Say Y.E.S.

Thank you, Mr. Dunn. Good afternoon once again. Hope all of you had a wonderful lunch. We, who ate here, really, I'm sure, enjoyed the meal. It was a very good meal. Hope you had a fine meal, those who went elsewhere. Now, on this day of Pentecost, we celebrate the anniversary of the New Testament Church of God. This is a very important day. We celebrate the wonderful, precious, priceless, and powerful gift of the Holy Spirit, which has been poured out in power upon His people. Today, we celebrate our calling as first fruits, and we acknowledge our Savior Jesus Christ as the very first of the first fruits. We look forward to being changed to Spirit. Born into the family of God, the spiritual family of God for eternity, at the return of Jesus Christ. Brethren, I believe it's safe to say that Jesus Christ, as a human being, was yielded exclusively to the Spirit. Think about that for a moment. Jesus Christ was yielded exclusively to the Spirit of God. Christ never walked in the flesh. He always walked in the Spirit. Christ never sinned. He was perfect. So He always walked in the Spirit. Jesus Christ practiced what I'm going to call, Yes. Yes is an acronym. I want all of you to be practicing Yes from now on. And that is yielded exclusively to the Spirit. I want you to think of that and consider that as we continue through the sermon today. We all need to follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ, and we need to learn to be yielded exclusively to the Spirit of God. So ask yourself, brethren, how well, how completely, ask yourself, am I yielded to the Holy Spirit? How well are you, how well am I, yielded to the Holy Spirit of God? How completely are we being led by the Spirit of God?

I think everyone probably knows what an acronym is. The FBI is an acronym. It stands for Federal Bureau of Investigation. So, Yes, or Y-E-S, is the acronym that we're going to consider today, again, yield exclusively to the Spirit. So today, I'd like to encourage all of us to consider that every day, every minute, every second of our lives from now on. Do you think you can do that? It's going to be a tall order, isn't it? But that's really what we all need to do. We need to think about this as we go throughout our lives, and I think I'll be able to help you see that as we go along. So what does it mean to practice Y-E-S or Yes? To say Yes to the Holy Spirit and to say No to sin, to say No to Satan.

That should be our goal. In fact, it's not going to be an easy thing to do to yield exclusively to the Spirit, but it should be our goal, and Jesus Christ made that very clear. In Matthew 5, verse 48, Jesus Christ told His disciples, That's what He told His disciples back then, and that is what He's telling His disciples today. Become you therefore perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect. He told them this immediately after He had instructed them on loving their enemies and praying for those who would despitefully use them and persecute them. Jesus Christ instructed His disciples about practicing Yes, about practicing yielding exclusively to the Spirit. In John 17, let's go there and consider what Jesus Christ's last words, basically, these were His last words to His disciples before He was taken and crucified. What was on His mind? John 17. Now, many of you know what we're going to read because we read it every year at the Passover. You're quite familiar with these verses, but it is important that we consider these verses as we consider Christ's instructions to yield exclusively to the Spirit of God. In verse 20, Christ said, I do not pray for these alone, speaking of the disciples that were there with Him, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word. So that's you and that's Me. We have believed through the word of the apostles written down in the Bible, that they all may be one as you, Father, are in Me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent Me. And the glory which you gave Me, I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one. I in them and you in Me, that they may be made perfect in one. We are to become perfect in one, in God the Father. And of course, Jesus Christ is perfectly unified with the Father, one in them or one in us, as it says. We are to become like the Father and like the Son. That is your calling. Anything less, we're falling short. So we need to have a mindset of yielding exclusively to the Spirit of God. That's what Christ is calling us out of this world to understand.

