The Friend Within

Welcome to this weekend's In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley. Learn how to rely on the Holy Spirit, the friend within, in part two of the series, The Life That Wins. This is the consolation chapter of the New Testament. Right before the Lord Jesus was crucified, the very night before, He gave us the most profound teaching about the Holy Spirit to be found anywhere in the Scriptures, especially in 14, 15, and 16. So He says, beginning in verse 15, It is absolutely impossible to experience or to understand the life that wins without understanding the meaning and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. There is no way for us to live a victorious life.

There is no way for us to have victory over sin. There's no way for us to comprehend and to experience the life that all of us are looking for until we understand the ministry of the Spirit in the life of the believer. Now, I want to deal with a problem this morning, first of all, with our introduction to this message, to clear up, I hope, one of the basic problems of misunderstanding, and that is the fact that the apostles of Jesus' day lived in a transitional period in the work of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would come upon a man, for example, the Spirit of God came upon Saul, the Spirit of God left Saul. Even in the early days of the New Testament, the Bible says that Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be with them. Then he said he will be in you, for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you. So the Spirit of God was working with the apostles during Jesus' day.

Then something happened and he said he will be in you. At Pentecost, it's a whole different story. So what you and I have to ask is, what did the apostles teach about our relationship to the Holy Spirit following Pentecost when the Spirit of God baptized every believer in the Christ? Anything before that, you and I cannot say I want this experience, this experience, that experience until we come to Pentecost and thereafter.

The key question I repeat is this, not what did they experience, what did the apostles teach we ought to experience after the day of Pentecost? And the reason I call this message the friend within is because Jesus Christ said, it is expedient for you that I go away. If I go not away, the Comforter will not come.

But if I go away, I will send the Comforter, he will be in you, with you and upon you. Now I want us to look at two or three things here, back to John chapter 14. First of all, that is the coming, the promise of the coming of this friend who lives within every single believer. And if you'll go back to John, Matthew chapter three for a moment, and you'll recall when John the Baptist was preaching in the 11th verse of that third chapter, he said, I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, which was not the same of what Jesus offered.

But he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Move over to John chapter seven. The Bible says on the last day of the feast in verse 37 of the seventh chapter, listen, in that last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. Now listen, he that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, Out of his belly, out of his spirit, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water, life and power.

What did he mean by that? Jesus explained in verse 39. But this spake he of the Spirit, which now watch this, which they that believe on him should receive for the Holy Ghost was not yet given because that Jesus Christ was not yet glorified. Now watch that verse because that is a key to understanding the work of the Spirit in the life of the believer.

Look at it again. He says, But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive for the Holy Ghost of the Holy Spirit, same Greek word, the Holy Spirit was not yet given because that Jesus Christ was not yet glorified. That is, he's saying in this particular passage, the Spirit of God is coming as a gift and something is going to happen to you. He says, Out of you shall flow rivers of living water and rivers of living water, certainly symbolical of power.

There's tremendous power and might and energy in moving waters. And likewise, there is light. So if you'll turn to John 14 again now, and you see in the 16th verse here, listen to what Jesus said, because here's the whole trinity in one verse. And I, Jesus speaking, will pray to the Father. He that is the Father shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.

There is the whole trinity. God the Father will give you another comfort of the Holy Spirit. Now I want you to watch what he's saying in this verse.

Look at this. He says, I will pray to the Father and he shall give you another comforter. The word comforter parakletos, which means the one who walks by my side.

But now watch this. He says he will give you another comforter, the Greek word alos, another means another one, just like what? Just like me, Jesus said, I'm going to heaven. The Father is going to send you another just like me, one who walks by your side, one who's going to teach you, one who's going to bring all things to your remembrance, one who's going to empower you. He's going to send you another comforter, watch this, another comforter that he shall abide with you how long? Forever.

Now watch this. You're not saved today and lost tomorrow. Saved today and lost tomorrow. He says when the Spirit of God comes into you, he's going to abide with you forever. When you receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, he says you're sealed with the Spirit of God and you're sealed unto the day of redemption, which means until the day that God calls you home and your eternal redemption begins in heaven, he said the Spirit of God is going to abide with you forever.

