Refreshment for the Worried – Part 2

Those of us who have received the Holy Spirit, we know Jesus is living inside of us. We know.

We know. There's no doubts. It's that blessed assurance Jesus is mine. Welcome to today's edition of Living in the Light with Bible teacher Anne Graham Lotz and a message underscoring the Apostle Paul's command to be filled with the Spirit.

Here now is Anne. When did you receive the Holy Spirit? Please don't misunderstand me. If you ask Jesus to come into your heart and life, he came in in the person of the Holy Spirit, whether you named him that way or not. When I was a little girl and I asked Jesus to come into my heart, I didn't know about the Holy Spirit.

I didn't understand that. I just wanted Jesus to come live inside of me. But you know something? Jesus is in a man's body. He lives up in heaven. He couldn't possibly come inside me. When I ask him to come in, he comes in in the person of his Holy Spirit.

So let me put it another way. When have you asked Jesus to come into your heart? When have you deliberately with your adult conscious mind told them that you know you're a sinner and you're sorry and you ask for his forgiveness and you believe Jesus died on the cross as God sacrificed for your sin.

There's no other. You put your faith in Jesus alone. Not Jesus plus your good works or Jesus plus your church stuff or Jesus plus anything.

Just Jesus. You put your faith in Jesus and you ask him to forgive you, cleanse you. They come into your heart.

You surrender control to him. When were you born again? If you can't remember a point in time when you did that, how do you know you did? Are you living your life in a very dangerous assumption because you're a member of a church and you've been that way since probably the day you were born. I mean if you're from the south, you know we're all raised in the church as part of our culture and you can make the assumption that you're a Christian.

Just because you're born in a garage doesn't mean you're a car. You can be born and raised in the church. That doesn't mean you're a Christian. It doesn't mean you've been born again. So if you can never remember a point in time when you deliberately, intentionally confessed your sin, claimed Jesus as your savior, opened up your heart, invited him to come in, surrendered your life to him, then would you do that before you go to bed tonight?

And you write down this date in your Bible. Maybe there's somebody here who's just not sure. And let me rattle your cage for a moment because those of us who have received the Holy Spirit, we know Jesus is living inside of us. We know.

We know. There's no doubt. It's that blessed assurance Jesus is mine. And I know there may be some things I struggle with but I don't struggle with that. And so if you're struggling with it and if there's doubt, then I suggest maybe even though you've invited Jesus into your life how many times? Every time you hear an invitation like this, every time you hear it presented and you do it all over again, then maybe you've never done it once by faith. Because faith says, Jesus I confess my sin and your word says if I confess my sin then you'll be faithful and just to cleanse me and so I take you at your word.

Thank you. I've confessed my sin. I believe I'm forgiven. And faith says, Jesus you said if I open up my heart's door and invite you to come in, you would come in and I've done that so I believe you live inside of me and you just take him at his word. And Jesus says if you ask him to give you eternal life, he will. So you ask him and then you say thank you, I believe I have eternal life.

It has nothing to do with feelings. And feelings may catch up and I pray God would give you a beautiful awareness of his presence and he can do that. So listen, just invite him in. So don't go to bed tonight until you know for sure that Jesus and the person of the Holy Spirit lives in you. He's come to indwell us. Ever since Pentecost, there'll never be another Pentecost because that was a point in time just like Bethlehem was a point in history and the cross was a point in history. The resurrection, the ascension, Pentecost once and for all. And ever since Pentecost anybody, everybody who puts their faith in Jesus has the privilege of receiving him into their hearts.

The person of the Holy Spirit. Praise God. He hasn't left us like orphans. He's come to us.

Come to live in us. Not only did he come to indwell us but he came to infill us. And this isn't in this passage so I'm going to digress for a moment because I think this is something that you and I as Christian leaders need to be aware of. That he wants to not only live within you but to fill your life.

And we get nervous when somebody starts to talk about the filling because we've heard of the first filling, the second filling, the third filling and we think of all sorts of signs and wonders associated with it. Let me give you a definition for the filling of the Holy Spirit. It's moment by moment surrender to his moment by moment control. Ephesians says be ye filled with the Holy Spirit.

And that's a command. The Holy Spirit is a person. You're not going to get him in pieces. So you don't get a part of him when you're born again and a part of him later when you surrender and a part of him when you come to the cove. You don't get him in pieces. So when you receive Jesus by faith as your Lord and Savior and he comes in during the person of the Holy Spirit you have all the Holy Spirit you're ever going to have. So you have all of the Holy Spirit.

This is where the problem comes. He seems to get you and me in pieces. So we have all of him but he doesn't have all of us. So we give him Sunday morning when we go to church of course. And we give him when we go to our Bible class of course.

