Stir Up the Spirit of God

Well, brethren, almost every morning from November to May, I kindle a fire in my home in Cincinnati. I really look forward to the warmth of that fire every cold morning. I enjoy greatly the soothing ambiance of that fire.

There's a warmth about it. It's just really, really nice. I lay down on a large rug in our living room. We have hardwood floors, so we have a rug there. I lay down there, and I do my Bible study every morning. I just really, really enjoy that time with God in the morning. Last year, I went through this entire Bible and marked it with various colored pencils.

If you've never done that, I would highly recommend you buy a Bible or use the one that you have. Go through and mark it, because it makes you focus on various subjects as you go through the Bible. I have a different color for about a dozen different topics and subjects. I really find it helpful. I'm going through a different Bible this year. I believe that, well, I know it's very, very valuable and helpful. So, in the morning, I get off to a good start, because I'm by the fire, and I'm enjoying God's Word.

I highly recommend it. However, I have to kindle that fire every morning. I have to kindle it anew, because I do go to work, usually go into the home office. I've been working at home some, but I go into the home office. The fire goes out, because Barb doesn't usually keep it going during the day. We do have another source of heat, so it's not that we have to keep the fire going.

So, it burns out. Why does the fire burn out? Well, it burns up the fuel that I put there for it, the wood that I put in the fire. If I don't add more wood to it, it's surely going to go out. I have to tend the fire to keep it burning. I have to pay attention to it. I have to be careful that I don't wait too long before I put some more fire, or some more wood on the fire.

Otherwise, it will die down, and it could even go out if I neglect it long enough. So, instead, I stir it up. If I'm going to be there for a while, I stir up the fire. I add more fuel to the fire, so I can enjoy it for a much longer period of time.

And, theoretically, if I would continue to do that, it would never go out. If I just sat there and tended the fire, it would never go out. It would continue to burn, continually. Where would we be without fire? Wouldn't we all freeze eventually? Well, I guess it depends on where you live. But those of us up here would get pretty cold. In Ohio, we'd get pretty cold in the wintertime if we didn't have some source of heat, some type of fire. How would we move around without the internal combustion engine? We've relied on that for a long time. That's a source of heat, a source of fire.

How would we have electricity? Or what would we do if we didn't have electricity, which is a type of fire? Remember Ben Franklin, the kite, and the lightning? That's a source of fire. Now, I'm not a real scientific guy. You may be able to tell that already. But I know that there's something to do with fire. The internal combustion engine, electricity, we really depend on fire. And fire is kind of unique. Thinking about how did God create fire?

How does that work? I don't really know. I just know that if I have matches, if I have the right kind of fuel, I can get it started. I can get it going. Or if I can use the sun, I might be able to get it going. If I have a magnifying glass or a fire starter of some kind. But I really don't understand all the dynamics. Whoever did that has a better mind than mine. I think we know who created fire.

Fire is really powerful. Did you know that the Holy Spirit that dwells in you, a gift of the Holy Spirit? We see the scripture in front of us.

Did you know that the Holy Spirit that dwells in you and is now working in you if you're moving toward baptism?

That Holy Spirit of God is similar to a fire. And I do find a fire fascinating. I find God's Spirit fascinating.

Again, I don't understand all the science behind a fire, but I do know that God's the one that created that fire. And I do know that God is Spirit. God is Holy Spirit. And the scripture also says He is a consuming fire.

God is a consuming fire. We'll talk a little bit more about that as we go along.

So how does fire work? God created fire by the power of His Holy Spirit. I know that much. So, brethren, you must stir up the gift of the Holy Spirit in you if you are to remain faithful, awaiting the return of Jesus Christ. I hope you understand that.

I hope you realize that because if you neglect God's Holy Spirit in the way that sometimes we neglect a fire, it will go out. God could even take it away from you. We know that David was one who was very concerned that God would take his Holy Spirit away from him. We're quite familiar with Psalm 51, that Psalm of repentance. David had to come to grips with his sin, and he followed it for quite a while, didn't he? God had to send Nathan to him. He said, you are the man, David.

David repented because he had neglected God's Holy Spirit. So much that he had sinned in a grievous manner, with Bathsheba, with having Uriah murdered. And that's what can happen to any of us, rather than, frankly, if we neglect stirring up the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is that serious.

