Give Me the Bible

Why Many Never Receive The Benefit Of The Holy Spirit

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox

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Series Code: GMTB

Program Code: GMTB000012


00:19 You know, I have it on good
00:21 authority from the inspired word
00:24 that Bible study
00:25 among other things
00:27 helps build spiritual muscles.
00:30 It makes us stronger.
00:33 It helps us know and understand God's will for our lives.
00:37 It broadens our horizons.
00:40 It gives us an understanding of how we are to live in this world
00:44 as we prepare for the higher citizenship
00:47 in the world to come.
00:48 But not only does it do all of those things.
00:51 I've been told that Bible study, and here's the quote...
00:56 "increases the intellect. "
00:58 In other words, studying the Bible makes you smarter.
01:03 Amen!
01:04 So we can think of Bible study as medicine for the mind.
01:10 Hi, my name is C. A. Murray,
01:12 and it is my privilege and pleasure to welcome you
01:15 to Volume 3, Subject No. 2 -
01:18 night #2 - of this wonderful series that we have dubbed
01:22 Give Us The Bible.
01:24 And you can think of tonight's message
01:28 as a spiritual vaccination.
01:31 A spiritual inoculation against the cancer of sin.
01:35 And a little mind boost as we try to discern
01:40 and do God's will for our lives.
01:44 Our evangelist, our friend, our mentor, our teacher
01:47 is Evangelist Kenneth Cox.
01:49 And tonight's subject will deal with why many do not
01:52 receive benefit from the Holy Spirit.
01:55 This particular series deals with the Holy Spirit.
01:58 What He wants to do to, with, for, and through
02:03 each and every one of us. And we learned on last night
02:06 that the Holy Spirit is not a force... it's a He...
02:09 it's a personage. It can be wounded; it can be grieved.
02:12 It can work with us, through us, for us, in us.
02:15 And tonight we will learn so much more about the Holy Spirit
02:19 from Evangelist Kenneth Cox.
02:20 But before he does come to us,
02:23 we are very, very pleased to have David Tank with us.
02:28 And he's going to be doing a very beautiful song
02:30 This World Is Not My Home.
02:53 This world is not my home,
02:57 I'm just a passing through.
03:01 My treasures are laid up
03:06 somewhere beyond the blue.
03:11 The angels beckon me
03:14 from heaven's open door,
03:19 and I can't feel at home
03:23 in this world anymore.
03:30 Oh Lord, You know
03:34 I have no friend like You.
03:39 If heaven's not my home
03:43 then Lord what will I do?
03:47 The angels beckon me
03:51 from heaven's open door,
03:56 and I can't feel at home
04:00 in this world anymore.
04:25 Just up in Gloryland
04:28 we'll live eternally.
04:34 The saints on every hand
04:37 will shout the victory.
04:42 Their songs of sweetest praise
04:46 will ring from heaven's shore,
04:50 and I can't feel at home
04:55 in this world anymore.
05:02 Oh Lord, You know
05:06 I have no friend like You.
05:10 If heaven's not my home
05:14 then Lord what will I do?
05:19 The angels beckon me
05:23 from heaven's open door,
05:27 and I can't feel at home
05:32 in this world anymore.
05:39 Oh Lord, you know
05:43 I have no friend like You.
05:48 If heaven's not my home
05:52 then Lord what will I do?
05:56 The angels beckon me
06:00 from heaven's open door,
06:05 and I can't feel at home
06:09 in this world anymore.
06:16 No I can't feel at home
06:20 in this world
06:24 anymore.
06:37 Amen.
06:41 Thank you, thank you David. Appreciate it very much.
06:44 Wonderful song!
06:46 Good evening.
06:47 And welcome to Give MeThe Bible.
06:50 Appreciate you being here.
06:51 And all those that have been
06:53 joining us by television,
06:55 by radio, we welcome you
06:57 again tonight. This series that we are doing now
07:00 is on the Holy Spirit.
07:02 In other words we call this series that we are doing
07:05 all this year Give Me The Bible.
07:08 But each month we do a series within that.
07:12 And we have done one on conversion so far.
07:16 We have done one on the second coming of Christ.
07:18 And this one is on the Holy Spirit.
07:21 So we hope you will be blessed as we go along
07:25 and study God's Word together.
07:27 Tonight our subject is Why Many Do Not Receive
07:31 the Benefit of the Holy Spirit.
07:32 A lot of people that have prayed for it, sought it,
07:37 just don't seem to have any benefit from it.
07:41 Why not?
