pommel coming down on you, and they thought he was dead. They thought he was dead. They walked away. We've done the job. Can you imagine being in his shoes and going through all of that? He says, we're perplexed, but we're not in despair. We're persecuted, but we're not forsaken. We're struck down, but we're not destroyed. Always caring about in the body of the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. How is it going to be manifested in our body? Verse 11, For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, same spirit of faith as whom? When we talk about we have the same spirit of faith, well, whose spirit of faith do we have? Well, what's he talking about here? Who's he talking about? What's the subject? Verse 10 says, Jesus Christ. Verse 11 says, Jesus Christ. Who's the spirit of faith that we have? Where does it come from? We have to submit to it so that it becomes ours. God doesn't want us to do this because we're forced to. He eventually wants us to do this because it's us. It's like it's Him. It's us. So we become. You know, if you or I come to the feast of Pentecost tomorrow, if we come tomorrow and we'd rather be doing something else, we only come but we'd really rather be somewhere else or doing something else, that we're not doing this because we love God. We're doing this because we feel compelled to where someone's going to look down on us because we don't. You know, we've got to be thinking about that. He says here, we have to have the same spirit. We have the same spirit that Christ had. We have the same spirit of faith. We do it for the same reason that Jesus Christ did.

We do it because we want to. That means our nature has to be changed, isn't it? Because that is not a normal response.

Verse 13 of 2 Corinthians 4. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, I believed and therefore I spoke. We also believe and therefore we speak. Knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Therefore, because of what we've just read, we don't lose heart. Why don't we lose heart?

Because we go to God and we say, through your spirit, give me the spirit of faith that Christ had.

Through your spirit, give me the same spirit of faith that my elder brother has. We ask for it. Now the Scripture talks about over and over. What Father won't give a good gift to His child if He asks for a fish? Will He give him a scorpion? How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask?

We need it, don't we? We need to utilize the spirit, the gift that God has given to us.

Better wrap this up.

Point number seven. The Holy Spirit brings us into unity with other people of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will bring us into unity with other people of God that have the Holy Spirit.

You know, when there's disunity in the body of Christ, that means there's something that's wrong. We are not submitting to the Spirit of God when we've got disunity and disharmony. We're not submitting to God's Spirit. Ephesians 4, verse 1. Ephesians 4, verse 1.

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, interesting how Paul refers to himself in that way, as a servant, a slave, beseech you, encouraging you and me to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love. Bearing means putting up with. You know? Putting up with each other. Bearing with each other within our family, within our church families. And notice, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit. Endeavoring means to work at it. It's hard. It just doesn't come. We have to work. Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit. Now, I think it's interesting. It means the unity of the Spirit is not the unity of friendship. We're just here through the unity of friendship. No congregation is going to last. Eventually, they'll have groups of friends that will get together, and then there'll be three or four congregations. If it's just a unity bound by friendship and how you feel comfortable with other people. That's not what God's called us to. Bearing with one another? Okay. You know, usually with a friend, you don't have to bear too much, do you? It just comes easy! But that's not what God's called us to. Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit. It's the unity of the Spirit, not the unity of friendship. We do it because we're submitting to what God is doing. Without God, we're nothing without His Spirit. Then all of this is just an exercise in futility. Without His Spirit. Verse 3, Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Trying to do this in a peaceful environment. It takes work. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all and through you all and in you all. So we see that God's Spirit works in us. And it helps us in so many ways. Let's just review these points. There should be seven. Number one, it's our earnest payment for eternity. God's already given it to you. He's the purchaser. He's paid the price. Put His Spirit in you. We can walk away from the deal. Let's not walk away from the deal. Let's not have it forfeited. Number two, we see that God's Spirit impregnates us with His divine nature. Giving us the power over time and effort in this conversion process. To have our nature changed. Our corrupt human nature changed. Number three, we've seen through the Holy Spirit that we become the children of God right now. Right now. We're in a relationship as a father-child relationship right now. We have a brother and elder brother. We have brothers and sisters in this family right now.

Number four, the Holy Spirit makes it possible that we can have a level of communication with God when we can't even talk with Him. Through the groanings that it talked about in the Scriptures that we read. God makes intercession for us through the Spirit. Number five, through the bonding of God's Holy Spirit with our Spirit, we are able to understand spiritual truth that we could not understand on our own. We just couldn't do it.

Number six, the Holy Spirit gives us the power to endure even when you and I would give up. We would throw in the towel. We'd quit.

And number seven, the Holy Spirit brings us into the unity with other children of God.

Brethren, remember the first Pentecost that I touched on at the beginning of the message after Christ's resurrection?

Remember the thousands of people that were filled with the Holy Spirit and baptized? They were responded to those that had God's Spirit on that day?

That is the same power that's within you and I today.

It's the same power. It's the same Spirit. It's not a lesser power, but it's the same awesome Spirit that can transform fishermen and tax collectors and other common men into powerful men that can preach the Word of God and to teach it.

It's the same Spirit today that performed great miracles. It gave the first century Christians the ability to withstand the tests that they're going through, that they went through. And they're not much different than what we're going through.

In some cases, they may have been more challenging. Maybe were challenged in other ways that they weren't.

But it's the same power today that's within you. You can call upon it to face the challenges and trials that are presently happening and will come yet ahead.

It's the same power. It's a gift that God either wants to give to you or has already given to you, to each of you. It's yours. It's your precious gift. And what you do with it is up to you.

We individually have that accountability, responsibility of how we're going to respond to it.

Brother, the time is going to come when each of you are going to need, when I am going to need, the power of God's Spirit to carry us through. We're going to need it. We're not going to make it any other way.

It's time for each of us, as individuals, to stir up that Spirit.

It's time to stir it up. It's time to utilize it. It's time to submit to it. And to seriously to think about the gift that He's given to us.

And I believe, brethren, it's time, right now, to trim our lamps.

Thank you.