So I hope you'll listen intently as we go through seven principles today on how you can stir up the Spirit of God. What you can be doing and why you should do it, that's what we're going to be talking about today. How do you stir up the gift of the Spirit of God so that you may have power from on high? Do you want power? Do you want to be stronger spiritually? If you do, then you'll stir up God's Spirit, and you'll do it daily. In fact, you'll do it minute by minute. Because if you don't, then it will begin to go out just a little bit. So it's really, really important that we stir up the Spirit of God. By way of analogy, in the same manner that you would stir up a fire, to keep it burning brightly and warmly, you do need to stir up God's Holy Spirit. You need to do it on a regular basis. You need to add fuel to it. You need to stir it up.

In 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 6, Paul says to a young minister, Timothy, Therefore I remind you to stir up the Spirit of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. You know, this is something Paul believed in.

Paul believed that God was working in him and through him. Of course, you know, God struck him down on the road to Damascus. Paul had his eyes opened. Yes, he was blind for a time, wasn't he? God struck him down. He actually literally blinded him for a time. He had been spiritually blind. Now he was physically blind. God restored his sight.

And Paul could now see. And Paul could be a powerful vessel in God's hands because of God's Holy Spirit that was given to him. And that Spirit was given to Timothy when Paul laid his hands upon him. Paul believed in that. I believe in that. I believe in the gift of God's Spirit. I believe in the ministry of God. I believe the Bible speaks of the ministry. And I think we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, typically through the laying on of hands by the ministry. Now we know that Cornelius was an exception. He was a Gentile the first. God granted his Holy Spirit actually before baptism. But normally we know the formula of be baptized, repent, be baptized, have laying on of hands, receive the Holy Spirit. So, brethren, the first principle in stirring up the Spirit of God is you do so by praying daily without fail. And I'm talking about on your knees prayer to God. One-on-one prayer to God bowing your knee before the God of heaven and earth, bowing your knees before Jesus Christ, your Savior, every knee shall bow before Christ. We should do this daily. And I can guarantee that some of you, because I've done it, you've neglected to do this. You haven't taken it as seriously as you should. You've gone perhaps a few days without praying. Maybe a week or two without getting on your knees. But I'm here to tell you that there's power in bowing before the God of heaven every single day of your life. You'll stir up God's Spirit in you when you do that, when you go to God with a pure heart, a pure mind, seeking to have that pure heart and mind, because none of us are totally pure. And that's why we should get down and pray to God for his help and his strength. Jesus Christ made it very clear that we ought to be a praying people. We should pray for God's kingdom to come daily. We should pray for God's guidance for his direction in our life. And we should be fervent in our prayers to God. We should pray for one another. We should spend some time on our knees each and every day of our lives. Otherwise, we're neglecting the gift of the Holy Spirit. You stir up the gift of the Holy Spirit by praying daily.

Many sermons have been given on the power and importance of prayer. In a Christian's life, you've heard, no doubt, many sermons. I've given sermons on the vital importance and the power of prayer in one's life. But I've neglected prayer, and I'll be the first to admit that. I'm human. I'm fleshly. I'm weak. Sometimes I get caught up with things. I've been in the Church a long time. Sometimes you get a little bit weary in well-doing, and you tend to neglect things. I would encourage you not to neglect prayer. It's time to repent if we've been slack. If we've neglected that, it's time to do a better job. Christ prayed fervently, and He taught His disciples how to pray. It's rather basic, isn't it? But again, if it's neglected, it will make a big difference in your life. In Matthew 6, let's go to Matthew 6 and review what Christ said about prayer. Matthew 6, Matthew 6, verse 9. Matthew 6 and verse 9. In this manner, therefore pray, Our Father in heaven hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. That shows us that God expects us to pray daily, because we're praying daily for our daily bread. We're praying that God will provide for us, that God will take care of us, that we will not take Him for granted. So we should be praying daily for our daily bread and forgive us our debts, our sins, forgive us, Father, as we forgive those who sin against us. And brethren, if we do not forgive others, then we will also not be forgiven by God, because we're forgiven in the same manner that we're willing to forgive others. So we do have to pray that God will give us a spirit of humility and a spirit of forgiveness, so we can pray anyone who's harmed us in any way. And sometimes that's not easy, is it?