07:42 So that's what we're going to take a look at tonight.
07:45 Our next presentation will be entitled
07:48 The Fruits of the Spirit.
07:51 Fruits of the Spirit.
07:53 You see, as I mentioned last night,
07:57 the Holy Spirit does a work within us.
08:01 And what it does is it produces fruit.
08:04 And that's what we're going to look at in the next presentation
08:07 is the Fruits of the Spirit.
08:09 What fruits it produces.
08:11 So we hope it will help you understand what the Holy Spirit
08:15 will do for you in your life.
08:17 Tonight as I mentioned we are looking at
08:25 What are you looking for?
08:28 What are you... what do you need to be watching for
08:31 during the presentation?
08:33 Well, there's three reasons why people don't.
08:37 And so make sure you have those clear in your mind...
08:40 what those reasons are.
08:42 And you'll find that there are just some things that you and I
08:46 need to do in order for the Holy Spirit
08:49 to work in our lives.
08:51 So kind of watch for that as we go through.
08:54 It's very important.
08:56 What says the Bible, the blessed Bible?
08:59 This should my only question be.
09:02 God gives us His Spirit to lead and to guide us.
09:06 What says the Book of God to me?
09:09 That's what we want to find out.
09:10 And so we're glad you're here.
09:12 We hope you'll be blessed as we go through
09:14 this subject tonight.
09:17 Normally Dona Klein plays for us.
09:22 She's our keyboard artist,
09:24 but she also sings.
09:27 And she's going to sing for us tonight a beautiful song...
09:30 song entitled In Vain.
09:47 Lord, in my darkest days
09:55 when I have lost my way,
10:01 shine down Your light
10:05 on me again.
10:15 Through trials great and small
10:21 help me to face them all.
10:25 Then I will not have lived
10:31 my life in vain.
10:39 Lord, lay Your hand on me
10:46 and guide my destiny.
10:53 Just help me make it
10:57 day by day.
11:06 Then let Your Spirit breathe
11:13 eternal life in me.
11:17 Then I will not have lived
11:22 my life in vain.
11:31 Jesus, you laid the stone
11:39 for men to walk upon.
11:43 Now gently guide me
11:49 in Your way.
11:59 Then through this earthly pain
12:04 please help me praise Your name.
12:09 Then I will not have lived
12:14 my life in vain.
12:23 Lord, lay Your hand on me
12:31 and guide my destiny.
12:37 Just help me make it
12:41 day by day.
12:50 Then let Your Spirit breathe
12:57 eternal life in me.
13:01 Then I will not have lived
13:06 my life in vain.
13:33 Our Gracious Father, tonight
13:36 we ask for Your presence.
13:40 We ask Lord that we might be in tune with heaven.
13:44 That the Holy Spirit may quicken our intellect.
13:49 That we might see and understand
13:54 anything that would prevent us from receiving the blessing
13:59 that You have for us in the work of the Holy Spirit.
14:03 Bless us tonight we ask in Christ's name, Amen.
14:15 With the death of Jesus,
14:17 all the hopes, ambitions,
14:21 desires...
14:24 everything that those disciples had thought that they...
14:29 would happen, died.
14:32 I mean, how could this be?
14:35 One that they believed to be the Son of God,
14:39 One they believed to be the Messiah
14:41 lying there in the tomb... dead.
14:44 How was that possible? How could that be?
14:50 All their plans... all the things that they thought
14:54 was going to happen laying there in the tomb with Him.
15:01 And then Sunday morning word began to trickle
15:06 across Jerusalem that He had risen,
15:11 and Peter and John ran out to the tomb.
15:17 Got out there and looked inside, and He was gone.
15:23 Not there. And it says:
15:35 Looking in the tomb; He's not there, He's risen.
15:39 They don't know what's happened.
15:41 Mary thought somebody had robbed the grave.
15:45 They're wondering what happened when these two men
15:49 were standing beside them.
16:03 He's not here... He's risen.
16:05 And those angels told them to go on to Galilee
16:09 and there Christ would meet them in Galilee.
16:12 They couldn't understand what was happening.
16:18 Jesus spent 40 days with those disciples.
16:23 During those 40 days He gave them instructions
16:27 and He said this to them:
16:45 So God told them that with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
16:49 that they would receive power to be witnesses to all the earth.
16:55 And they went out and they preached the gospel.
16:59 And men and women accepted it and believed the gospel.
17:03 But through the work... through the work of the Holy Spirit
17:07 it took place. There's three reasons...
17:17 Three reasons why that takes place.
