Think about the people in your life who you would describe as spirit-filled. Most likely, they all share the same key virtue. Do you know what it is? Today, on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah looks for the best indication of a spirit-filled life.
and what he finds might surprise you. Continuing this series, The Holy Spirit You May Not Know. Here's David to introduce the best evidence of the Spirit.
So, if you've ever had a discussion with your friends about being spirit-filled and asked them how do you know whether a person is spirit-filled or what do you have to do to get spirit-filled, you've probably heard some of the things that float around Christianity. That you have to have spiritual gifts like the speaking in tongues or working miracles or whatever. But the Bible doesn't really support that. The Bible supports the fact that when you are filled with the Spirit, It changes the person that you become. And one of the key ingredients of that person that you become is the spirit of gratitude.
That's what we're going to talk about today. The best evidence of the spirit. is your attitude of gratitude. We'll get to it in just a moment. Did you know that Turning Point Produces a magazine.
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Let's begin. What is the greatest evidence of someone? who is being filled with the Holy Spirit. How would you recognize a truly spirit-controlled individual if you ran into him today and had an opportunity to talk to him for a while? What would tip you off?
You might say, well, I know that man has a powerful witness for Jesus Christ. That proves he's spirit-filled. Or, I've heard that he speaks in tongues frequently. That must mean he's filled or she's filled with the Spirit. But what does the Word of God say?
How can we really determine if a person has been filled or is controlled by the Holy Spirit? And you may find what I'm going to tell you today rather surprising. Yet as I began to chase this concept, it showed up again and again. in the principal texts of the New Testament. For me, it was one of those aha moments where you sit back in your chair and you say, yeah, that makes a lot of sense, but I never considered that before.
I believe the best evidence of a spirit-filled life is gratitude and thanksgiving. I'd like you to see what the Bible says about it. And how the Bible moves it out of the perimeter in our lives into the very center of our lives. It was December of 1914 when Thomas Edison's great laboratories in West Orange, New Jersey were almost entirely destroyed by fire. In one night, Edison lost $2 million worth of equipment and the record of much of his life work.
Edison's son Charles ran frantically about trying to find his father, and finally came upon him standing near the fire, his face ready in the glow and his white hair blown by the winter winds. My heart ached for him, Charles said. He was no longer young, and everything was being destroyed. Then he spotted me and he said to me, Where is your mother? Find her and bring her here.
She will never see a fire like this again as long as she lives. The next morning Walking about the charred embers of so many of his hopes and dreams. The 67-year-old Edison said, There's great hope in disaster. All of our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start all over again.
Wow. I don't know what you think when you hear a story like that, what I think I'm not quite there yet, but I'm glad to hear somebody is there. What a perspective on life. What an attitude of gratitude. The Bible speaks often about thankful spirits.
You see it through all the scripture, words like thanks, thankful, thanksgiving, they show up more than 150 times in the Bible. And more than thirty times, we are actually reminded to give thanks. But it may surprise you that the Bible often and very carefully links the spirit of gratitude. and victory in the Christian life. I remember when I saw these two verses.
I don't know if you've ever connected these thoughts, but in 2 Corinthians 2.14, we read these words.
Now thanks be to God. who leads us in triumph. Thanksgiving and triumph. Did you see it? Gratitude and triumph in the same verse.
There's something about the attitude of gratitude. That seems at home in the scenario of victory. That same concept blazes across the biblical sky in First Corinthians 15:57. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. There it is again.
Victory and triumph in the same context with gratitude. You show me somebody who's experienced spiritual victory. who exudes a sense of triumph. And I'll promise you, as you get to know that person, you will find that man or woman is permeated with a spirit of gratitude. Gratitude, you see.
Is the best evidence that God is in us, that He's working in our lives. Why do I say that? Because in the world in which we live today, there are so many reasons to. to be ungrateful.