Look, verse 17, even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him but you know him, for listen, watch this, here's the key, he dwelleth where? With you and he shall beware in you. I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you. Watch that verse. He says I'm going away but I'm not going to leave you comfortless, I'm going away but he says I will do what? I will come to you. When did Jesus Christ come to them?

The next area that I want us to look at is this. He says the Spirit of God is the friend of every single believer. He says he's coming. He's going to be your comforter. Chapter 16 says he's going to be your teacher. He's going to be your comforter.

He's going to be your convictor. He's going to be your reminder. He's going to remind you of everything the Bible says that Jesus Christ would have you to remember. So that the work and the ministry of the Spirit is absolutely essential to your living a victorious life without falling constantly into sin, the life that all of us are looking for, the life of joy and peace and happiness and effectiveness is directly related to the work and the ministry of the Spirit. But it's important that you and I know how to relate to the Spirit. And you see he's made a promise the Spirit will come. Now let me remind you of something. In the New Testament every time the promise of the Spirit is coming it is always for the work of witness.

Now listen to me carefully. Do not get your life out of balance on any given area of the Spirit but get in the middle of what God says and he says his ultimate purpose for anointing us with the Holy Spirit is to bear witness of Jesus Christ's saving power to this godless, unbelieving, hell bound world. That's what he said in Acts chapter 1. That's what happens in Acts chapter 2. The Spirit of God anointed and filled those apostles and they began to preach the Word of God and the mighty things that God had done and was doing and would do through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now listen, when the Spirit of God came at Pentecost what did he do? The Spirit of God coming at Pentecost did what? He baptized believers into the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians look there just for a moment if you will and chapter 12 and verse 13. He says in this chapter on the gifts as well as chapter 14, he says in verse 13 of chapter 12 1 Corinthians, for by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body.

Now listen, here's what you and I need to understand. The Spirit of the living God at Pentecost did what? He baptized every single believer into the body of Christ so that from that moment on every single person who is saved is sealed, baptized into the Spirit of God. He wants all of me. He wants all of you. You say well I want all of God.

I want to tell you something. The day the Spirit of God came into your life, the day that you were saved, I want to tell you, you've got everything. You've got the supernatural power of God living within you. He says he that is within us is greater than he that is within the world. Who in the world is he that is within us? He says the Spirit of God is indwelling every single believer. The only way you and I will ever be able to live this life and serve God effectively is to be indwelt by and then have the Spirit of God who indwells us release through us so that everything God wants to do through us and in us and for us and to us, he'll be free to do it. So when somebody says have you got the baptism? It isn't a question of me getting the baptism. The question is has Almighty Sovereign God got all of me through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the overwhelming rule of the Spirit of God in my life?

That's what it's all about. Now listen, what is all the purpose of all of this? The Spirit of God coming into your life to seal you, the Spirit of God coming into your life to write your name in the Lamb's Book of Life, all of that has two purposes behind it.

What are they? Well, first of all is to produce something. The Spirit of God comes into our life to produce, listen, to produce something that you and I cannot produce.

You remember what he says in the 15th chapter of John? Abide in me and I in you for the branch cannot bear fruit of itself. There's no fruit out here because the branch except it abide in the vine. What is it that produces fruit? The sap that runs in the vine runs in the branch produces the fruit. Branches don't produce. Branches bear what vines produce. Listen to what he says. The ultimate purpose of the Spirit of God living within you and living within me, the friend that God has sent to live within us, he sent to produce something in you and me that all of us want, but we can't do it ourselves.

What is it? Well, look if you will in Galatians chapter 5 for just a moment. Galatians chapter 5 and let's begin with verse 19 because I want to show you what you and I can do. Somebody says he's a self-made man. I want to describe to you a self-made man.

The works of the self-made man are manifest, which are these. He's an adulterer. He's a fornicator. He's unclean, guiltiveness, seriousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, stripes, seditions, heresies, endings, murders, drunkenness, revelings of such like of which I tell you before as I also told you in times past that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Who wants to be a man who's self-made?