17:20 And I want you to follow carefully as we take a look at
17:23 those three reasons because it enters into our lives
17:26 in a special way.
17:27 Philip... Philip has gone down to Samaria and as we found
17:31 out last night. Remember the Holy Spirit was poured out
17:35 on the Jews there in Jerusalem at Pentecost.
17:38 A little while later it was poured out
17:40 on the people in Samaria through the preaching of Philip
17:44 and Peter and John going down and praying for them.
17:46 And it says:
18:02 So they went out. That's part of the gospel, folks.
18:05 That they go in - ministers do - and they preach
18:10 Jesus Christ, and men and women accept Him as their personal
18:14 Savior and follow Him in baptism.
18:17 That's part of the gospel story.
18:20 That's part of what needs to happen and take place.
18:24 So here in Samaria they've accepted Christ.
18:27 They've received water baptism.
18:29 Now watch:
18:38 They heard that through Philip's preaching
18:41 that these people had accepted Christ,
18:43 they had received water baptism,
18:44 and so they sent Peter and John down to help Philip
18:49 because something needed to happen.
18:58 Yeah, they went down and they hadn't received the Holy Spirit.
19:01 They prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
19:14 So the Holy Spirit had not been given.
19:16 But with Peter and John coming down and praying for them
19:20 it says the Holy Spirit was poured out.
19:23 Then they laid hands on them
19:24 and they received what?
19:26 The Holy Spirit was given to them.
19:29 They received the Holy Spirit.
19:31 Now, something begins to happen here, folks.
19:35 And you need to follow carefully because one reason
19:39 that people do not receive the benefit of the Holy Spirit
19:44 is because they are:
19:48 Now let me... let me define what I'm talking about.
19:52 I am not talking about when you stub your toe.
19:56 I'm not talking about when the devil breathes down your neck
20:00 and tempts you, and you do something wrong.
20:02 That's not what I'm talking about.
20:05 I'm talking about when the Holy Spirit has convicted you
20:09 concerning something that you are doing wrong
20:12 and you're refusing to give it up.
20:16 Those circumstances...
20:18 that will keep the Holy Spirit from working
20:21 in your life.
20:23 So I must be willing to give up known sin that is in my life,
20:29 and here in Samaria is an excellent example of that.
20:33 Because Peter and John have gone down.
20:36 They have prayed for these people.
20:37 They have received the Holy Spirit.
20:39 And among those people that received it
20:43 was a man by the name of Simon.
20:45 And Simon came to Peter, and he had this to say to him:
20:58 That's strange.
21:01 Some people think anything can be bought with money.
21:05 But there are some things, folks,
21:08 that cannot be bought with money.
21:11 Just can't be bought with money. Impossible.
21:17 This man thought if he'd give Peter this
21:19 well Peter would give him that ability. Listen to the words:
21:32 Said: "Give me this power that whoever I lay hands on
21:35 they will receive the Holy Spirit. "
21:48 Now folks, let's clarify something here.
21:50 What did Peter just call this... the Holy Spirit?
21:54 He said this was a "gift of God. "
22:01 Are you following me?
22:02 We talked about this last night.
22:04 This is a GIFT God gives.
22:06 This is NOT something that you work for.
22:10 This is not something that you pray through to get.
22:13 This is a GIFT that God gives to you.
22:17 It's a gift of God He gives to us, OK?
22:30 He said: "Simon, your heart's not right in the sight of God. "
22:34 Now watch as Peter comes right to the problem:
22:55 Peter said: "You're poisoned by bitterness.
22:59 You're in the bonds of iniquity.
23:00 This you can't receive. You can't have the benefit
23:03 of the Holy Spirit if you're going to be like that. "
23:14 So I must be willing to give up known sin.
23:20 I can't continually live in known sin.
23:24 Why not? Because the Holy Spirit can't use me, you see.
23:38 Great, great difference.
23:40 See, Simon was wanting to use the Holy Spirit.
23:43 No, you can't use the Holy Spirit.
23:45 The Holy Spirit... You must, you must be
23:49 in a position so the Holy Spirit can use you.
23:54 In fact, it talks about it in the scripture
23:57 about us being vessels.
23:59 And it says that we are vessels, and in order for the Holy Spirit
24:04 to use us as vessels, those vessels have to be clean.
24:08 They have to be empty.
24:10 They have to be something that the Holy Spirit
24:12 can come and use in a special way.
24:15 And it goes on and says here:
24:27 I don't know about you, but in the home I grew up in
24:31 we had vessels of honor and we had vessels of dishonor.