We give him when we come to the cove of course. But what about Monday morning when you go to work? Or Saturday night when you're being entertained? Or when you're with your friends? Or when you're just relaxing in private and the door is shut and there's nobody else in that room but you and that computer? So he wants to fill your life.

In fact he doesn't just want to, he demands it. Every nook and cranny, every part and parcel to fill your life. I grew up right across the valley when it was about halfway up a mountain. You access it by this narrow mountain road and at one curve there's a spring when I was a little girl that bubbled up out of the ground. And in the winter time the water would flow across the road and it would freeze and it would form a sheet of ice. So Mother got a pipe and she put into the spring and then she put the pipe over a big old wooden bucket. So the water came through the pipe, filled up the bucket and then went down in a ditch beside the road and then the hazard was avoided.

And don't take this illustration too far, okay? But the Holy Spirit is like the water and he flows through into our lives to fill us up so that we overflow in a way that brings glory to God and blessing to other people. But sometimes there's something that blocks the flow and we would walk down the mountain and we'd see the water all over the road again and Mother would go up to the pipe and she'd take a stick and she'd run it through the pipe and sure enough she'd find a little pebble had gotten in there or a salamander or a rotted leaf.

And so she'd run it through the pipe to clear it out and then the water would flow again because if it got stuck then the water came up out of the ground, flowed across the road and made a mess. And you know the Holy Spirit flows into our lives but we can be a mess if there is something obstructing his flow that should fill us. And it can be a pebble, it can be something hard like bitterness, anger, unforgiveness. It can be something rotted, a little rotted leaf, lying tongue or critical spirit. It can be slippery salamander, just some of those little sins from the past, things that nobody knows that just sort of scoot around and things we see and things we watch and things we listen to and maybe nobody knows but those things. And you think they're harmless, nobody knows, you know you're not murdering or raping or killing but those things will block the flow of the Holy Spirit in your life.

So he will never leave you and never forsake you but you can feel like he has if there are too many blockages in the system. And he has come not just to indwell you but to fill you with himself. So when you're listening to somebody who's filled with the Spirit you can tell the difference can't you?

And I would look at my sweet mother at the end of her life when she couldn't move, she couldn't do a thing for herself, couldn't even pick up a Kleenex. And her eyes sparkled and her mouth smiled and she was always asking about other people and always interested in what everybody else was doing and she was just filled with the Holy Spirit, so strong in her spirit. So I could ask you are you filled with the Holy Spirit?

You know it's interesting in the New Testament nobody ever claimed to be filled with the Holy Spirit because I think if you're filled with the Holy Spirit one characteristic is that you're totally unselfconscious. You don't think about yourself, your focus isn't there. Your focus is on others, your focus is on the Lord, your focus is on the Gospel.

But it was said about other people so maybe I should ask you what would other people say about you? Other people see Jesus in you. I love the story of a little boy who went to church and the pastor was preaching about this very thing that you could invite Jesus into your life. And so after his little boy caught the pastor in the parking lot and he said you know you said that Jesus could come into my heart and the pastor said that's right. And he said but Jesus is a man living up in heaven and the pastor said that's right and he said well if I invite Jesus to come into my heart he'll be sticking out all over.

The pastor said that's right. The Holy Spirit filling us so that other people see Jesus in our lives. So he's come to indwell us, he's come to fill us up and I'll tell you what if you're somebody who's worried, weary, working so hard you need the refreshing filling of the Holy Spirit. I'm telling you Holy Spirit makes the critical difference in whether or not you live the Christian life with triumph and victory or whether you just keep sawing without activating the power.

Thirdly I'll just mention his power because the Holy Spirit is God. Genesis chapter 1 in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth verse 2 and the earth was without form and void and the darkness was upon the face of the deep and the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the deep. That's the Holy Spirit hovering over planet earth that was empty without meaning no purpose just like a blob dangling in space. Hovering over preparing it to receive God's word. Verse 3 and God said the word went forth every day God's word went forth every day there was a change until the end between the proclamation of the word and the preparation of the Spirit.

Planet earth was transformed into something that was beautiful. A place in which God could see his own image reflected. So those of us in ministry you know when you get in front of your class or your church please pray in advance for your people that the Holy Spirit would hover over their hearts and minds and prepare them to receive the word that you're going to impart. That the Holy Spirit would hover over your heart and mind preparing you to receive the word as it goes out. That you might be refreshed. That you might have a fresh encounter with Jesus. That this might be one of those watershed moments in your life. Just in a sweet quiet wonderful way. Those of you in ministry you're God's kind of people you know.