I in them, you in Me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent Me, and have loved them as you have loved Me. Now, I think in the times to come, the world will become increasingly more aware of who we are. I say that because I believe in time, God will pour His Spirit out in greater measure in the Church of God. Yesterday in Northwestern Arkansas, I talked about stirring up the Spirit of God, and I talked about how the Spirit of God was tremendously powerful in the early Church. I went through a number of scriptures in the book of Acts. Scriptures where John and Peter, for example, said, Silver and gold have I none, but what I have you I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk. And a man who had been crippled from birth, who was now about 40 years old, stood up and walked. Now, yesterday we had a little crippled girl that was there in Northwestern Arkansas. She had her little wheelchair. And I couldn't help but think how wonderful it's going to be when God gives us that kind of power. Now, yesterday I said that if we had this kind of power now in the Church of God, that we would have so much notoriety, people would come from far and wide to hear us, to see us, and especially to be healed. There are many, many people who need healed on this earth. And if we had that kind of power that instantly everyone that we prayed for laid hands upon would be healed, we would just have such throngs of people around us. Christ had over 10,000 people, perhaps 15,000 people. There were 5,000 men who were hearing His teaching, and He was healing. And I tend to think that probably the main reason they were there was because of the healings. And people were all around to see the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit. I tend to believe that we'll see that kind of Spirit poured out as we draw closer to the return of Christ. People will come to know who we are. Our example is going to be very important at that time. Who we are, the character that we built, that's going to be extremely important. And we need to take this seriously and realize that God is preparing a people. He's preparing a church that is supposed to be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. So we need to learn to yield exclusively to God's Spirit. We do need to learn to stop making excuses for our bad behavior. And we do need to learn to behave in the way that Christ and the Father behave. We need to be perfect in one, as they are one. That is our calling. So I hope that we are getting the message today. God really does want us to stir up the Spirit of God, the gift of God that's in us. We must have faith that God will intervene when He's ready to pour out His Spirit in miraculous ways. I've mentioned before, I've seen miraculous healings in the church, but it's not like every time we anoint someone, they're miraculously healed. That isn't the kind of power we see in the church right now. I think we'll see more of that in the future. That's my own personal belief. And I think the Scripture bears that out to some degree, although it doesn't go into any detail in that regard.

So as we read chapter 17, again, we see that we are to become like the Father and like the Son. Verse 24 says, So Christ is to live in us. The love of the Father, the love of the Son is to be in us. It should be reflected in our decisions, the things that we do day by day. As Mr. Hopper said in his message, the Spirit is not going to force us to live righteously. God looks on our heart. He wants to see people that have the character to say no. We have the freedom to say no. As he said, we have the freedom to say no to God and not follow Him, but we also have the freedom to say yes. We have the freedom to be yielded exclusively to the Spirit of God. It is a choice that you make, and it's a choice that I make. And we ought not make excuses for ourselves or one another. We really should look to the standard, God the Father and Jesus Christ, and we should raise the bar and learn to walk more faithfully and more perfectly with God. So what does it mean to practice Y-E-S or to practice Yes, to yield exclusively to the Spirit? The word yield means to surrender or submit oneself to another. You are called to surrender yourself, to submit yourself to God the Father and to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ set that perfect example as He yielded perfectly to the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit. Christ truly was totally surrendered and submissive to the Father. Everything you read in the Bible says that He was perfectly surrendered, totally committed, exclusively yielded to the Spirit of God. He was in the flesh. He battled the same battles that you battle. Now He did have extra strength because He had the Spirit from birth. Some of us have had the Holy Spirit a long time. Perhaps we ought to be growing more with God's Spirit dwelling in us. Exclusively, the second word means only one or single. It means soul. It means whole. It means undivided. Exclusively means there's only one Master that we serve. And Christ made that very clear. You can't serve two Masters, you only serve one.

So we need to exclusively serve our one Master. And we need to have that mindset. The third word, Spirit, of course, is referring to the Holy Spirit of God. God the Father and Christ are composed of Holy Spirit. It is their power. It is their divine essence. And they have chosen to share their Spirit with us. They have given us of their Spirit. They have given us a down payment and earnest of the Spirit that we might become like they are.