So many reasons to complain. But if the Spirit of God is in us, He will give us a heart that notices the blessings even when we are under the burdens. Unfortunately, The doctrine of gratitude has been relegated by some to an optional and seasonal spirit. Gratitude, as I have watched it sometimes, is looked upon as that which good Christians do on occasion instead of that which marks the life of every Christian. A spirit of thanksgiving, men and women, should be true in all of us.
If we know Jesus Christ and if God's Holy Spirit is in control of our lives, We should be men and women. with thankful hearts. There are five key doctrinal passages in the New Testament. that underscore the importance of perpetual thanksgiving. I want to share those passages with you.
Not to bring conviction so much as to bring encouragement. Because this is how the Bible views a thankful person. The Bible puts it right in the center of who we are in Jesus Christ. First of all, we learned that a spirit-filled Christian is controlled by the Spirit. and gratitude is the result.
In the key passage on being filled with the Spirit in Ephesians chapter 5, we read these words. And be not drunk with wine, in which is dissipation. But be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus.
submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Now, if you're a grammarian, an English teacher, Or somebody who's interested in the language, if you read that paragraph, you'll discover that a lot of the words end in ing. Those words are participles, and participles record continuing action. Part devils tell us this is not just once, this is a continuing thing. Notice. speaking, singing, making melody, and giving thanks.
The words that end in ing. Are words that describe what goes on in the life of a man or woman who is being filled with the Holy Spirit?
So zero in with me for a closer look. One of the evidences that you are a spiritual Christian is that you'll find yourself singing and speaking in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. You'll have a melody in your heart. You'll be a happy person, a joyous person. Joined together with these first three words in this verse is this word, giving thanks.
The Bible tells us in Ephesians 5:20, we should be giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The third evidence of a spirit-filled Christian. is the gratitude of the heart. Thanksgiving to God for all that He has done. Literally, the text said.
Be being filled with the Spirit, giving thanks always for all thanks to God. Later in this message, we will see that Paul commands us to give thanks in all things. But here he tells us to give thanks for all things. I've heard preachers say the Bible never says we're to give thanks for all things, but only in all things. Unfortunately, the Bible says, give thanks for all things.
So you can't use that when you're trying to explain Thanksgiving in the midst of trouble. And before we talk about giving thanks when life is hard, Let's begin with something simple and undeniable. God has richly blessed us all. Psalm 103 gives us a little litany of things for to be thankful. Psalm 103, 2 through 5 says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
Who forgives all your iniquities? Who heals your diseases? Who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things.
so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. That's a great starting place for gratitude, isn't it? We all have quite a few things we should be thankful for. If you can't think of anything to be grateful for today, go read Psalm 103. It will help you, give you some things to start with.
And Paul is not saying here, When he says we should be thankful for all things, that we should be thankful for evil. That's not what it's about. He's not saying to be thankful for evil. We thank God that He is over us in the midst of it all.
Now, I have to admit, there's a mystery in all of this that's hard to put into words. But when the Holy Spirit fills you, something happens that you can't quite explain, but you can absolutely experience it. And when adversity comes into your life, You begin to sense God's presence in a special way. And some of you have actually told me that. You've said, Pastor Jeremiah.
I don't know what I would have done. If I hadn't known that God was with me during this time, Or, Pastor Jeremiah, God was really close to me. How many of you know God is never more close to you at any one time than He is at any other? but you become sensitive to his presence during times of difficulty. And that is why Paul can say we give thanks for all things, not because all things are good.
But because God is good in all things. Isn't that true? William Law, writing in the 18th century, made a very good point when he said. Would you like to know who is the greatest saint in the world? It isn't he who prays most or fasts most.
It isn't He who gives most, but it is He who is always thankful to God. who receives everything as an instrument of God's goodness. and has a heart always ready to praise God for it. Think of that, the greatest saint. is the one who is always thankful.
Ephesians 5 says that when you are controlled by the Spirit, Thanksgiving will be the result. You will have a spirit of thanksgiving. Always giving thanks, it says. Here's the second verse. A spirit-filled Christian is committed to the Word of God.