Everybody else apathetic complacent ringing their hands rolling their eyes and you're doing something. God loves you. And he's given you and me the Holy Spirit who is the power of God within us. Jesus said in Acts 1 and 8 you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes into you. Maybe one reason you don't have power is because you haven't had the Holy Spirit in you. But the Holy Spirit, I can testify, he can give you power to do things you could never do in your own. And whatever the situation is in your life I'm telling you he doesn't give you the courage in that you're not going to feel courageous but you choose to be courageous and the power is going to be there. And to serve him in such a way that other people's lives are changed.

Just important not to touch the glory isn't it? When people come to faith or people's lives are changed I know that it's him. Just evidence of the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit coming through his word making that kind of impact. And the power of the Holy Spirit is available for whatever you need. His grace is sufficient, his strength is made perfect in weakness. Weakness can be a blessing because it just helps us remove ourselves out of the way so that God can take over. But in this passage, John chapter 16, there are two ways that his power is mentioned.

Two things that he does. One, applying this to us, power to change us when it says that he convicts us of sin, righteousness and judgment. And the Holy Spirit, one of his objectives is to conform you and me to the image of Jesus Christ. And so he comes into us and begins to separate us from sin and begins to conform us. 1 Corinthians tells us that we're changed as we behold Jesus in scripture. I think as we get into God's word and we spend time in prayer the Holy Spirit takes that and changes us from glory to glory, character to character until 1 John says when we see Jesus we're going to be like him. And the Holy Spirit will complete what he has begun which is conforming you to the image of Christ. And so he will convict you of sin, things that need to go out, things that need to come in.

And he manages your life. You know Romans 8, 28, we love to quote that all things work together for good to those who are called according to his purpose. And we think all things work together for good meaning I'm going to be happy and healthy and prosperous and problem free and that's not our good, is it?

Not our ultimate good. The ultimate good is that we be conformed to the image of Christ. And so the Holy Spirit's responsibility is to take all the things that happen in our lives and manage them and maneuver them and use them so that you are being constantly conformed to the image of Jesus. So sometimes those hard things that happen, the suffering, the pain, I don't know why he can't mold us without that but he can't seem to take me deep anyway without it. And there are certain things in my life that just have to be polished off and sometimes it hurts.

But he's taking the things that come into my life, all things, and using them to conform me to the image of Christ, that's my ultimate good. Not only has the power to change me but power to change others. Who are you wanting to change? I've got a long list. People I'd love to convict.

Starting with family members and then moving right out. But it's not our job, is it? It's not our job to convict them of their sin so we can pray for the person and impart the word to the person. And it doesn't mean that like our children we don't correct or we don't try to hold them accountable. But we don't have to go around being sort of like the heavenly policeman and telling everybody where they're going wrong and what they're doing. That's just so judgmental, self-righteous. That's one reason the world hates us.

Because all they see is us pointing our finger at them. It's the Holy Spirit's job to do that. We can share the gospel, we can share God's word, get them into a Bible study, pray for them. But then it's the Holy Spirit's job to pinpoint their sin and show them what they need to put out and what they need to put in. And we're free to just love the person.

Isn't it wonderful? We don't have to go around making everybody good. We just go around telling them about Jesus and sharing God's word and praying for them and He'll make them good. And we can just love them. That's such a freeing thing if you can wrap yourself around that.

Especially if you have adult children. Somebody you're worried about, a husband, a child, an in-law, extended family member, friend, neighbor, pray that the dear Holy Spirit, who has summed up the power of God within him, would begin to convict and conform, hovering over their hearts and minds. Listen, if He could do it to planet Earth, He can do it to whoever's on your list. And you know the interesting thing in Genesis 1, when He was doing that, nobody would have known. Because you would look at planet Earth and it says in verse 2 He was hovering over it, but you would think, you know Jesus, that's just a blob in space.

What a waste. And we wouldn't even be able to see with our eye the invisible Holy Spirit preparing it to receive God's word. And then the changes took place so gradually maybe we would think they weren't even taking place.

Just a little flower here and then a little animal there. Until in the end it was transformed. So sometimes when we pray and we see no evidence that God is moving, don't think He's not moving. Because I believe in response to the prayer of faith He will be active because God is active, isn't He?

It's His nature to be active. And you pray He will act in response to your prayer, but you may not see evidence of the activity. Maybe you'll never see evidence, or maybe just not immediately, but He's going to be moving and responding to your prayer of faith. The Holy Spirit has the power to change us and to change others and I've experienced that in my own life. And ministry and family seem to stretch me way beyond what I can do on my own and how many times I've cried out. In fact when He first called me in the ministry and outside my home and I told God I just can't do that. And I could almost hear that chuckle and saying, Ann, I know you can't, but I can. And I say, God, I'm so inadequate, I don't have training, I don't have knowledge, I've not been to seminary, I don't know how to be a leader, and I'm so inadequate. And He says, Ann, but I'm sufficient. And I say, Lord, remembering some of my physical problems that I'm so weak and Ann, but I'm strong. So Ann, you just be obedient and you do what I tell you and you hold on to me and you hold on to my word and together, we'll do it. You can do it in my power and strength and I'm telling you, I've experienced it over and over and over and I know you have to. So when we get out of our comfort zone, we crawl out of the boat and start to walk on the water, we discover the power of God, right?