Not I. That's the flesh. The Spirit of God came to indwell every single believer to do what? To produce through us, listen, the fruit of the Spirit, verse 22, which is love, joy, and peace, longsuffering or patience, gentleness and goodness or kindness, faith, meekness or humility, temperance or self-control.

There's not a single one of us who don't want that in their life. But how many times are we more guilty of the two verses before that? Struggling, striving, wanting to do better, telling God we want to do better in human strength. Listen, God knows you cannot be any better than you are.

You're as good as you've ever been, good as you'll ever be. Can't be any better because what? Because man within himself can never match up to the righteousness of Christ. And the purpose of the Spirit of God coming, he's the Holy Spirit, our friend who comes to live within, is coming to produce through us what we could never produce ourselves. Now listen, if you don't make that first, everything else is a farce. If the life isn't right, everything else will tumble in shambles.

That's got to be first. The second reason that the Lord sent him is this, the Spirit of God came into our life to equip us for the service that God wants to carry out in each one of our individual lives. Now, you'll hear people say, well, have you got this gift? Well, do you have that gift?

No, I don't have that. Well, you ought to get the same gift that I get. But you know, look, if you will, in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 11, chapter 12, 1 Corinthians, But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. Who is it that determines what gift we have? Who is it that determines what manifestation the Spirit of God wants to manifest through you and me? It is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Now watch this. He says, it is expedient view that I go away. If I go not away, he'll not come. But if he comes, he's going to do many things besides being comfort and teacher and guide. But one thing he kept promising them, he said, tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high. And ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me.

He first of all wants to produce his life through us. Secondly, it is the Holy Spirit indwelling us who chooses your gift. The Holy Spirit indwelling you chooses the manifestation. The Holy Spirit within you choosing the work of service that you are to carry out. If it is the gift of service, if it is the gift of mercy, the gift of prophecy, the gift of teaching, the gift of giving, or whatever it may be, the gift of serving, he's the one who makes the difference.

Now is that not logical? Watch this. If it is the Spirit of God who comes into our life and seals us and sanctifies us and sets us apart as a child of God and comes to equip us by energizing us and giving us the power that we need, is it not, listen, is it not his rightful position as Lord of my life to designate which gift, which manifestation for which work he's called me to do? So that people say, I want this gift, I want this manifestation.

I'm going to tell you something. When you died, old self, and you say, Lord Jesus, I want you to rule in my life. I yield, not co-rule, but I yield to the single rule of the Holy Spirit. I'll take his gift, I'll take his manifestation, as many gifts, as many manifestations as he desires. It's his choice, not mine. Then, my friend, we have begun to walk in the Spirit, freed and liberated to become and to do what God wants us to do, and it is an old self after deciding what I'm going to do for God.

Because remember this, it isn't what we do. He that calleth thee will also do it. You know who the Holy Spirit is? The Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is the doer. Listen, he that calleth thee, Almighty God, will also do it.

How does he do it? He sends his Spirit to seal and to equip and to empower and to energize us to do what? To become, first of all, producing the fruit and to perform, second of all, through the power, through the wisdom, through the ministry, through the work, through the gift, through the manifestations of the Spirit of God so that it all boils down to this.

All of him, none of us. How in the world can we ever boast of anything under any condition except Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, and he alone? And he says the Spirit of the living God is the friend that he sent into your life and my life, and he's going to be there abiding forever. You'll never face any circumstance in life under any condition, whatever may happen without this. You and I have already tapped in to the supernatural omnipotent power of the Spirit of God. Great is he that liveth within us than he that's in the world.

Everything we'll ever need, we presently possess. Amen? So now it's a matter of whether we're going to be willing to allow him who lives within us to live through us and to perform through us what pleases and honors him. So that if you're saved by the grace of God, you've trusted Jesus Christ as your personal savior, my friend, the Spirit of the living God is indwelling within you. But here's the question, is the Spirit of God who is indwelling you ruling your life? Because you see, the friend within is there forever. The question is, for the rest of our life, once we're saved, what are we willing to allow the Holy Spirit to accomplish through you and through me? Thank you for listening to The Friend Within. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.