24:35 Do you have that in your home?
24:37 Sure, we have vessels of honor.
24:39 My mother had a china cabinet, and when we had company
24:43 she got the vessels out of the china cabinet of honor
24:47 and she set the table with those
24:49 and served us with the vessels of honor.
24:52 When the company left, she put them all back
24:55 in the china closet and we ate out of the vessels of dishonor
24:58 after that. OK?
25:05 So, yes, there's both kinds there.
25:07 Vessels of honor and dishonor. But it goes on and says here
25:10 that not only are there vessels of honor and dishonor...
25:21 That means cleanse himself from being a vessel of dishonor.
25:26 OK?
25:34 So if I will cleanse myself
25:38 then I will become a vessel of honor
25:42 to be used of the Holy Spirit.
25:45 All right? Now, let me just tell you this right up front.
25:50 It's not hard to get clean.
25:54 Now I just want to make that very clear.
25:57 It's not hard to get clean.
25:59 You don't have to beat your back.
26:01 You don't have to crawl down the aisle on your knees.
26:05 None of that is required to get clean.
26:08 The Bible tells you how you get clean,
26:10 and you get clean this way:
26:22 That is the way that you and I get clean.
26:25 So dear friend, if you have been convicted by the
26:31 Holy Spirit of a particular sin in your life
26:35 and you haven't been willing to give it up,
26:38 that will stand between you and receiving the benefits
26:43 the Holy Spirit will do for you.
26:45 Therefore, give it up. Just give it up!
26:50 Become a clean vessel that the Holy Spirit can use.
26:56 If you and I do that, the Holy Spirit will work
26:58 in our lives in a special way.
27:01 OK, another reason that many people do not receive
27:05 the baptism of the Holy Spirit
27:07 is because they grieve the Holy Spirit.
27:16 Says "Don't grieve the Holy Spirit. "
27:22 When it says don't grieve the Holy Spirit,
27:24 there's a very definite way that you grieve it.
27:27 Now I want you to look at something here.
27:29 This text is found where?
27:31 All right, it's found in Ephesians the 4th chapter
27:35 and verse 30.
27:37 You need to kind of put that down in your mind.
27:39 Ephesians 4 verse 30 is where it's found at. OK.
27:43 How do I go about grieving the Holy Spirit?
27:50 They grieve the Spirit. How do we grieve it?
27:54 Watch. We're back into Ephesians 4.
27:58 Look at the next text, Ephesians 4 verse 31:
28:13 You see I grieve the Holy Spirit
28:16 by being angry.
28:20 I cannot be used of God
28:25 if I'm an angry person.
28:29 If you're mad at your wife
28:33 and you stay that way,
28:36 you're not going to receive the Holy Spirit.
28:39 If you're mad at your husband,
28:42 you won't receive the Holy Spirit.
28:45 If you're mad at your children,
28:49 if you're angry with your parents,
28:51 that doesn't work, folks.
28:54 We cannot live in anger.
28:58 Impossible, you know?
29:01 If you went down and prepared breakfast with all the
29:04 tender loving care you know how,
29:06 and your husband came down and got up on the wrong side
29:09 of the bed and hateful and all, and you want to tell him
29:13 where to go and how to get there,
29:14 that isn't what you're supposed to be doing.
29:17 You see, I can't be an angry person.
29:21 I have to let the Holy Spirit work in my life.
29:24 And there's a lot of people that are angry people
29:28 and they don't receive any benefit from the Holy Spirit.
29:32 They just do not receive any benefit from the Holy Spirit.
29:36 Let me just say to begin with, folks,
29:39 it's not hard to be angry.
29:41 I want you to understand that.
29:43 You don't have to work at it.
29:45 You don't have to, you know, do any certain things
29:49 to be angry and to be mad and that kind of thing.
29:53 That all comes naturally.
29:56 Did you know that?
29:58 Yeah, that all comes naturally.
29:59 The scripture calls it "works of the flesh. "
30:04 See, you're born with those.
30:07 You're born with all these works of the flesh in your life.
30:11 Let's look at them.
30:52 So, I can't let the works of the flesh
30:55 control my life.
30:59 I can't be an angry person.
31:03 You know? And dear friend, you may have something
31:07 that happened in your life
31:09 and you may feel like you have reason to be angry.
31:13 I'm sorry.
31:15 The Holy Spirit's supposed to take that away.
31:19 That's the work of the Holy Spirit.
31:21 And you and I must surrender our lives and let the Holy Spirit
31:25 do its work in our lives.
