The Authority of the Holy Spirit | Part 2

What should we do when temptations come?

Listen to Adrian Rogers. There's only one thing to do when temptation comes, and it's yield. Not to temptation, but to Jesus. And when you yield to Him, then kingdom authority begins to flow in you and through you, and you yield yourself as an instrument of righteousness.

Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring Profound Truth, simply stated by beloved pastor and Bible teacher, Adrian Rogers. In part one of today's message, we learned that any Christian who has not discovered the tremendous power of kingdom authority is living beneath his or her privileges. Many of us fail to think of the Holy Spirit as a person with authority, yet the Holy Spirit has authority to rule and reign in your life. In fact, kingdom authority is mediated by the Holy Spirit. If you have your Bible, turn to Romans chapter five.

With part two of the authority of the Holy Spirit, here again is Adrian Rogers. Many people are wondering, why is my Christian life in such shambles? Why don't I have all of this glory, this happiness, this victory that has been spoken of? You see, God is not intended for you to live a life of defeat or desperation. When God saved you, God endowed you with something called kingdom authority. You're to have authority over the world, the flesh, and the devil. You're not meant to be the devil's dirty plaything.

You're not meant to be squeezed in and molded in by this world. You are not meant to obey every whim and passion of that old man called the flesh. God has redeemed you. He has saved you. He has equipped you, and he has ordained you to have kingdom authority. I can tell you that Satan does not want you to understand the import of this message. Now, I want us to think what we received from one man, Adam.

Look in verse 19 now. For as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. One man's disobedience. Who was that one man who disobeyed? His name was Adam. Many were made sinners.

Who is that? Just write in your Bible, me. Don't write Adrian.

Just put your name there. All right. Many were made sinners. All right, now look again. So by the obedience of one, who is that one? Jesus. Many were made righteous. Now, if you're saved, you can put your name there, too.

I've been made righteous. In Adam, we lost it. In Christ, we got much more back than we ever lost in Adam. Let me show you what Adam gave to us. He gave us weakness rather than power.

Look in verse 6. For when we were yet without strength... Let's just stop there. Without Jesus, we're without strength. You say, well, I have strength. We're not talking about physical strength. You say, well, I've got money. We're not talking about financial strength. You say, well, I'm smart. We're not talking about intellectual strength.

You say, well, I have a sound mind. We're not talking about emotional strength. We're talking about spiritual strength. You do not have spiritual strength to be what God wants you to be and to do what God wants you to do.

You can try as much as you want, but you do not have what it takes. Nor do I in Adam. We lost that strength. And in the place of it, we have been given spiritual weakness. Now what else did I get from Adam? I got ungodliness rather than godliness.

Look if you will again in verse six. For when we were yet without strength, Christ died for the ungodly. Now what did God make Adam to be? Godly, like God. What did sin make him?

Ungodly, unlike God. What did we get from Adam? We got weakness from Adam. What did we get from Adam? We got ungodliness, ungodlikeness in Adam.

Doesn't mean we're bank robbers. It just simply means that we have come short of the glory of God. Now let me tell you a third thing that we got from Adam. We got sinfulness rather than righteousness. Look if you will in verses seven and eight. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Now we sit in church many times dressed up, the Bible's in our hands, hymnals by our side and we look so good. But friend, in Adam we're sinners, we're sinners. The Bible says sin is the transgression of the law. Now you may not think that you're a sinner, but you are a sinner.

You're a sinner. Let me tell you what else we gained from Adam. We gained wrath from Adam rather than approval.

Look in verse nine, much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Did you know what we are when we're in Adam? We're under the wrath of God, the wrath of God. Now what did we receive from Adam? We received ungodliness from Adam. What did we receive from Adam? We received folks a sinfulness from Adam. What did we receive from Adam? We received wrath from Adam. And what did we receive from Adam? We received warfare from Adam.

So put it down, big, plain and straight. In Adam, we're in trouble, isn't that right? I mean it by one man, we're in trouble.