They poured out their Spirit on the day of Pentecost. They are pouring out their Spirit today. In fact, let's go to Acts 2. I can't believe they actually left that Scripture for me. I didn't even have it in my notes because I was sure someone else would use it. It wouldn't be right not to go to this verse. Acts 2, verse 1. Acts 2, verse 1, When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

Then there appeared to them divided tongues as a fire, and one sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. God's Spirit was poured out in a mighty way on the day of Pentecost, and God's Spirit worked mightily in the early church. But we all know that eventually all of the apostles finally were martyred, except for John. They all ended up dying, and those miracles diminished, and a dark cloud came over the church for centuries. We've seen some power in this age.

We've seen God work and call many people, over 100,000 plus people in the last century. We don't know exactly what God is going to do in the next several years prior to Christ's return, but we do need to be preparing ourselves for whatever comes. God's Spirit was poured out in great measure on the day of Pentecost. They do continue to pour out their Spirit today on those who are called and chosen, chosen now to be first fruits of the Kingdom of God.

You have a power within you, those of you who are baptized, that you ought not take for granted and that you ought not minimize, because it is extremely powerful. How much are we utilizing the Spirit of God? Those of you who are not baptized, God's Spirit is there for you to access.

God's Spirit has been calling you. You have the Spirit of God. You can make changes now. We all made changes before we were baptized. In fact, I'm not going to baptize anyone that I don't see making some dramatic changes in their life, because you just need to reach out and access the Spirit of God. Don't make excuses for yourself. Don't continue in sin. Instead, say, yes, yield exclusively to the Spirit. Be single-minded. God hates double-mindedness. He wants single-minded people who are committed and convicted and are willing to put themselves out for Him.

The Apostle Paul, who was struck down on the road to Damascus by the power of God's Spirit, was transformed by the Spirit of God. He was a man who had vehemently persecuted the Church of God, but now he was a powerful vessel in the hands of God.

A man of faith. A man of great strength and power. God worked in him mightily. He was a powerful vessel in God's hands. In Romans 6, it speaks of yielding again to the Spirit of God. Let's go to Romans 6. Romans 6. Now, this is the baptism chapter. Paul talks a lot about baptism here.

In verse 12, he says, He says, He says, Don't let it have power over you. Don't let your own lust, your carnal nature, your flesh have ruled over you. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead. Now, this is hearkening back to the baptism analogy.

We die when we are baptized. We go into a watery grave. We die in Christ. We're crucified with Him. We come out of that watery grave a new person. A powerful person. One in whom the Spirit dwells. So we are not to present ourselves to God. This word present is actually the word yield in the King James. In the New King James it says present. Usually I like the New King James better, but I like the Old King James in this case.

Verse 13 is, And do not yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but yield yourselves to God as being alive from the dead. We need to yield to God. And your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. We're not under the penalty of the law because Christ died for us. He paid the penalty for our sins. Our sins have been forgiven in Christ. But Christ is now to live in us, and we are to become new people, new creations in Christ. What then shall we sin? Because we're not under law, but under grace. The answer is certainly not.

We ought not sin. We should come out of sin. We kept the Passover, we kept the Deusseum 11 bread. They picture our Savior Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb, who died for us, and it pictures putting sin out of our life. Making some steps, even before Pentecost, when the Spirit was poured out, because we have access to the Spirit.

We can put sin out because we have access to the Holy Spirit. Then, when the Spirit of God dwells in us, then we have even more power to overcome and to grow.