It's not easy at all when people have been difficult or harmful or abusive.

But we should pray daily that God will forgive us our sins and that we will learn to forgive others.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. The evil one is after you every day. He doesn't take a break. Satan is a roaring lion. He's seeking whom he may devour.

So when we don't get down on our knees, we open up a door for Satan the devil to get closer to us.

Deliver us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. And notice it says in 14, for if you forgive men their sins, their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. God is a God of love and God is very merciful. God is very forgiving. We want him to be forgiving toward us, right? He wants us to be forgiving toward others. God is love and we are to become like him. It's hard to do. We're told to pray for our enemies.

Pray for those who spitefully use us and abuse us. Jesus Christ did that. We are to follow his example. So praying every day is important. And praying for one another, brethren, is also extremely important. We are one family. We should pray for each other. We should not neglect praying for each other. Oftentimes, I've noticed that a fire will actually leave some wood.

It'll go out and there'll still be some embers or there'll still be some wood there. I can actually use it to start the fire the next day oftentimes. It won't be totally consumed because it becomes separate. It separates. Unless you stir it up and bring it together, if you bring it together, then it'll burn all up. It'll consume everything. But if you don't put it together, then some of it will still be there the next day. So again, by way of analogy, your prayers for others, it's like that. It's like a consuming fire. If we're all praying for each other, then there'll be great power in that. It will be a consuming fire. We will be a consuming fire. If we all pray for each other, then God will work in us in powerful ways. So I would encourage you to pray for each other. Pray more fervently for each other than you ever have before.

Pray for Mr. Kubik. He would appreciate your prayers. I know he would. I appreciate, again, working with Mr. Kubik. He's a man, but he's really trying to do the right thing and set the right example, and I appreciate him a great deal. God's Spirit will lead us faithfully and fervently if we go to him and we stir up the Spirit of God in us. It will lead us. In 1 Thessalonians 5, verses 16-19, it says, Rejoice always and pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks. Pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. And then notice, it says, Do not quench the Spirit.

So to me, it's tying prayer in with quenching the Spirit. Rejoice always, be grateful always, be thankful always. Pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks. Be prayerful, be thankful. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit of God.

So the first vital principle in stirring up the Spirit of God is to pray daily, and pray fervently, and pray faithfully. Praying daily keeps the fire alive. It keeps the fire of God's Spirit alive in you, burning more brightly.

Secondly, you stir up the Spirit of God in you by reading the Bible, by studying it.

Again, very fundamental. But this is a powerful living Word. God's Word is powerful. And if you're not starting your day with a little bit of time in the Bible, then I think you're making a mistake, frankly. I think you're making a mistake. I would rearrange my schedule, if it were me. Get up a little bit earlier. You know, people are different. I'm not saying for sure. Maybe, you know, I'm a morning person. It works for me. If it works for you to do it later, you know, I'm okay with that. As long as you're doing it. You know, that's the real key as far as I'm concerned is just don't neglect it. It's easy for me to neglect it if I don't do it in the morning.

You know, it's just so easy. You get worn out, you get tired by the time you come home from work.

You don't have the energy, oftentimes. So if you stay up late at night and you are rushing around in the morning, that could be a mistake. Maybe not stay up so late at night so you can get up in the morning early and do some prayer and Bible study before you go to work. So stir up the Spirit of God in you by reading and studying the Word of God daily. Again, you're adding fuel to the fire of God's Spirit within you. In Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12, again, the Apostle Paul, Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12, the Apostle Paul says, the Word of God is living and powerful. It's stronger than any two-edged sword. It's very, very important that we read God's Word and meditate and think about it daily. The Word of God is living and powerful. It's sharper than any two-edged sword. A two-edged sword cuts both ways. It's very dangerous. If someone's swinging a two-edged sword, anything on either side is going to be hurt. It's powerful. That's all it's saying. God's Word is like that. It discerns the hearts and the minds. It helps you see yourself more fully. It helps you come to repentance. As you read the Bible and as you study it and as you think about it, as you meditate upon it, God says we are to be teachers. That's what Hebrews also says in chapter 5, that we are to become teachers. We shouldn't need someone to teach us so much if we've been in the church a while. Not that it isn't good to come on Sabbath and be taught. That's also a part of what we're supposed to be doing, but we're also supposed to take that word so we can teach others.