I know what you're thinking. You're saying now, pastor, that is not fair. That is not just. Why should I be in all of that difficulty because of Adam? I mean, I didn't vote for him.

I didn't choose him. Is that fair? Is that just? Friend, not only is it fair, it is wonderful. You better thank God for it. It shows that God not only is just, but he is kind.

Why? Well, number one, if Adam hadn't have sinned, you would have anyway. If you'd been put to the same test, you would have sinned. And number two, you've already sinned, so don't worry about Adam sinned, you got enough of your own to take care of, right?

All right? But here's the good part. Friend, because we can be condemned by one man, we can also be saved by one man.

See, that's it. I thank God that he deals with that one man. Thank God because of one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. But verse 19, by one man's obedience, by one man's obedience to the Lord Jesus, many are made righteous. Thank God that those who are in Adam, one man can also be in Christ.

One man. So now we've talked about our loss in Adam, let's talk about our legacy in Christ. Let's just turn it over and see what our legacy in the Lord Jesus Christ is. What did we gain in Christ? Now remember, remember that we gain much more in Christ than we ever lost in Adam.

Five times he mentions that phrase much more. Let's look at them. First of all, there's the much more of justification. Look in verse nine. Much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Now, what do I have much more than Adam had before he ever sinned? Well, before Adam ever sinned, Adam was simply innocent. But friend, after we have been saved, we are much more than innocent.

We are justified. Now, I'm going to explain to you that a little bit more when I get on down the line, but there are three words that you need to keep in mind when you think of the cross. One is justice, the other is mercy, and the third is grace. Remember those words, justice, mercy, and grace. Justice is God giving us what we deserve. You say, well, I hope I get justice.

You better hope you don't. You get justice, you'll go to hell. Justice is God giving us what we deserve. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. Grace is God giving us what we don't deserve, is righteousness, okay? All three of those are in the cross. At the cross, when the Lord Jesus Christ died for us, Jesus suffered the wrath of God for us, and so therefore, God's justice is satisfied because his wrath was poured out upon his own dear son, the Lord Jesus, when he became our substitute. And then, because God's justice is satisfied, God's mercy is shown, and you and I are forgiven of our sins, and because of the mercy of God, we don't face that wrath, but then, more than that, God's grace says that we are now justified, and he puts us back as though we had never sinned at all, and folks, that's much more than Adam ever had before he sinned. That is much more. You call that the much more of justification.

Got that one? Let's move on to the second one. There's the much more of reconciliation. Look, if you will, now in verse 10. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Now, Adam, when he sinned, ran off into the bushes and hid. God came looking for Adam.

Adam, where are you? Because sin had separated God and man. Now, it's not God that needs to be reconciled.

God didn't do anything wrong. We're the ones who are reconciled. We're reconciled to God. Folks, we gain much more in Christ than we ever lost in Adam.

Here's the third thing I want you to notice. What's the next much more? The much more, not only justification and reconciliation, but the much more of regeneration. Look in verse 15, the last part of that verse. Much more, the grace of God and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

Look at the word abound. Adam had life, but we have abundant life. That is the regeneration. When he comes back into us, we are regenerated.

We are regened. The genetic code of our spiritual life now is the genetic code of the Lord Jesus. We are partakers of the divine nature. We are regenerated, regened, made like the Lord Jesus on the inside.

Adam never had that before he sinned. That's the much more that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the much more of that. Folks, I'd rather live in Romans 5 than in the Garden of Eden.

Much more, much more. Now look at the next much more, and the much more of our righteousness. Look in verse 17 of this same thing. For if by one man's offense, that's Adam, death reigned by one, that's the old kingdom, much more, much more, they that receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by our Lord Jesus Christ. Look now at the word of righteousness. Adam, we said, was innocent, but we are positively righteous.

Now, what is the difference? Well, Adam could have sin placed on his account. You can never have sin placed on your account. Now, you're in Romans 5, just turn left to Romans 4. This is Romans 4, verse 5. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. You're not saved by joining a church, by keeping the 10 commandments, by obeying the golden rule, by getting baptized, by giving your money or anything else. Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty. To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

When God sees you put your faith in Jesus, God writes down by your name, he is righteous. That is wonderful. But wait a minute, it gets better yet. Saying blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven. Now, he takes every vile, terrible, horrible thing we've ever done and he forgives us. Well, that's wonderful.