Verse 16, Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one slave whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death. If you yield to Satan the devil, instead of God the Father and Jesus Christ, then you will be slaves of unrighteousness. On the other hand, if you yield yourself to obedience, by the way, if you do yield to sin, then it will lead to death. The wages of sin is death. If you yield to obedience that leads to righteousness, that's another thing. Then you will be pleasing to God. Verse 17, But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered, or what was entrusted to you, we keep the same doctrines the early church kept. We believe in the commandments of God. We know that Christ did not do away with the law. In fact, He made the law more binding. Now it's written in our hearts and in our minds. Now the Spirit of God is to dwell in us, to stir us up, to greater law-keeping, not just in the letter, but in the Spirit. Far greater. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. So the idea is that you're freed from sin because Christ paid the penalty for you. All your past sins have been forgiven. But now you are to go and sin no more. As Christ told the woman who was caught in adultery, go and sin no more. That's what we're supposed to be doing. We're supposed to go and sin no more. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. He says, I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. To be a slave, it means you have to surrender fully. You have to yield exclusively if you are to be a slave of God, a dulos, a servant of God. So now present or yield your members, I'm in verse 19, so now present or yield your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. You are to become holy even as I am holy, says the eternal God. You are to become perfect as I am perfect. That is our goal. That's what we need to be continually striving for. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things in which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now, having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end is everlasting life. Now you are to produce the fruit of God's Spirit. Love and joy and peace and patience, kindness and gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control. That's what you're supposed to be producing. That's what I'm supposed to be producing. We are supposed to be producing the fruit of God's Spirit, and that leads to everlasting life. On the other hand, as it says in verse 23, The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. So, accepting Christ as our Savior doesn't give us an excuse to sin, does it? Of course not. Christ is to live in us and empower us by His Spirit to put sin out of our lives. So, let's talk about five ways in which we can learn to practice YES, Y-E-S, yielding exclusively to the Spirit of God. First of all, practicing YES means that we must not grieve or quench the Spirit of God that is in us or working with us. Let's go to Ephesians 4. We are not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Ephesians 4.

Ephesians 4 will start in verse 25.

Ephesians 4.

Verse 25. The Apostle Paul writes, Therefore, putting away lying, that each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Now, this is to the church at Ephesus. Undoubtedly, there was still a problem with lying. These people were still having a problem. There were a lot of Gentiles, probably a lot of newly converted Gentiles. Undoubtedly, there were some Jewish people as well that were a part of this church. Therefore, putting away lying, that each one of you speak truth with his neighbor. We are to tell the truth, period.

For we are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down in your wrath. If you get angry, and it's not the right kind of anger, righteous indignation, then you need to be sure that you don't let the sun go down in your wrath. You repent of that. You repent of that, and you make peace with that. Do not sin. Verse 27, Nor give place to the devil. Don't give place to Satan the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.

So the idea is to get to work. If you're able-bodied, get to work. Don't make excuses. Find some work. Get out there and make it happen. Trust in God and have faith, and let it happen.

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth. But what is good for necessary edification? Nothing corrupt should come out of your mouth. Only that which is good, to build up and pray sincerely, to help others, that it may impart grace to the world. How often have we resorted to tearing people down instead of building them up? This is fundamental Christianity. This is fundamental Christianity, what we're talking about today. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Don't grieve the Spirit. You know what it means to grieve, right? When you grieve, you feel awful. The Holy Spirit is a God. You feel awful. You feel awful. You feel awful. You feel awful. When you grieve, you feel awful. The Holy Spirit grieves when we sin. The Holy Spirit grieves when we make wrong choices. God's Spirit is there to lead us and guide us, to motivate us. So don't grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. You were sealed through the power of the Holy Spirit. You will be in God's Kingdom. You who have God's Spirit dwelling in you, and who remain faithful, called chosen and faithful, you will be in the Kingdom of God. You will live forever with God. You will rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years on this earth, and then you will live forever, for all eternity in spirit. A member of the God family. It doesn't get any better than that. That is your destiny. So it's worth learning to yield exclusively to the Spirit. It's not easy to do that in the flesh, but now is our day of salvation. Now, judgment is upon the house of God. Judgment is right here today, on us. When you leave this room, judgment will follow you. We are all being judged. This is our day of salvation. So grieve not the Spirit of God. Don't act in ungodly ways, because that will grieve the Holy Spirit of God. When you're tempted to make fun of someone or tear someone down, accuse somebody. When you're tempted to say something that might be hurtful to another person, think before you speak. Practice. Yes. Practice yielding exclusively to the Spirit. Be careful that you say only things that would edify, that would help and encourage. That's a high standard, but it's the standard that Christ lived. When you are tempted to tell someone how good you are at doing something, think before you speak. Realize that you bragging about you is not a godly, humble trait. But it is an ungodly, proud, vain characteristic. So practice, again, yielding to the Spirit. Humble yourself, as was mentioned today, and just be quiet when you're tempted to brag about yourself. Often times we do that because perhaps we feel a bit inferior, actually. But we need to go to God for the strength that we need and look to Him for faith. Be careful when you begin to brag on yourself. Instead, sincerely pray someone else for their good deeds. When you're tempted to speak about something that's mundane or worldly on the Sabbath, refrain from doing so. Again, yield exclusively to the Spirit. Practice, yes. Remember, we are to learn to honor God and not to do our own thing or speak our own words on His Holy Day. But we are to dedicate ourselves to honoring, worshipping, and pleasing God. If you're tempted to gossip about someone, then again, yield exclusively to the Spirit and just simply don't do it. Don't say it. Don't spread it. If you feel yourself getting angry about something, catch yourself and yield to the Spirit. Control your temper. On the way here, my wife spilled half a cup of lemonade in her lap all over the front seat and in her lap, and I was pleased with her because she didn't use any expletives. She didn't... She was good. She yielded to the Spirit. If you're tempted to watch something on TV that is inappropriate and is detrimental to your spiritual health, then yield exclusively to the Spirit and just turn away.