So that if someone has a question and asks us, we'll be able to give a good answer without pointing them to the minister. We can answer their questions. Be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within you. Why you believe what you do. Be willing to engage with people. If they're genuine and want to listen, want to hear, then by all means share with them God's truth and God's word. We should never be ashamed of what we believe. We should never be concerned what others think about what we believe, what the Bible says, what the Bible teaches.

In 2 Timothy 2 and verse 15, 2 Timothy 2 and verse 15, it says let's just go there. 2 Timothy 2 and verse 15, it talks about being diligent in studying the Word of God. 2 Timothy 2 and verse 15. 2 Timothy 2 and verse 15, Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. 3 Timothy 2 and verse 15, rightly dividing it. That means you have to study it so that you can comprehend it, discern it, understand it, and explain it. 4 Timothy 2 and verse 15, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. 2 Timothy 2 and verse 15, it says, We're to shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. We don't have to debate scriptures with people that really, you know, they're just babbling, basically. They're not really studiers of the Bible. They're not really believers.

But we are to be true believers, and we are to be able to discern God's Word. So focus on scriptures each and every day of your life, and focus on scriptures, too, that perhaps will help you with any spiritual weaknesses. Do a Bible study on your weaknesses. Where does Satan find an opportune time with you? He couldn't find one with Christ. You know, Luke chapter 4 is pretty telling to me. Luke 4 says he left Christ. He could not tempt him. He could not get anywhere with him. He says he left basically hoping for an opportune time to come back. But there never was an opportune time with Christ. But with us, it's different because we're weak and we're frail, and we're not Christ. No, we're not perfect. And Satan will find an opportune time. He'll find where you are the weakest, and he will try to exploit your weaknesses. So it's very important that we study these things so that we can be as strong as possible so Satan won't be able to get through to us and won't be able to hurt us. And we will resist Satan. Then he will flee from us.

So analyze and examine yourself. Identify your major temptations, what your weaknesses are spiritually, and God's Spirit will lead you to understand his word.

So that's principle number two. Stir up the Spirit of God by reading and studying God's word daily. Number three, you stir up the Spirit of God in you by removing yourself from temptation whenever possible. Just simply remove yourself from temptation. You know what your weaknesses are, so do your best to remove yourself from that type of temptation.

Again, daily prayer and Bible study will give you strength to resist, to do the right thing, but it's just wisdom to distance yourself from evil. Distance yourself from anything that's tempting to you. So be careful how you choose your entertainment. You know what you watch on TV, what you do on the internet? Be careful. Stay away from those things that are ungodly, that are unrighteous, because Satan will use those things to destroy you if you can.

So distance yourself. Do whatever you need to do to put a distance between you and those things that tempt you and hurt you. I'm certain that many of us are guilty of compromising in this area. Again, I've been guilty of that.

No, I've cozied up to things I should not cozy up to at times.

Learn not to do that. If someone's gossiping, don't have itching ears, walk away, or suggest that they change the topic. Certainly don't spread it.

So these are choices. They're decisions that we have to make every day.

Learn to distance yourself from all evil. Bible talks about learning to abhor evil, cling to what is good, but abhor evil, abhor all types of evil, and cling to what is good. James 4, verses 7-8, talks about resisting Satan, drawing near to God, and Satan will flee from you.

You know, he has no choice. If you resist Satan the Devil in the name of Jesus Christ, then he'll have to leave for a while. That doesn't mean he won't come back.

But resist him, draw near to God, gain from God the strength that you need. There are many scriptures that talk about fleeing things. Flee sexual immorality, it says in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 18. Flee anything that would tempt you in regard to sexual immorality. Satan gets a lot of people in that area. You know, he got to David.

King David, a man after God's own heart, had issues with that. So I know that many of us struggle with those types of things. So learn to flee sexual immorality of all sorts, all types. Pornography, obviously, is something that we should flee from. Don't cozy up to that, because it will hurt you.

Stay away from it. Determine not to go there. Decide that you're not going to ever go there again. That doesn't mean you won't.

But you keep working at it and never give up.

Satan tries to get a stronghold in our lives, and he'll use pornography as one of those things.

Don't allow him to do that in your life, because again, that will hurt you. Fight back. Pray about it. Ask God for help. Get whatever help you need. But do fight back.