But it gets better yet. And whose sins are covered. Not only does he forgive, he forgets, he covers, he buries in the depth of the deepest sea and the grave of his forgetfulness, as far as the east is from the west, so far as he removed our transgressions from us. So whose iniquities are covered. Well, that's wonderful.

Can it get any better? Yes, it does. Continue to read. Verse eight. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Now, he has imputed righteousness, but it goes on to say he will not impute sin. He will never put sin on your account.

Never. You say, but what if I sin? Well, he'll carry you to the woodshed. Whom the Lord loves, he chastens. And if you're a child of God, you know the chastisement of God. But friend, that sin will never be put on your account. People have the idea that if they're living good when they die, then they're going to heaven. Well, you ought to live good.

But friend, I want to tell you this. You don't go to heaven by the way you live. And I wouldn't trust the best 15 minutes I ever lived to get me to heaven.

You know what I'm trusting? Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. If God imputed sin to you, to me or any of us, we would never make it none of us.

God will not put that on your account. We got much more in Christ than we ever lost in Adam. You understand that? It is the much more. It is the much more of our righteousness.

And then look, if you will, the much more of our reign. Look in verses 20 through 21. We're back to chapter five, verse 20.

Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound. That means in plain English, God gave us the law to let us know we're sinners. But where sin abounded, grace did, here it is, much more abound. We come into a new kingdom. It is the kingdom of grace. And it is much better than the kingdom that Adam had even before he sinned. Adam had an earthly dominion and he lost it, he blew it. But Jesus bought it back. And it now becomes a kingdom of grace. And we have gained much more in Jesus than we ever lost in Adam.

I saw advertised something called super glue. And they said where you put the thing back together, it'll be stronger there than at any other point. That's what salvation is. Folks, it's stronger after it's been put back than it was before it ever got broken.

That's what he's saying. By one man, we got into one kingdom. And by another man, the Lord Jesus, we got out into the kingdom of love and light, to reign in life. But we gained much more in Christ than we ever lost in Adam. Now, what does this have to do with the Holy Spirit?

I'm glad you've asked. Look if you will in chapter six, verse six, knowing this and write down in your margin fact, F-A-C-T. Then go down to verse 11. Likewise reckon, write down the word faith by that word. And then go down to verse 13. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of righteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God.

Underscore the word yield and write down function. Fact, faith and function. All right, now here it is, listen. Here's how the Holy Spirit of God takes care of you.

First of all, this is a fact. He says you are to know it. Listen, you are to know it. You are to know that Jesus has bought back that lost estate.

You are to know that Jesus has given you righteousness, all of these things. That is a fact. Now, the Bible says in verse 11, reckon that. That's faith. You see, it's one thing to get the fact.

It's another thing now to believe it. This word reckon is a bookkeeping term. It means calculate on it, act on it. I mean, if you have your bank account there and you add it up and you say, I have got a certain amount of money in the bank.

Once you reckon that, then you can write the check. And the facts are there, those are the numbers. Then you calculate it, you say, okay, that is true. Now I can begin to act on this. Reckoning is not closing your eyes and pretending, but it is a fact that Jesus died for us, that he broke Satan's back, that Satan's kingdom is tuned and that Jesus bought back for us more than Adam ever lost. Now here's the third thing.

This is where you really need to get to where it begins to operate, is the function. And that is the word yield in verses 12 through 14 when chapter six, now look at it very carefully. Let not therefore sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield ye your members unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God.

That is your function to yield. Now notice what he says there. Don't let sin reign in your mortal bodies. Now what does that mean?