If you're tempted to lie about something, perhaps to cover up something that you've done that was wrong, don't make matters worse by lying about it. Instead, repent. Admit your error. Confess your sin. And change. Say yes to the Spirit. Say no to sin. If you're tempted to steal something, anything, yield exclusively to the Spirit and just don't do it, even if it's a stamp. Whatever it is, just don't do it. In 1 Thessalonians 5, and Gerald Cleaver turned to this briefly, but I'd like to go there anyway. I'm going to cover a few more verses. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 16. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 16.

Here it says, to rejoice always. Joy is a fruit of God's Spirit. We should be the happiest people on earth. We've got the most to be grateful for. We've got the most to be thankful for. And the Holy Spirit is a spirit of joy. So, rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. It's talking about an attitude of prayer. Going throughout our day, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, in a prayerful attitude. In a prayerful mind, that means you probably need to be praying before you leave in the morning on your knees so that you can maintain that kind of prayerful attitude throughout the day. Pray without ceasing. In everything, give thanks. Be a thankful person. For this is the will of God in Christ for you. This is God's will for you. That you rejoice always. That you are always prayerful. That you pray without ceasing. And that you are always thankful. And do not quench the spirit. Do not quench the spirit. To quench means to put out or to extinguish. It can also mean to cause to lose light, to lose heat or warmth, in the case of a fire, as Mr. Cleaver mentioned, I believe. When a fire is burning brightly and we throw dirt on it or sand on it, it quenches it. And if we throw enough dirt and sand, it will quench it completely. But sometimes you think the fire is totally quenched, but embers are still burning. The analogy ought to be obvious. If you quench the spirit to some degree, you can stir it up. When you stir up a fire, the flames come up. God's spirit is so powerful, it doesn't die easily. It doesn't die easily. You can neglect it, you can quench it, you can frustrate it, you can grieve it. It doesn't die easily. Thank God for that, because you've all done it. You've all grieved the Spirit of God, just as I have. Let's stir up the Spirit of God. We quench the Spirit by sinning. We quench the Spirit by neglecting to be faithful in our spiritual devotion to God on a daily basis. When we neglect prayer, we quench the Spirit. When we neglect Bible study and regular fasting, not just occasional.

When we neglect meditation, when we neglect good works and service toward others, we grieve, we quench the Spirit of God. But on the other hand, when we do pray faithfully, study God's word faithfully, fast regularly, meditate often, do good works and service toward others, then we do stir up the Spirit of God.

The Spirit flames up. It's stronger. It's more powerful. So the first point, brethren, is practicing yes means that we must not grieve or quench the Spirit of God that is in us or working with us. If we're not yet baptized, we must not grieve it or quench it. Secondly, practicing yes means that we must all stir up the Spirit of God that is in us. We must actively stir it up. A couple of the men went to 2 Timothy 1 where Paul reminded Timothy to stir up the gift of God, which is in you, the Holy Spirit. Upon the laying on of hands, the Spirit was given to Timothy, and he was admonished to stir it up.