Distance yourself from evil. Again, that's 1 Corinthians 6, 18-20. It talks about fleeing sexual immorality. Our body is the temple of God's Holy Spirit. We have to protect the temple of God's Spirit and not pollute it. Not defile it.

That's what it's talking about. That's what pornography will do. It'll defile your mind. It'll defile your heart. So you need to fight back. 1 Corinthians 10, 14 says, flee from idolatry. 1 of the commandments is, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. 1 of the 10 commandments is, you shall have no other gods before me. You shall have no other idols. Nothing more important than God. So flee from idolatry. 1 Timothy 6, verse 11. But you, O man of God, flee these things. Flee all things that are evil. 1 Timothy 6. Let's go there for a moment. 1 Timothy 6.

1 Timothy 6, verse 11. 1 Timothy 6. It's talking about different times of sin. It says, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things. Flee any type of temptation. Riches can be a temptation. It can be a snare. But you, O man, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. These are the fruits of God's Holy Spirit. Pursue those things. Fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on eternal life. That's what we all need to be doing.

So this third point is to yield to God's Holy Spirit.

And you will find the strength to flee temptation. Yield to God's Holy Spirit. You will find the strength. And that's through distancing yourself from evil. That's what this was all about. Distancing yourself from evil. Fleeing temptation. Staying away from it. Putting something between you and that temptation. And of course, that would be God's Word. The more you pray, the more you study, the stronger you are, the better able you are to resist temptation.

Number four. Another principle. You stir up the Spirit of God in you by daily meditation. So we talked about prayer, about Bible study. Meditation is also extremely important because the Scripture says that we are to put on the mind of Jesus Christ. Now, that's a high and a lofty goal, isn't it? To put on the mind of Jesus Christ, to think as he thought, to become like Christ. We're to come to the stature and the fullness and the stature of Jesus Christ, our Savior. That's a lofty goal to become like Christ, to put on his mind, to think like he thinks.

So stir up the Spirit of God in you by daily meditation. And one of my favorite Scriptures in doing so is Philippians 4. Philippians 4, verse 8, because it's very practical.

It tells us what to think about. It tells us what to meditate on. And if we will just do this, then we'll be so much better off if we could just learn to put our minds on these things when our mind starts to stray. If we could bring it back and think on these things, then we would have the strength to overcome. Philippians 4, verse 8. Again, Paul says, finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are right and good and true, and the Scripture says that we are sanctified by God's truth, because his word is truth. So we're sanctified, we're set apart by the truth of God. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, if there's any virtue, or if there's anything of good report, if there's any virtue, if there's anything praiseworthy, then meditate on these things. Don't allow yourself to meditate on other things, on grumbling and complaining, finding things that would find fault in others. No, that's not what God wants you to spend your time on. He wants you to spend your time thinking about those things that are right and good and pure and lovely. Now, that doesn't mean we can't discuss things, obviously, that we think should change, that should be better, but we can be careful that we're thinking on those things that are pure and lovely, that are good report, things that will bring good results, that will be virtuous. Think on those things, things that are praiseworthy. Meditate on these things. That's what God wants us to do with our minds. He wants us to think on those things that are right and good. Again, it's important that we stir up the spirit of God through daily meditation on the right things. Now, oftentimes, I'll turn out the lights in the morning. Once I get a fire going, I'm usually drinking something my wife concocted and put together. By the way, she is here, but she wasn't feeling well this morning. She was battling with a migraine, wasn't full-blown, so hopefully she'll be here in the afternoon. Oftentimes, she can sleep that off if she can stay in bed, so she was in bed when I left the room, trying to fight that off, but hopefully she'll be here with us in the afternoon. I believe that she likely will be. So, what I'll do is I'll be drinking some concoction that she has with all kinds of beets and celery and different things like that, and it takes a while to slug that down.