31:27 We can't be angry people.
31:30 I find that people use this text for justification.
31:33 It says:
31:39 I have some people tell me "Well, it's OK to be angry
31:43 and mad at your wife just as long as you don't
31:45 let the sun go down on it. "
31:46 No, that's not what it's saying.
31:49 You see there are reasons to be angry.
31:54 It's never wrong to be angry over an abused child.
32:00 You know, there are certain things that are...
32:03 there's reason to be angry.
32:05 But the scripture says you're not even to let the sun go down
32:08 on that. That's what it's saying.
32:12 You and I are not to let the sun go down on that.
32:14 I'm not to let anger control my life.
32:18 Why not?
32:20 Well, when I was a teenager
32:23 a couple boys and I decided that we would go out and
32:26 climb a mountain there.
32:28 It wasn't a big mountain...
32:30 close to the house.
32:32 And we went out and started climbing up this mountain.
32:35 And as we were climbing up the mountain, we came to this
32:38 ledge... just a rock that went straight up.
32:43 And it was large, and we'd have to go a long way to
32:49 get around it. And it wasn't that tall, and we thought
32:54 that we could jump up and grab the edge of that rock
32:57 and pull ourselves up, over, so we could go on up the mountain.
33:02 I jumped several times.
33:04 I just couldn't jump high enough.
33:06 The other two fellows... they jumped.
33:08 They just couldn't get there, you know...
33:11 couldn't jump high enough.
33:13 And in the course of our jumping
33:15 we weren't paying much attention.
33:17 And we stopped after we had jumped several times
33:20 and we heard something. And we looked down
33:23 and right there at the bottom of that cliff
33:26 was a great big rattlesnake.
33:28 You know, all three of us made it up on top of that ledge.
33:34 Now, I'm just trying to illustrate something for you.
33:39 You see, when you're frightened,
33:42 when you're scared,
33:44 God made you so that the adrenaline comes up in your body
33:49 and you can actually do things
33:51 that you wouldn't do under normal circumstances
33:54 because of the rush of adrenaline.
33:56 But that comes up, and then that goes down.
34:00 Adrenaline drops, and that's the way it's supposed to be.
34:04 But when I am angry
34:07 and I stay angry,
34:10 that raises my adrenaline, and it doesn't let it drop.
34:15 It stays up, and that is
34:18 extremely unhealthful.
34:22 That's why the scripture says
34:23 "Don't let the sun
34:25 go down on your wrath. "
34:30 You and I must turn our lives over to the Holy Spirit
34:37 and let the Holy Spirit do its work.
34:39 Now I read to you Ephesians 4 verse 30.
34:42 And we read verse 31.
34:44 I want you to listen to what it says in verse 32.
35:02 You see, the Lord wants you and I to be kind,
35:07 gentle, forgiving, loving.
35:12 That's what the Holy Spirit is to do in your life.
35:16 That's the work of the Holy Spirit, folks.
35:19 So you can't be an angry individual and be mad.
35:24 If you are, you are grieving the Holy Spirit.
35:30 You're grieving the Holy Spirit.
35:32 OK, one more way. You see,
35:37 why... why does this make a difference?
35:41 When God made you, He gave you something.
35:46 He gave you a will.
35:48 OK? By giving you a will,
35:53 that gave you the opportunity to be on the throne.
35:59 In fact, you know, when we're born
36:04 we're born on the throne. Did you know that?
36:07 Yeah. If you don't know that these little babies aren't
36:10 on the throne, then you haven't been around very much.
36:13 You know, they're not only on their throne,
36:16 they'll get on your throne if you let them.
36:18 See? We're born that way.
36:21 We're born... and we even raise our children that way
36:24 and say: "Well you can handle this; you can do this.
36:27 You can do that. " You know?
36:29 "I can do that. "
36:31 And so we grow up thinking that we can handle anything.
36:36 That we're on the throne.
36:38 And we make decisions because God gave us a will.
36:42 I can say "yes. " I can say "no. "
36:46 I can make a definite decision.
36:58 Said we can make that decision, you know.
37:03 Do what we want to do and all.
37:05 Well, let's say... Let's say here this evening
37:08 that you're on the throne.
37:11 OK?
37:12 That you're running your life.
37:14 That you're handling this.
37:16 That you're in charge.
37:18 Now since you are on the throne
37:21 and you're running your life,
37:23 what's going to happen?
37:25 Do you have any idea?
37:28 Well, if you're on the throne
37:30 then the works of the flesh are going to operate.
37:36 Because you're on the throne... You're flesh,
37:39 and the works of the flesh are going to operate.