It does say there in 2 Timothy that the Holy Spirit is not a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind. We stir up the Spirit of God when we draw near to God. When we resist Satan and draw near to God, as the book of James tells us, we stir up the Spirit of God. If we don't resist Satan the devil, if we give in to his temptations, again, we're grieving and quenching the Spirit.

Brethren, stir up the Spirit of God. In James 1, I do want to turn there, James 1, verse 21. James 1, verse 21. James writes, This is instruction from James, the brother of Christ. Therefore, God is the one that plants his word in you, and how does he do it? By the power of his Spirit. It is the Spirit of God that gives you understanding. You're here today because God's Spirit has given you understanding. God has opened your mind by the power of his Spirit to understand these things.

It's an implanted word which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word and not hearers only. Don't just sit here and listen today, but do something about what you hear. Be a different person when you leave this room. A little different, a little better. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror. For he observes himself, he goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. If he looks in the mirror and he sees a black smudge all over his face, he says, boy, I'm dirty.

He walks away, forgets that the smudge is there, and continues to behave and act the way he always has, which brought that spiritual smudge there in the first place. What good is it to have ever seen the smudge? God reveals to you your sins. It's your job to get rid of the smudge. It's your job to look carefully within yourself, to look at your heart, to look at your mind, to leave and be a different person.

Not the same person, a different person, a better person. Don't forget what kind of man or woman you are. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, the perfect law of liberty is right here, brethren. It's living by every word that's in this book, every word of God, writing God's laws in our hearts and in our minds. This is the perfect law of liberty. He who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, a doer of what's in the word of God.

This one will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among you thinks he's religious and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and also to keep oneself unspotted from the world. Be a doer. Visit those who are hurting, those who are sick. It's not just the minister's job to visit people. It's all of our jobs. Call people up. Talk to them.

If it's 100 miles away, give them a call. But be a doer of the law, not just a hearer only. Keep yourself unspotted from the world. So the second principle, again, in practicing, yes, stirring up the Spirit of God is to stir up the Spirit of God. That's yielding exclusively to the Spirit. Stir up the Spirit. Number three, practicing, yes, means we set our minds on the things of the Spirit.

I believe Mr. Mann went to this Romans 8. I don't think I'll go there. He read quite a bit of it. Romans 8, verses 1-14. Set your minds on the things of the Spirit. That's what God's Word tells us to do. Get your mind out of the gutter and put it on the things of the Spirit. That's where your minds and hearts need to be all day long. If you will follow the instructions that the Apostle Paul gives also in Philippians 4, you will also find it much easier to say yes to yield exclusively to the Spirit.

Philippians 4, verse 8. It's one of my favorite scriptures because it's a scripture that will really make a difference if we practice it. Philippians 4, verse 8. Paul says, finally, brethren, oftentimes speakers leave some of the best to the very last. I think that's what Paul did here. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, Meditate on these things. Set your mind on these things.

The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do. Follow me as I follow Christ, Paul said, and the God of peace will be with you. That's a promise. Just as surely as the God of peace was with Paul, and protected his life many, many times, God will not leave you nor forsake you. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. So practicing yes means that we set our minds on the things of the Spirit, and we must become single-minded.

James. Let's go to James. It's not in my notes, but I know where it is. In the book of James, it talks about those who are double-minded. We are not to be double-minded. Verse 6 of chapter 1.

But let him ask in faith with no doubt, that is, a person who lacks wisdom, let him ask in faith with no doubt, with no doubting. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man. He is unstable in all his ways. God wants us to be single-minded in our approach. He wants our mind set on the Spirit of God. If you do that, brethren, you will learn to yield exclusively to the Spirit. If you'll set your mind there and keep it there. And it's not going to be easy, because we all live in this world.

We're in the world, but we're not to be of the world. We're going to have to live and rub shoulders with people all day long, out in the world. But don't follow them in their bad practices. Instead set a standard for them. Not a self-righteous standard, but just a humble standard of someone who's going about doing God's will. So number three, set your minds on the things of the Spirit. Number four, a fourth principle in learning to yield to the Spirit, is to make no provision for the flesh. Make no provision for the flesh, Romans chapter 13.

