HopeLives365

Mark Finley: To be filled with the Holy Spirit means to have Christ controlling the throne of our life. Who is in control of your life? Who is your master? Who is in charge of your life?

Guest (Female): This is HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message: The Spirit Controlled Life. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with HopeLives365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: Sally was almost penniless. When her husband, Jeb, died years before, his life insurance had paid off the mortgage, but that was about it. Now the house was deteriorating around her. The car had been junked long ago and she just couldn't keep up with the repairs. She couldn't make her insurance bill payments.

She got by on just a few dollars a week. When the electric bill was too high, she decided to live by a Coleman stove and candlelight. So Sally rarely left home. How could she, when everything cost money? Day after day she stayed at home and creaked back and forth in her old rocking chair.

Life was supposed to be better than this. It started out great, so full of promise, but now she thought it had just passed her by. The only time she would go out would be to buy a few groceries and then hurry back to the house without seeing anybody or saying anything to anyone. And so she lived, just barely lived for years, destitute, lonely, and defeated.

Until one day, an old childhood friend decided to look her up. Marion was heartbroken when she saw Sally's living conditions. She decided to stay a few days to try to encourage her friend and help straighten up the house. While clearing Jeb's rollaway desk, she discovered his bankbook and it said, "For Sally, $87,000 in the bank account."

Sally searched her memory. In her grief after Jeb's death, she forgot. She forgot something very important. Jeb said, "When I'm gone, there's a file in my desk. It's very important, Sally." They looked for that file and they found a note from Jeb: "My dearest love, my time with you draws short, but I want you to know I have provided everything you'll need once I'm gone. Check the bankbook in this file, then take this key to the bank with you. In loving memory of me, please enjoy life to the full. With love forever, Jeb."

At the bank, Sally and Marion discovered the key was to a safety deposit box. It contained $32,000 in cash, a pile of stock certificates, and a collection of rare coins. The stock certificates were worth $550,000 in the current market. The rare coin collection netted $47,000. The interest on $87,000 for over 30 years brought $250,000.

Sally was close to being a millionaire and she didn't even know it. Her net worth was $883,000 and she had been living in poverty. She had no knowledge of what Jeb had left her. She lived in poverty when she could have been rich. Our best friend Jesus promised us a fortune when He left us.

Listen to the words of Jesus in John chapter 16 and verse 7. Our Savior has not left us penniless. Our Savior has not left us as orphans. John 16, verse 7, Jesus puts it this way: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It's necessary for me that I go away. But if I don't go away, the Comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send Him unto you."

Jesus promised to give us a fortune when He ascended to heaven. He claimed the Holy Spirit was more important than His personal presence. He promised to send the third person of the Godhead to take residence in our life, to fill our hearts, to change the current of our thoughts and transform our actions. He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us.

Change without the indwelling of the Spirit is impossible. There can be correctness of outer behavior, but the heart is left untouched. Without the indwelling of the Spirit, genuine Christianity is impossible. Genuine Christianity is more than moral correctness. It is a radical character transformation.

I recall the father of modern psychology, Sigmund Freud, talks about the fact that human beings are largely determined by their heredity and their environment—that is, their actions are—and they really have no power to change. In fact, Sigmund Freud had an addiction to cigars and he just couldn't figure out, "How can I give up these cigars?" See, Christianity is not an ideology. It's not some philosophy. It's not some mere doctrinal correctness, as important as that is.

But Christianity has to do with coming to Jesus. And Jesus describes the change that can take place in our lives in John chapter 3 in that classic experience that Jesus had with Nicodemus. Nicodemus, a rabbi, comes to Jesus by night. Nicodemus is the best Judaism has to offer. His actions seem morally correct. He's a Sabbath-keeper, tithe-payer, health reformer. He has everything that Judaism admires.

But yet, there are other characteristics besides outward behavior. There's selfishness, there's pride, there's criticism, there's striving for position, there's self-centeredness in the heart. You remember what it says in Matthew 15, verse 19? "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh." See, if Nicodemus' moral actions are unacceptable, if they spring from a polluted heart, if the best Judaism has to offer is not acceptable to God because it comes through defiled channels of human nature, if all that is true, then how can we have this change?

Jesus explains it in John chapter 3. Let's start with verse 1. "There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night and said to him, 'Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him.'" We shouldn't condemn Nicodemus for coming at night. In his position as a Pharisee rabbi, a teacher in Israel, it's a miracle he came at all, but the Spirit of God was stirring his heart.

The Spirit of God was stirring his soul. He longed for something deeper. Jesus answered in verse 3 and said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus is confused by that. He says, "How can a person be born when he's old? He can't enter a second time into his mother's womb." Jesus responds, "Except a man is born of water"—that is baptism, rebirth—"and of the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, that which is born of Spirit is spirit."

"Marvel not that I say unto thee, you must be born again. The wind blows where it desires and you hear the sound thereof, but you can't tell whether it comes and where it goes. To everyone that is born of the Spirit, it's like the wind." When a hurricane devastates a community, you may not know that that hurricane is coming. You can see a little bit of its track on television, but it can spring up quite quickly. Cyclones and tornadoes spring up even more quickly.

But yet, when we see the Spirit of God moving in the life, it transforms the life. We look at the Spirit of God as it comes into a life and it transforms that life. God longs to transform us deep within. In one of my favorite books on the life of Christ, it's called *The Desire of Ages*, a great classic. On page 172 it says this: "The fountain of the heart must be purified before the streams of life become pure. He who was attempting to reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law is attempting an impossibility. There is no safety for one who has a legal religion, a form of godliness. The Christian life is not a modification of the old, but a transformation of nature."