37:41 What are the works of the flesh?
37:42 Let's look at a few of them here, and we'll talk about them.
37:45 But God not only gave you a will
37:49 but He gave you a brain.
37:51 Now folks, the brain that God gave you
37:55 is a great big filing cabinet.
37:58 That's what it is.
38:00 And it files away everything that you see,
38:05 everything that you hear,
38:07 everything that you taste,
38:09 everything that you smell,
38:10 everything that you touch.
38:12 It files all that away perfectly,
38:17 and you can pull it up any time you want to.
38:22 You can pull it up and think about it.
38:24 See? Any time you want to.
38:27 All you have to do is just go back and access it. See?
38:29 Here, you... I'll show you what I mean.
38:34 Where were you? Where were you
38:39 when 9/11 took place?
38:42 Hmmm? When the twin towers were bombed, where were you?
38:46 Watch all of you... doodoodoo...
38:48 Oh, yeah. That's where I was.
38:50 See? It's all stored up there.
38:52 You know where it's at.
38:54 Those of you that are old enough
38:56 I could just ask you this:
38:57 where were you when you heard John Kennedy had been shot?
39:00 Watch it... doodoodoo.
39:02 It's all there... See, it's there.
39:04 God... that mind files all that away perfectly
39:09 so that we can pull it up any time we want to.
39:12 When you pull it up and you think about it,
39:17 the mind, if you're on the throne,
39:21 has a problem.
39:31 Therefore what's in your mind are going to be
39:34 works of the flesh. OK?
39:37 In fact, when I think on things, dwell on them,
39:42 the Bible refers to the heart. OK?
39:47 It says: "Give Me thine heart. "
39:51 What's the Bible talking about when it talks about
39:54 your heart? Giving your heart?
39:56 Well, it tells us this.
39:59 It says:
40:20 All those come out of man's heart.
40:23 Do you know what those are?
40:25 Those all are emotions.
40:29 And when the scripture talks about "give Me thine heart, "
40:33 it's talking about your emotions.
40:35 And when I take something out of my mind
40:39 and I think about that, that produces emotions.
40:44 Very, very important.
40:47 Once those emotions happen,
40:50 then you have actions.
40:55 See, that's what produces actions is the emotions
40:58 produce actions.
41:06 We have actions takes place.
41:08 Those are the processes, folks, that takes place in our lives.
41:12 OK. I have a mind, I have a will.
41:15 I can decide who's going to be on the throne,
41:18 who's going to run my life.
41:19 And when I do that, I can think about things
41:24 and it produces emotions in my life.
41:26 OK. Let's say that you're on the throne.
41:29 You're running your life.
41:31 And since you're on the throne running your life,
41:34 the works of the flesh are evident, which are...
41:39 What's the first one?
41:45 Have people come to me and say "Oh Brother Cox, I feel so bad.
41:49 I committed adultery. "
41:52 Now let me just tell you something, folks.
41:54 That's the first one that's listed
41:56 in the works of the flesh.
41:59 I mean, if you're going to let the works of the flesh
42:01 operate in your life, that happens.
42:04 I mean, that's kind of almost like falling off a log.
42:08 It's going to happen because it's part of the
42:11 works of the flesh.
42:12 OK. So, if I'm on the throne,
42:16 I'm in charge,
42:20 then I'm going to spend time sitting in front of the TV
42:23 watching all these programs
42:28 that 90% of them deal with sex and violence.
42:32 And I fill my mind with all that stuff.
42:37 My mind is filled with that because I sit in front of it
42:41 and watch it.
42:43 You know, I've never understood this.
42:45 Explain this to me.
42:47 I've been in homes where parents, you know,
42:52 were very, very careful about their children.
42:56 And they would let them... You know, they made them
43:01 have good manners and they made them be respectful.
43:05 And they made them have good morals and everything.
43:09 And those parents would not permit
43:15 some stranger to come into their home
43:19 and live in their home there
43:21 and use profanity and bad manners
43:25 and immorality and all that.
43:27 They wouldn't permit that. They'd kick 'em out.
43:29 And yet those same parents will sit right there
43:33 and let that television set do those very things:
43:38 teach them profanity, immorality, and all.
43:43 I've never understood that...
43:45 how we can do that.
43:48 But if you're on the throne,
43:51 you're going to watch that kind of stuff.
43:52 And if you watch that kind of stuff,
43:54 then you're going to think about it, and that produces...
44:00 See? That produces lust.