So, I'll turn off the lights and I'll just watch the fire for a while. I find that soothing. I find that really nice in a way. I'll think about scriptures that say that God is a consuming fire. Sometimes the fire will be blazing on one side and not doing too much on the other side, and then it'll pick up and it'll be blazing everywhere. And I like to meditate on those types of things. You know, God is a consuming fire. God wants us to be a consuming fire by stirring up the Spirit of God in us. The scripture talks about ministers being a flame of fire. You know, I don't know how far you can take that, but I mean, I think we all need to be flames of fire. It's zealous for God's truth and God's way of life. And what we think about is so important. Meditate on those things that are right and good, pure and lovely. Think, learn, train your mind to think on those things. And when you find yourself going astray, bring it back. Bring your mind back. It will help you with all kinds of issues like discouragement, depression. If you can get ahold of it early enough. I mean, I know that depression can be much more difficult for some people than it is others. I understand that. I get that. But oftentimes we can fight these things if we do it early. Again, God is all-powerful. He's that consuming fire. Nothing stands before our God and His Spirit. Nothing at all. Nothing can stand before God. Nothing close. Satan tried. Satan didn't get anywhere. He tried to exalt himself above God. He was put down. Now he's, in a sense, a pawn in God's hands. God is using him to help perfect the saints.

Satan will tempt us. By doing so, God will test us. God doesn't tempt us. Satan is the one who does the tempting. But God allows that so that we will be tested, so that we will fight back, so that we'll learn to resist Satan. These things are all important for us.

There are four times where the Bible talks about God as a consuming fire. Four different scriptures, at least four, at least in the sense that I'm talking about.

I'll just read them quickly. I don't have time to… In fact, I better watch the time. Now we have lunch. I'm only on point four, which I typically do. I rushed the last few points.

But stirring up the Spirit of God through daily meditation is important. Hebrews 1, 7 is the one that says, and of the angels, he says, who makes his angel spirits and his ministers. Angels are also ministers, but we also know that there are ministers that God uses through the foolishness of preaching to help perfect the saints.

And in a sense, we're all ministers. We're all servants of God, in one sense. So we're all to be flames of fire, I believe. Hebrews 12, 29 says, for our God is a consuming fire. Exodus 24, verse 17, says, the sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain. It's talking about on Mount Sinai, when the commandments were brought, God was like a consuming fire. They were afraid of the power that they saw in God.

And Deuteronomy 4, verse 24, says, for the Lord your God is a consuming fire. He's a jealous God, because God loves us. And He's zealous and jealous for us. Just like a good parent would be very jealous of their child, as someone was trying to hurt their child. There's nothing like a father and a mother that will defend their children. God is like that for us. He is a consuming fire. God is prevailing, and God will prevail. God will give us victory. Meditate on the power of God and His will for you. What does God want for you? Think on that. Meditate on that. What does God want you to do in your life? What can you do better to serve Him? In Philippians 2, 5, again, it says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

So the fourth principle is stir up the Spirit of God in you by daily meditation.

Spend all day thinking about God. Then you won't be neglecting anything. If He's uppermost in your heart and mind, and all decisions you make, you make with keeping God in mind. I think you can go through a business day considering God and thinking about decisions and asking God to guide you and help you make good, sound decisions that will help your company and that will be healthy for your family. Bring God into all things. Number five, a fifth principle. You stir up the Spirit of God in you by learning to bring every thought into captivity. Now, we talked a little bit about that already. You know, again, these are important issues. If you can bring every thought into captivity, then you will be in good shape. As long as you...what it's saying is you take captive those evil thoughts, you isolate them, you take them captive. You don't go there. You know, you stay away. You don't dwell on those things. You don't meditate on that.

You take them captive and you isolate them and you don't allow yourself to go any further.

You stir up the Spirit of God by learning to bring every thought into captivity. Now, I suppose it could also mean those good thoughts you also bring captive as well. And those are the ones that you think about. Those are the ones that you meditate on. The others you imprison, you isolate, you get rid of. In Romans chapter...well, let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 10 first, because it talks about bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians chapter 10.

2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 3.

This is talking about spiritual warfare here, and it says in verse 3, 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we all walk in the flesh, were made of flesh, 4 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. I mentioned how Satan will try to set up a stronghold. So if we bring every thought into captivity, then God will help us pull down those strongholds. We don't have to stay captive to Satan the devil. With God's help, we can break those chains. We can break those shackles.

Satan tries to shackle us. We can break the chains. We can break the shackles. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity. Every single thought. So you bring the good ones into captivity and you dwell on those. The others you push away, you isolate, and you bring them into captive. You imprison them to the obedience of Christ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. I believe that's saying that we should all strive to bring ourselves into control first. Get the plank out of your own eye. Then you can see clearly to help somebody else.