So somebody here clinging to their comfort zone, you just take on just what you know you can handle. So afraid of failing, talking about Esther, the fear of that little girl to step out of her comfort zone, but think of the blessing she would have missed. Mordecai told her, Esther, God will raise up somebody to do this, but who knows but that you've come to the kingdom for such a time as this. You're going to miss the blessing if you don't get out there and do it.

So don't miss the blessing, don't miss the thrill of walking on the water because you won't get out of the comfort of your boat. Fourthly, let me remind you of his precepts. In verse 13 in chapter 16, he's called the Spirit of Truth. The Holy Spirit is not a feeling or an emotion or an ecstatic experience, he is the Spirit of Truth. And he wrote through human authors this book, Every Word is Inspired by the Holy Spirit. And let me tell you something, he is the Spirit of Truth, he does not lie, he does not make mistakes, he does not record myths. From Genesis to Revelation, the book that he inspired is the truth. And to say that the Bible holds errors or myths or is not true is to slur the integrity of the Spirit of Truth. So what's your view of Scripture?

Nail it down. How can you be teaching it, promoting it if you don't believe it yourself? And it just is an act of faith on my part. I believe because this is God's Word. I believe because it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, it's true.

I can't answer all of your questions about it, I don't understand it all, but I believe it's true. And when I get to Heaven, if I find out instead of 200,000 people killed in some battle, it was just 20,000 because somewhere along the line a zero was added, I don't care. But if I get to Heaven and find out I picked and chose my way through Scripture because I couldn't believe Jonah was swallowed by a fish and I couldn't believe a snake would talk and I can't believe Noah would get all those animals and all that. And I pick and choose and I found out it was all true and I was discarding things that were the truth that had tremendous meaning for my life and then I sowed doubt in the minds of other people, God forbid that would ever happen. So I put my faith in God's Word and I've taught it, not every single part of it, but I've taught it enough and I've taught it long enough and I've applied it to my life and I've lived by it. What does it say, what does it mean, what does it mean in my life? Applying it, living it out, and I can tell you I know by experience that it's true.

It works. So just decide your view of Scripture. Put your faith in it, it's God's Word. He's the Spirit of truth, he doesn't lie, you can trust him, you can take him at his word. That reminds you of his purity. This is also so obvious that we miss it sometimes, but he is in chapter 14 verse 26 he is the Holy Spirit. He is completely separate from sin. In the Holy Spirit there is no meanness, there is no unkindness, there's no rudeness, there's no selfishness, there's no bitterness, there's no unforgiveness, there's no jealousy. All the petty sins, pridefulness, there's no sinfulness at all.

And when he comes into my life and when he comes into your life, you'll look around. Then he'll begin to separate you from sin, he'll begin to convict you of sin so when you gossip and you're just having fun but you're stealing somebody's reputation and he's going to give you that prick. There's a conviction, there's a hmm, you just feel nasty inside. Or that white lie, and it was just a little white lie, you know. And it sounded good and you exaggerated and it made the story better but you get back and you think, hmm, that wasn't the complete truth. Or you lose your temper and boy that person deserved to have you give them a piece of your mind but you think, I've got to handle that differently. It's a pain almost, like a spiritual pain.

And I'll tell you what, keep short of count. You keep coming to the cross, confess your sin because if you don't, you lose that pain. You become accustomed to the pain. And you begin to get anesthetized to it and you're harder for the Holy Spirit to convict.

Now here's Anne with this final word. God's word tells us in 1 John 1-9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Still, you may find yourself asking, Lord, did I hear you right?

Did you say all unrighteousness? Did you mean all my sin, past, present and future? Even if it's sin I consider little and insignificant, do you really mean all my sin is forgiven?

Yes. Hear Him whispering to your heart. The blood of Jesus purifies you from all sin. But listen to me, if you don't keep short accounts and daily confess your sin to God as you commit it, increasingly you will not lose your salvation but you will lose the joy of your salvation. You will always be forgiven, but your fellowship and friendship with God will become strained and tense. So right now, confess the sin that has come to mind. Thank God for your forgiveness and ask Him to cleanse you. Then surrender anew to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to keep working in your life to make you holy, to make you like Jesus. Living in the Light is a weekly study in God's Word with teacher and author Ann Graham Lotz. Learn to listen to His voice, then start making the choice to keep on going and believing and trusting who God is. Go to anngramlotz.org. Take advantage of the many helpful free resources to get you started. Join us again for Living in the Light.