Romans chapter 13. And we are all flesh, aren't we? We're fleshly beings, so it's natural that we would want to make provision for the flesh. It's natural, but God says don't make provision for the flesh. What is He talking about? Romans chapter 13. Romans chapter 13 verse 11. Let's read it together. Verse 11, Romans chapter 13. And do this, brethren, I'll add brethren, He's talking to all of us, He's talking to all of us, knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. It's time to stop sleeping. And by the way, I will commend you, because I haven't seen a lot of sleeping here this afternoon. And as much as we all ate, and as hot as it's been, and although it's maybe cooler in here, I commend you for staying awake. Or maybe my eyes are getting bad and I can't quite see you. Who got my reading glasses on. No, I think you're doing well. Let's continue here. It is high time to awake out of sleep. It's talking about spiritual slumber and spiritual sleep. Remember how the virgins, the 10 virgins, they all slept. We need to be careful that we don't sleep. Stay awake. If we do sleep, make sure you have plenty of the Holy Spirit. Do this, knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. It's a whole lot nearer now than it was back then when this was written. The night is far spent. The day is at hand. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. We have to cast off darkness. We have to resist Satan the devil. And then we have to put on the armor of light. We have to actively be a doer of God's Word. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its loss. Whatever tempts you the most, and you know what it is, stay away from it. Avoid it. Make no provision for it. Go out of your way. Whatever it is, identify it, isolate it, stay away from it, make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its loss, because if you do make provision, you will fulfill its loss. You're not that strong. You're not that powerful. If you cozy up to some temptation before long, you'll be sinning. That's the way it goes. So use wisdom and stay away from it in the first place.

Make no provision for the flesh. It's not easy to be a Christian. It is a high and a holy calling. Don't expect it to be easy.

Let's go on to number five, the last point. Practicing yes means that we actively walk in the Spirit. We actively walk in the Spirit. We don't grieve the Spirit. We don't quench the Spirit. We stir up the Spirit. We set our minds on the Spirit, and we actively walk in the Spirit. See the progression? We're to be walking in the Spirit. Back in the old days, what was the most prevalent form of transportation? Walking. Everywhere they went, for the most part, they walked. They took ships, and they might have had a horse or a camel or something from time to time, but they did a lot of walking back in those days. All of us still walk today. We've all walked to get in here. We drove a car, yes, but we did some walking.

In Galatians chapter 5, let's go to Galatians 5. I think the boys left me this chapter, didn't they? Let's go to Galatians chapter 5.

Galatians chapter 5 verse 13. Galatians 5 verse 13. For you, brethren, have been called to liberty, only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Now, God really does want us to learn to love each other and to serve each other. We are a family. We should act like a family. We should act like a family that loves each other. And when we don't, shame on us. You've been called to liberty, but don't use that liberty as an opportunity for the flesh. Don't think that just because God is merciful, that it's okay for you to sin and that He's going to forgive you. That's very dangerous thinking. Through love, serve one another. Don't take advantage of one another. Serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, have we seen any of that lately? In the Church of God? If you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another. I say then, walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh, for the flesh lusts against the Spirit. Walking is active. You're moving in the right direction. You're doing the right thing. Your mind is set on the things of God and the Spirit of God, and you're walking in the right direction. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. Sometimes that's a reality, but it should become less and less of a reality in our lives, as we learn to yield exclusively to God's Spirit. You are to be overcomers. You are called to be overcomers. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. And then it goes on to talk about the works of the flesh, and it names many, many works of the flesh. Adultery and fornication and uncleanness and lewdness. Even our senators are in big scandals these days because of lewdness. I mean, everyone's heard of... I don't even mention his name. You know, it's pathetic. There's obvious reasons why I wouldn't want to mention the name, but on the other hand, you know, it's just sad that we live in a world like this, where our leaders come under such ill repute. And I don't know how guilty he was. I haven't really studied into this topic. I've heard about it, but I don't know the details to it. I'm not that interested in finding them out, but I just know it's a shame. It's a shame that it ever came... saw the light of day, no matter who was orchestrating it and keeping it going and flaming the fires and on and on.

Idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions. That's where we live, isn't it? All these things. Envy, jealousy, selfish ambition. Murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like. Anything like it. Which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. If you practice those things, you won't be in God's Kingdom. If you have the Spirit of God and you're practicing these things, you've quenched the Spirit of God, and before long, God's going to take it away from you. David cried out to God in a Psalm of repentance, Do not take your Spirit from me, O God.

If there's anyone here that's caught in a sin, practicing a sin like this, you need to repent. You need to change, lest God take His Spirit away from you. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law against those things that are right and good. God wants us to keep that law of love, the fruit of God's Spirit. And those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Do you understand what that means? He's saying that we Christians are to crucify the flesh. We're to kill it. We're to kill it. From a spiritual standpoint, we're not to walk in the flesh. From a spiritual standpoint, we're not to walk in the flesh. We're only exclusively to walk in the Spirit.

So, crucify the flesh with its passions and desires. I mean, that's when we get into trouble, isn't it? When we have evil desires, and we want to fulfill those desires. We have lusts, and we want to fulfill those lusts. That's when you get down on your knees. That's when you pray to God, because you won't be making provision for the flesh on your knees. Not when you're pouring your heart out to God. It doesn't work that way. Resist Satan and he will flee from you. Draw near to God in prayer, he will draw near to you. Draw near to God in fasting, he will draw near to you. Draw near to God in meditation, he will draw near to you. Resist the devil, he will flee from you. Don't cozy up to your temptations. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. You are called to live in the Spirit. You have life through Jesus Christ. Christ is the life of the world. He is the life of the world. We have Christ in us. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. We do live in the Spirit, brethren. Let us not become conceited. Let us not provoke one another. Let us not envy one another. This is just Christian behavior. It is treating one another with love and respect. You are called to become at one with the Father and the Son. You are called to become like them. Shame on us when we fall short. Shame on us. Shame on all of us when we fall short. We should act on the prompting of the Holy Spirit. That was said earlier today. Yes, we should act on the prompting. When the Spirit is prompting us, get with it. Do it. Whatever it is. If the Spirit is prompting you to do something to help others, then do it. Don't put it off. Don't procrastinate. Don't wait. Stir up the Spirit within you. In summary, let me remind you again what it means to practice YES, to practice Y-E-S, to practice yielding exclusively to the Spirit of God. Now, I want you to remember this acronym. I didn't just spend this hour talking to you about nothing. I want you to remember this acronym. I want you to think about it. I want you to pray about it. Practicing Y-E-S means that we must not grieve or quench the Spirit of God. We must actively resist Satan and not grieve or quench the Spirit of God. Number two, we must all stir up the Spirit of God that is in us. Actively stir it up. Stir up the Spirit through prayer, through Bible study, through fasting, through good works. Stir up the Spirit. Do it daily. Number three, practicing YES means that we set our minds on the things of the Spirit. We set our minds exclusively on the things of the Spirit. Number four, we make no provision for the flesh. NO is also exclusive. NO means we exclusively do not make provision for the flesh. There's no room for double-mindedness. We must be single-minded. Number five, practicing YES, yielding exclusively to the Spirit, means that we actively walk in the Spirit. We shouldn't have anything to hide, brethren. If you've got something to hide, go home and repent. If there are things that you're doing that you wouldn't want me to know about, or the person sitting beside you, your wife or your husband, then go home and repent. Make some changes in your life. So men, women, teens, and children, because even you children can yield to the Spirit of God. You can learn to do the right thing. And we need to teach our children to do the right thing.

We need to practice tough love with our children. We're setting patterns for them early on in their lives. They need to realize that they will be held accountable for their actions, and they should be held accountable now for their actions. So men, women, teens, and children, let's all strive to practice yielding exclusively to the Spirit of God from now on. Let's say yes. Let's say it altogether. Yes! All right, let's say yes. Let's say it, let's mean it, and let's live it.