But work on yourself first. Get the plank out of your own eye. Then you can help another person. Sometimes, maybe discipline is what another person needs.

But if you are caught up in sin yourself, how can you in good conscience help someone else or correct someone else when you may be guilty of the same thing?

So, parents, we need to be careful when we go to our children that we're setting the right example and that we're not guilty of the same things that our children may be doing.

Reset the right example first. We do that by bringing every thought into captivity. And then one other scripture under this principle, Romans 13 verse 3, here it talks about making no provision for the flesh. This is also a very powerful couple of verses here. Romans chapter 13.

Romans 13 verse 11.

No, looks like they hid Romans. Oh, there it is. Romans chapter 13 verse 11.

That's a big Bible to hide or a big book to be hiding, but I found it. Romans chapter 13 verse 11, and do this knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. It's time to wake up, all of us. For now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 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. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife, not in envy.

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh. Again, that goes back to another point that I talked about. Distancing yourself from evil. Make no provision for the flesh. Certainly applies to pornography, right? Make no provision for the flesh. Stay away from that sort of thing that would harm you and hurt you. And anything else that would hurt you, bring every thought into captivity and make no provision for the flesh. Again, remember, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. The Scripture says we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. And how does He strengthen us? By His Spirit. By the Spirit of God that lives in us and dwells in us. Galatians 2, 20, I live by faith in the Son of God that loves me, gave Himself for me, and now lives in me. So the power is there. We just have to utilize it. Stir it up. Use it every day.

That's principle number five. Number six is you stir up the Spirit of God in you by deciding to yield to God's Spirit. You have to make the choice. God will lead you by His Spirit. Scripture says that we are led by the Spirit of God if we are the children of God. So God's Spirit will lead us. God's Spirit will guide us. But we have to yield to it. We have to make a choice to obey, to follow, and to do what is right. Romans 6 talks about yielding to God. Let's go there. Romans 6.

And we'll read it just a couple verses. Romans 6, verse 13.

Romans 6 and verse 13.

It says, And do not present your members, your flesh, as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourself to God as being alive from the dead. Because the wages of sin is death, and if you continue in your sin, that's exactly what you deserve.

You've got to repent of your sins, put sin out of your life, be an overcomer, grow in grace, grow in knowledge, be moving in the right direction. And your members... Okay, so let me go back here. Present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead. And your members... It's talking about baptism, too, right? This is the baptism chapter. Now, we walk in newness of life when we come out of the waters of baptism. We're no longer dead. We're alive in Christ. And your members, as instruments of righteousness to God, for sin shall not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but you're under grace. You're saved by grace.

You know, we've all blown it. We're all sinners. And we continue to sin. The Scripture says, if you think you have no sin, you're a liar. And the truth is not in you. And remember, we're to live not just by the letter of the law, but by the spirit of the law. And that means bringing every thought into captivity. None of us are there yet. None of us perfectly control our thoughts.

We all sin in the spirit in that sense. You know, thinking things that we ought not think.

We should repent of those evil thoughts that we allow to take root to some degree in our hearts and minds so that we will be more righteous before God. He says, What then, verse 15, shall we sin because we're not under law but under grace? Certainly not. Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness?

So we all must become God's slaves. That 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. God gave us His truth so we're to live by every word of God. You stir up the Spirit of God in you by deciding to yield. That's what the Scripture is talking about. Becoming a slave to God, yielding to Him, not to your flesh, not to Satan.

And remember this acronym. You should become a yes man and a yes woman. Why E-S?

Now, I know sometimes we think of being a yes man as a bad thing. And it is if you look at it from that perspective.

But this is Y-E-S, yielding exclusively to the Spirit.

You need to be a yes man and a yes woman. Learn to yield exclusively to God's Holy Spirit. Y-E-S, be a yes man, be a yes woman. Learn to yield exclusively to God's Holy Spirit. And that's point number six. You stir up the Spirit of God by deciding to yield to His Spirit. And the last point, the last principle, you stir up the Spirit of God in you by going boldly to God's throne of grace in time of need. You go boldly. Like Paul did. Paul was a sinner. Paul had people murdered. I doubt whether many of you have done that. But Paul had Christians murdered. And yet he went boldly before the throne of grace.