44:02 And if I think about it and that emotion of lust takes place
44:07 in my life, then you're going to wind up committing adultery.
44:12 Those are the simple steps that take place.
44:17 So, you see, I can't do that.
44:20 I have to make a decision
44:22 not to permit that to happen in my life.
44:25 OK. One other way that people
44:32 don't have the benefit of the Holy Spirit in their life
44:35 is because they quench the Spirit.
44:40 OK? Notice again, that's in I Thessalonians 5:19.
44:44 "Do not quench the Spirit. "
44:48 OK. How do I quench the Spirit?
44:50 How does that take place?
44:52 Well the scripture tells us that that takes place by fear.
44:57 If I live in fear,
45:00 I am quenching the Spirit of God.
45:02 I cannot live that way.
45:05 How am I as a Christian,
45:08 as a person who has received the Holy Spirit...
45:11 which you receive when you accept Christ,
45:13 what? How am I supposed to live?
45:15 Let's back up here in I Thessalonians
45:18 and take a look because it will tell us in the verses
45:21 how we're supposed to live.
45:22 I Thessalonians 5:16 through 18.
45:39 So it tells you and I that we are to rejoice?
45:43 That means I'm to be happy.
45:48 I'm not to go around defeated; I'm not to go around sad.
45:52 I'm not to go around feeling like everything's against me.
45:55 I'm to rejoice and be happy in Christ.
45:58 Secondly, I'm to pray without ceasing.
46:01 And then it says I am to give thanks in how much?
46:06 Everything. It says I am to give thanks in "everything. "
46:12 You mean if my son went out and wrecked the car
46:14 I'm to thank God for that?
46:17 Huh?
46:19 Yes!
46:21 Now let me understand what...
46:23 let me clarify what I'm saying.
46:26 You have to give God thanks for everything
46:32 because if you don't, you're on the throne.
46:37 You think it through.
46:39 If you don't give God thanks for everything,
46:42 then you are on the throne and you're running your own life.
46:47 But when I give God thanks for everything
46:51 then I'm letting God be in charge.
46:54 I'm letting Him do His work in my life,
46:56 which makes a great, great difference.
47:13 You see, you and I are not to live in fear.
47:17 We are to live in the joy and the happiness
47:21 that there is in Jesus Christ.
47:23 When it says "do not quench the Spirit, "
47:29 and it says we quench it through fear,
47:32 that word quench, folks, means like when you go and you -
47:36 how should I say? -
47:38 you quench the fire on a candle.
47:41 You go up and press it out.
47:43 That's quenching. That means if I live in fear
47:47 I can literally quench the Spirit.
47:51 I can get rid of it.
47:53 That's why David prayed, said:
48:00 I need it to work in my life in a special way.
48:05 Now, if you don't want that to happen in your life,
48:09 then you have to make a decision.
48:12 And you are in charge, you have a will,
48:15 you're the one that has to make the decision.
48:17 Nobody else can make it for you.
48:18 You have to make the decision to put Christ on the throne.
48:23 Put Him on the throne.
48:25 If I put Christ on the throne as Paul did...
48:30 He said: "For me to live is... " What?
48:32 "Christ. " He put Him on the throne in his life.
48:35 When I do that, then will Christ do anything with what's in my
48:39 mind? Absolutely!
48:42 He'll control what goes in my mind.
48:49 Will it affect my emotions?
48:52 OK?
49:00 Yes! It affects my emotions, what I do.
49:03 Will it affect my actions?
49:06 Absolutely!
49:08 If Christ is on the throne, if my mind is on God's Word,
49:13 if my emotions are doing what they should,
49:15 then the results will be actions that are good.
49:19 Or... the fruits of the Spirit
49:32 which we will talk about in our next presentation.
49:37 But my actions will be good actions
49:40 and I will do the work that God has for me to do.
49:45 But I have to be willing, folks,
49:48 to put Christ on the throne.
49:51 Now, out of all the books
49:56 that I have in my library
50:00 I have one in which, as far as I'm concerned,
50:03 is the greatest statement I have ever read
50:06 about the Holy Spirit and what it does in our lives.
50:09 I'd like to read that statement to you.
50:12 It comes from a book called Desire of Ages.
50:13 This is what it says:
51:08 They want to what?
51:10 They want to manage themselves.
51:14 That's why they don't receive the Holy Spirit.
51:16 Watch:
51:38 All other blessings come in its train - that of the Holy Spirit.
51:44 I have to be willing to put Christ on the throne.
51:49 Paul said:
52:05 Listen as David sings.