It means you could if you wanted to. I mean, if you're so silly, once you've been emancipated, once the charges against you have been dropped, once Satan's hold over you is nullified, you're no longer his slave, then why are you going to let him rule over you? You don't have to do it. He doesn't want you to know that. But you are going to have to take your authority. You're gonna have to use that authority. Satan never gives up anybody or anything without a fuss or without a fight because he's a liar.

He is a usurper and he doesn't want you to know the truth. One time, a long time ago, I told you about a sailboat that I used to have down in Florida that got stolen. I couldn't find my sailboat. It was gone down from the riverfront. Upon a time, I was driving down the highway and I looked over there in a boat yard where they had boats for sale and there was my sailboat.

Right out there in the front, it was the one that they were featuring. I looked at that, I said, there's my boat. I wheeled in, I looked at it, I saw every little nick, I'd been in that boat for hours.

I knew everything about it. No doubt about it, that was my boat. And so I walked in there and I said, how much is the boat out there? And he told me, I said, oh. I said, well, I said, that's my boat and I'll be back in a while to get it. I went and got my trailer and came back. And I went out there and started to load the boat.

He came out and said, what are you doing, mister? I said, I'm getting this boat. He said, you can't do that. I said, watch me.

I was loading the boat up. He said, you better not do that. I said, why don't you call the police? I said, go call the police and bring them down here and tell them that a man is carrying away a boat. He went inside and never heard any more from him.

I loaded up the boat and took it away. You know why? I had the truth, the facts on my side and I could act on them. Now Satan will bluster. He'll try to keep you from having your kingdom authority.

But you can say to him, you're a liar. If you don't like what I'm doing, tell God only. See what happens.

What I'm saying is this. You don't have to let it happen. Let not sin reign in your mortal bodies. But yield yourselves as instruments of righteousness. There's only one thing to do when temptation comes and it's yield, not to temptation, but to Jesus. And when you yield to him, when you yield to him, then kingdom authority begins to flow in you and through you and you yield yourself as an instrument of righteousness. Now everybody here is in one of two kingdoms. You're in the kingdom of darkness and death are light and life. Isn't that true?

In Adam all die and Christ are all made alive. Here's the situation. You're on the railroad tracks and your car has stalled.

The train is coming at a great velocity and there you are. If you remain in the car, it is sudden death. You have a choice. You can get out of the car or you can remain in the car. Now you don't have to decide whether or not you're going to die. That's already decided if you don't get out of the car. Your choice is to get out or to die.

Now folks, let me tell you something. You are already in Adam. All you have to do to die and go to hell is just stay right where you are. I mean, you're already there.

You're already there. The choice is are you going to get out of Adam and into Christ? That's the choice. That's the choice because in Adam all die and you're already under condemnation and the train is coming, but our Lord says, come to me, come to me. And I'm telling you today that you can step into the kingdom of God's dear son and you can live with kingdom authority. When you yield, you know who you're yielding to? The Holy Spirit of God.

And that's the kingdom authority of the spirit. And with that, we conclude this powerful, insightful message from Adrian Rogers. You know, at Love Worth Finding, we love hearing how this ministry and the messages of Pastor Rogers have inspired you in your faith journey. If you can, we'd love to have you go online to lwf.org slash mylwfstory. There you can submit your own testimony or read others who've shared their stories. We often select stories to be shared throughout our Love Worth Finding community and we'll always protect your privacy if desired.

We can't wait to hear from you. Again, go to lwf.org slash mylwfstory. Now, if you'd like to order a copy of today's message, call us at 1-877-LOVEGOD. Mention the title when you order The Authority of the Holy Spirit. This message is also part of the insightful series, The Incredible Power of Kingdom Authority. For that complete collection, all nine powerful messages, call 1-877-LOVEGOD.

Or you can order online at lwf.org slash radio. Or write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. You know, each one of us is either with Adam in the kingdom of death or with Christ reigning in the kingdom of life. Choose Jesus today.

Choose kingdom authority through the Holy Spirit. And join us next time for more profound truth simply stated by Adrian Rogers, right here on Love Worth Finding. Well, as I mentioned earlier at Love Worth Finding, we love to hear how these messages have inspired you in your walk with Christ.

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