Ingratitude is the result. If you go over to the book of Colossians, you will see a passage of scripture That looks very familiar to the one in Ephesians. It's almost word for word until you get to one place in it. Here's what it says. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord, and whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.
giving thanks to God the Father through him. You say, that sounds just like Ephesians.
Well, it's almost like Ephesians, except in Ephesians, we're told, if we're filled with the Spirit of God, we'll be thankful. In Colossians, we're told, if we're filled with the word of God, we'll be thankful. Did you notice the change? In Ephesians, it's one thing. In Colossians, it's another.
And what Paul is teaching us in Colossians is that when the Bible is a Special part of our lives when we read the scripture, when we listen to scriptural things, when we fill our hearts with scriptural truth. The result of that will ultimately be that we become thankful people. It's the instrument God uses to change us and conform us into the image of our Lord. Paul is saying that when you spend time as a spirit-filled Christian reading the Bible, You will come out of that experience grateful. Just like the passage we read in Psalm 103.
You can't read that passage without being thankful for all that God has done. I once heard a pastor say, You can often tell what part of the Bible a person has been reading by how they pray. He explained that when someone prays in an anxious and worried tone, They probably have not been reading God's promises. God's promises remind us that He will always take care of us. like a good father.
When someone sounds resentful and hard-hearted in prayer, He would say they probably skipped the Psalms. Because the Psalms soften our hearts. and remind us to praise the Lord. But when a person prays with a warm and thankful spirit, He would smile and say, they must have been studying the gospel. The gospel shows us what Jesus has done for us.
And when we see that clearly, our hearts are filled with thanksgiving.
So here's the first two. A spirit-filled Christian is controlled by the Spirit. and gratitude is the result. A spirit-filled Christian is committed to the Bible. And gratitude is the result.
Here's the third one in Colossians chapter 3. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts. to which also you were called in one body, And be thankful. When a person is characterized by peace, the result is exactly the same as a person who's controlled by the Holy Spirit. And a person who's committed to the Word of God, he will be filled with thanksgiving.
Peace is one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit.
So, if we are filled with the Spirit, peace will be part of the manifestation of His presence in our lives. And everywhere Paul talks about peace. He talks in the same context. about Thanksgiving. I haven't been able to find one place where that is not true.
The Spirit plus the Word plus Peace. all surrounded by an attitude of gratitude. I have to laugh when I think back to my early days as a pastor. and some of my frustration with the Apostle Paul. I used to get frustrated with him.
I would be studying my way through one of his epistles. caught up in what a clear, orderly, logical teacher he is, Then all of a sudden he would seem to launch himself into an idea that was off the topic. And I would say to myself, Paul, I know a rabbit trail. When I see one, that's a rabbit trail. That's not on the subject at all.
I finally realized something about these rabbit trails. Whenever Paul did those quick turns in the text and seemed to head down a different track, it was always because he was overcome with a sense of gratitude to God. For what he had done for him. He would come to a place in his teaching and his reasoning where the reality of what the Spirit of God was leading him to say would suddenly overwhelm him. He couldn't go on to the next point until he had a little praise party, giving thanks to the Lord for His wisdom and long-suffering and mercy.
Logic, I discovered, isn't everything. It has to leave room for praise. Praise to God. for his peace. As you enjoy the peace that wells up in your heart and floods the landscape of your life.
you will be filled with gratitude. you will be filled with thanksgiving. Here's number four. A spirit-filled Christian is constantly in prayer. and gratitude is the result.
Philippians 4, 6 says, be anxious for nothing. But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, Let your requests be made known to God. A lot of people read this verse like this. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication and thanksgiving. But the word before thanksgiving isn't and.
It is the word with, and you say, Pastor, what difference does that make? Listen to me. Don't overlook that difference. It's so important. The with in this verse means that whether it is prayer or supplication or any other kind of praying to God, it is always to be mixed with.
Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving belongs to all the properties of prayer. When you are asking God for something, it's always with thanksgiving. When you are praising God for something, it is always with thanksgiving. When you are interceding for someone else, it is always with thanksgiving.
The Bible teaches and Paul teaches in Philippians, thanksgiving is the inevitable. Companion of every prayer you ever pray. You should never pray without thanksgiving. When you're a watchman on the wall for your church or for your family or for your nation. Don't forget that with all those requests, All of them should be mixed and blended generously with thanksgiving to God.
for all he has done. Ruth Graham once wrote about waking at three in the morning. while she was overseas. She was exhausted when all of a sudden the name of a loved one who was running from God hit her with fear. She began to pray, and her mind kept circling the problems.
Then she said, I sense the Lord say to me, quit studying the problems and start studying the promises. She turned on the light, opened her Bible, and the first verse she saw was Philippians 4:6. With thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. She realized she'd been pleading without thanking, so she began to thank God for His faithfulness, His wisdom, and for the person she loved so much. And she said, you know what happened?
It was as if suddenly someone turned on the lights in my mind and heart and soul. And the little fears and worries, which, like mice and cockroaches, had been nibbling away in the darkness. suddenly scuttled for cover. In Philippians 4, 6, Paul seems to be mentioning several kinds of prayer, but he focuses in on one kind of response. And that is the response of gratitude.
It is to be present in all of our prayers. No matter what the content may be. Just make sure when you say, Dear Heavenly Father, The next words are thank you. That's how God teaches us to pray.
So there are four of the five. But this last one is so powerful that if all I had time to preach was one of them. This is the one I would preach. Because this is overwhelming and I'm telling you friends. It's a verse of scripture you can't deny.
And some of you are going to wish you hadn't heard this verse after you hear it. because it is so clear and so absolute. People asked me over the years, how do you know the will of God for your life? And it's a legitimate question, and we should always be pursuing a knowledge of God's will. But there are some things we already know that are the will of God.
How many of you know that if you read the Bible carefully, you will find passages of Scripture where the Bible just says, do this. No options, no opportunities to do anything else. This is God's will for your life. Don't forget it. Don't stop doing it.
If you're not doing it, start doing it, right? 1 Thessalonians 5.18. In everything give thanks. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. What part of that don't we get?
One of the undeniable parts of God's will for every single Christian is in this verse. Giving thanks is the will of God in Christ Jesus. for you and for me. Could anything be any clearer than that? And the contrary aspect of God's will is just as clear.
And this is a little bit Touch ye and if this bothers you, good. If you're not grateful, You are out of the will of God. That means complaining, grumbling, pessimism, despair, these are all out of the will of God. If it is the will of God to give thanks, then we're out of the will of God if we don't do it. And that is not something that you have to argue about.
I mean, it just plainly said in Scripture, this is the will of God that you be grateful, that you be thankful. And this is a good day to begin that. You know, you don't have to look very far before you realize how much you have to be grateful for, how thankful you should be. Part two of this tomorrow as we finish out the week together. And then we have two more lessons at the end of the month.
In the month of July, we're going to be talking about making sense of it all, seeing the world with a biblical perspective. A new series that we want to share with you. I hope you will. log in for July and being with us then. And don't forget to join us tomorrow as we conclude the message that we began today on the best evidence of the Spirit.
Thank you for listening. I'm David Jeremiah. For more information on Dr. Jeremiah's new series, The Holy Spirit You May Not Know, visit our website where we also offer two free ways to help you stay connected, our monthly magazine, Turning Points, and our daily email devotional. Sign up today at davidjeremiah.org slash radio.
That's davidjeremiah.org slash radio or call us at 800-947-1993. Ask for your copy of David's new book, The Holy Spirit You May Not Know, a valuable resource that's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the English Standard, New International and New King James Versions, complete with notes and articles from Dr. Jeremiah's decades of study. Get all the details when you visit our website, davidjeremiah.org slash radio.
This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow as we continue the Holy Spirit You May Not Know on Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah.