52:09 Come, Holy Spirit,
52:13 I need Thee.
52:19 Come, sweet Spirit, I pray.
52:28 Come in Thine own strength
52:33 and power,
52:37 Come in Thine own
52:41 gentle way.
52:46 Let us pray.
52:48 Heavenly Father,
52:50 we come to You tonight
52:53 asking Lord that You'll take away from us
52:57 any sin that is so easily besetting us.
53:03 Those sins that You've convicted us about.
53:08 We haven't been willing to give them up.
53:10 Lord, tonight we ask that our hearts might be surrendered.
53:14 That we might give them...
53:17 lay them at the foot of the cross and give them to You.
53:21 We also ask, Lord, that if we are angry...
53:24 mad... bitter...
53:28 that You'll cleanse our hearts.
53:30 Take those things away from us, Lord.
53:33 May the Holy Spirit do its work in our life.
53:37 We ask Lord that You will bless us.
53:41 Help us not to live in fear
53:43 but to live in the assurance of God's Spirit
53:47 and all that He does in our lives.
53:51 Bless each one here tonight.
53:53 May they be drawn close to You.
53:56 And Lord may we all, day by day,
53:59 walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh.
54:03 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen.
54:10 Well God bless you. We... our next presentation
54:14 will be on The Fruits of the Spirit.
54:16 What the Holy Spirit will do for you and for me.
54:20 And so we hope that the subject
54:22 of the fruit of the Spirit
54:23 will give you an idea
54:25 of how much God loves you,
54:27 how much He wants to do for you,
54:29 and what He CAN do for you
54:31 if you and I will do just what we learned tonight.
54:34 If I'll surrender and give it to Him.
54:37 So God bless you in a special way.
54:39 We pray that you'll have a good day.
54:41 God bless you.
54:44 A coal miner of old
54:45 would leave his family every day
54:47 and descend into the depths of the earth
54:50 with the certain knowledge that the smallest mistake
54:53 could keep him and others from ever seeing daylight again.
54:57 Walking along in the dark,
54:58 he could only rely upon his feeble oil lamp
55:02 to keep him alive.
55:04 He faced many dangers down there.
55:06 Rockfalls, flooding, fires.
55:09 But perhaps the danger he feared the most
55:12 was the one that he could not see.
55:15 They called it chokedamp or blackdamp:
55:18 an unbreathable mixture of gases
55:21 that could quickly snuff out his life.
55:23 Imagine for a moment the terror he felt when he realized
55:27 he had hit a pocket of blackdamp.
55:30 The sudden drop in oxygen would put out his lamp
55:33 leaving him in terrifying darkness, fumbling in vain
55:37 to relight it before he lost consciousness.
55:41 Then in the late 1800's,
55:44 a bright new light began to shine in the dark world.
55:48 Using marble-sized pellets of calcium carbide
55:52 and a few drops of water,
55:54 this new lamp produced a gas which burned six times brighter.
55:58 Not only did it make his job a whole lot easier
56:01 but it also saved lives.
56:04 You can see this tiny reflector
56:06 could focus that beam of light
56:08 on the roof of a mine so that he could detect dangerous cracks.
56:13 The lamp was also easy to re-light.
56:15 And since it required far less oxygen,
56:18 it could illuminate the way out
56:20 should they encounter the chokedamp.
56:23 What an incredible illustration this is
56:26 of the condition of fallen man.
56:28 After struggling to survive the pitfalls of life,
56:32 he suddenly realizes the danger he could not see
56:35 had left him without hope and gasping for his last breath
56:40 in utter spiritual darkness.
56:42 For him there is no eternal life through Jesus.
56:46 In fact, he may not have ever heard about Him.
56:51 But friends, just as that bright light
56:54 of the carbide lamp saved lives,
56:57 so does the light of the Bible.
56:59 We need the light of God's Word to illuminate the dark corners
57:03 of our hearts. It focuses our attention on Jesus Christ...
57:07 our only hope for salvation.
57:09 And all who read and study it
57:12 are warned about the rockfalls of life.
57:15 That's why we call this series Give Me The Bible.
57:18 We're trying our best to bring the light of God's truth
57:22 to those who are living and dying in despair.
57:25 It's our mission. It's our passion.
57:27 Won't you join us?
57:31 Please consider what you can do
57:32 for those who still don't know about Jesus.
57:35 As the Holy Spirit impresses,
57:37 you may send your tax-deductible gifts to:
57:51 Thank you for helping us to bring the Blessed Hope
57:54 to millions all around the world.


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Revised 2014-12-17