It bothered him some, though, didn't it? You know, it bothered him what he had done, and it should have. But nevertheless, he went boldly before the throne of grace. And we need to do the same thing. Hebrews chapter four. This is our final scripture. Hebrews chapter four. Hebrews chapter four, verse 16.

Hebrews chapter four, verse 16.

This is where he talks about coming boldly before the throne of grace. He talks about Christ as our high priest, one tempted as we are, yet without sin. And then verse 16 says, Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace. Now, when do you need to come boldly before God's throne of grace?

Well, I think two different occasions. One is when you're thinking about sinning.

When you're thinking about sinning, when you're being tempted, come boldly before the throne of grace and ask for help. If you can get on your knees, that's the best thing you can do. Get on your knees and pray for strength. Come boldly before the throne of grace, believing God will answer you and will give you the strength that you need to overcome, to do the right thing. So, whenever you're tempted to sin, go boldly before the throne of grace.

This is far better than the second time, or the second thing, and that's you go boldly before the throne of grace when you've already sinned.

Okay, you have to do both. You have to learn to go boldly before the throne of grace before you've sinned so that you will not sin.

Right? Go boldly before the throne of grace before you sin. When you're being tempted, it's human nature to push God aside when you're being tempted because you want to do something. You want to sin. There's a pleasure of sin that lasts for a little while, and you're tempted to go that way, but if you'll get on your knees and you'll ask God to give you strength and to help you, and you go boldly before his throne, believing that he'll give you strength, remember, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, then perhaps you won't sin nearly as much as you have been sinning.

God will help you. But if you're weak, you know, if you do your best and you sinned, then immediately admit your sin. Admit your sin. Ask God to grant you forgiveness, repentance for your sin. Don't take it lightly. Don't take it lightly. If Satan gets the best of you this time and you yield to that temptation, that's the time to go boldly before the throne, because if you don't, Satan will discourage you. Satan will discourage you, and it will be harder to go pray. It'll be harder to admit that you sinned. It will be more difficult. So go boldly before the throne of grace before you sin and whenever you sin. And know that God will forgive you. That's why Christ died for you. Christ died for you so you could be forgiven. Christ knows it's difficult to be human. He was human. He understands our frailty. He understands our weakness. And the scripture is clear that everyone has sinned. Everyone has come short of the glory of God. We should never take sin lightly. We should never take it for granted, because that's a dangerous, dangerous game to play. To think that I'll go ahead and sin because I know God will forgive me. You know, that's not the right approach. That's not the right attitude. That has to be repented of if you have that kind of attitude toward anything that tempts you. So stir up the Spirit of God in you by going boldly to the throne of grace to ask for help in time of need.

So, brethren, God's Holy Spirit is indeed the most powerful force in the universe, bar none, as God created the universe through the power of His Spirit. God created it, and God maintains it through the power of His Spirit. None of us can even fathom how God has done it. We can't fathom the power of God. We can't fathom. Go out and try to create a tree. If you think you understand God's power or you can mimic God's power, you have no clue of the power of God and what He can do. And the universe and the stars and beyond. We don't get anywhere close to God's power, and it's His Spirit. God maintains this universe by the power of His Spirit. We're alive today because God's got the sun at the right exact distance from us. Everything is in the solar system working so that we can live. I don't get it. I don't understand how He does it, but I'm grateful that He does. So, God's Spirit does live in us, though, because God gives us a little bit of His power. He gives us an earnest, a down payment of His Holy Spirit. And that's obviously leading to something much greater because we shall become the children of God born in the very family of God. We will become Spirit just as Christ was changed to Spirit when the Father resurrected Him. We will be like the Son of God, changed into powerful Spirit, all-powerful. We will be members of the God family for all eternity. So, this day, this day of Pentecost, is about God's firstfruits. We should never take our calling lightly. There's very few people here today, really. A couple hundred. There may be a few other groups that are meeting today in the area, which is great. They're keeping the day of Pentecost, some with greater understanding than others. But the reality is there are billions of people on earth, and only a few have been handpicked to be the firstfruits. Will you be called, chosen, and faithful? If you stir up the Spirit of God in you on a daily basis, I believe that you will be not only called, not only chosen, but you will be faithful. It's been a pleasure to be here today, and I've enjoyed this. I look forward to getting to meet most of you, or many of you, as the day goes on.