See, Nicodemus' question is perceptive. It's not to be passed over lightly. He says to Jesus there, "How can a man be born when he's old? How can these things be?" What was Nicodemus really saying? He's saying this: a man is the sum of all his yesterdays. He's the man he is today because of the things that happened to him through the years. He's a bundle of doubts and fears and anxieties and uncertainties, wishes and hopes, habits good and bad built up through the years. It would be wonderful to break the grip of the past and make a new beginning.

But Jesus, Nicodemus is thinking, how can this be done? I can't be physically born again and then go back and live my life over again. Jesus' answer seems an utter impossibility. But Christ speaks through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We can experience continual inner regeneration, transformation, new birth. So the Christian life is not clenching our fists and bearing it. It's not gritting our teeth and trying to do better.

But the way we break the deadlock between the carnal and the spiritual nature is this: it is what the Holy Spirit does in us and how the Holy Spirit transforms our nature. Now the concept of the two natures, the carnal and the spiritual, is found in Romans chapter 8 and it's critical in understanding this process of spirit-filled lives if we are to live the victorious life that Christ desires us to live.

Romans chapter 8, I'll start with verse 5. "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." So notice these two verses. You have the carnal nature and the spiritual nature. You have the carnal mind and the spiritual mind. One leads to death, the other leads to life and peace.

Verse 7: "Because the carnal mind is enmity"—that means it wars—"against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God." Verse 9: "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." So let's look at the contrast given to us in Romans chapter 8, verses 5 to 9.

There are those who live in the flesh. The Bible says first, they mind the things of the flesh. Those that live in the Spirit and are controlled by the Spirit mind the things of the Spirit. Those that live in the flesh, to be carnally minded is death. Those that live in the Spirit, to be spiritually minded is life. Those that live in the flesh are not subject to the law of God. They have this rebellious attitude and spirit. Those that live in the Spirit of God, who the Spirit of God has changed their life, they're submissive and obedient.

Those that live in the flesh cannot please God. Those that live in the Spirit please God. Those that live in the flesh live a life of frustrated defeat. Those that live in the Spirit live a life of joyous victory. The difference between the two natures is remarkable. Let's look at the difference between these two lifestyles. We find an example of this of carnal Christianity in the Corinthian church, starting there with 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 3.

So let's notice the carnal Christian because here in the church at Corinth, we have carnal Christianity outlined. 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 1, Paul says to them: "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as spiritual, because as unto carnal, even as babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk and not with meat, and hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither are you now able." Verse 3 is the contrast between the carnal Christian and the one transformed by the Spirit: "For you are yet carnal, for whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are you not carnal and walk as men?"

So the carnal Christian is filled with envy, strife, and divisions. 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 3. The spirit-filled Christian is filled with love. The carnal Christian, according to 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 3, is filled with criticism of one another, always division and conflict. The spirit-filled Christian has joy, inner radiance, glow, happiness. They're not depressed. They live in the hope of Jesus. And the carnal Christian, according to 1 Corinthians 5, verse 2, is puffed up. They got spiritual pride.

In other words, my way is better than yours. The spirit-filled Christian is long-suffering. The carnal Christian, according to 1 Corinthians 5, has lustful thoughts, immoral, impure. They are enamored today, we would say, with the sexual pictures, inappropriate, on the internet. But yet, the spirit-filled Christian has faith and trusts God. The carnal Christian is absorbed with money, the obsession with things. The spirit-filled Christian is filled with faith and trust and meekness and self-control.

The carnal Christian, according to 1 Corinthians 8, verse 9, abuses their body. They lack self-control. They eat what they want, when they want. The spirit-filled Christian is filled with temperance and they have self-control. The carnal Christianity is a lack of peace and joy. How then can I be filled with the Holy Spirit? How then can the carnal nature be broken? Here, this is not merely a conversion of the old nature, but it is a crucifixion of the old nature.

Galatians chapter 5, verse 24 and 25 gives us the clue. Galatians chapter 5, verse 25, practical passages on how the chains of sin can be broken, how the old nature can be broken up. Galatians 5:24 and 25: "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit." The old nature must be crucified. Verse 24 and 25 in Galatians 5 give us two principles: the old nature can't be converted, it must be crucified, and crucifixion comes by choice.

Jesus gave up His life, it was not taken from Him. So how does this happen? The only way to be filled by the Holy Spirit is to make a conscious surrender of all that defiles when we become conscious of it. We make that surrender to God. In every heart there is a throne. Either the flesh or the Spirit sits upon that throne. Either the Spirit of Jesus or the old selfish nature prompted by Satan rules there. Who's on the throne? Who's prompting this action?

A conscious choice to surrender the governorship, the control of my life to the Spirit, is what enables the Spirit to fill my life. An action of the will to daily, momentarily surrender the governorship, the control, the essence of my life to the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary for the spirit-filled Christian. So when you get up in the morning, consecrate yourself to God. Make that the first decision of your life. One of my favorite authors, in a book called *Steps to Christ*, a great bestseller, sold more than 100 million copies, page 47 says: "Many are inquiring, how am I to make a surrender of myself to God? You cannot control your thoughts, your impulses, your affections, but you can make a conscious choice to serve Him. You can surrender the throne. And when we surrender the will, He then will change the thoughts."

When we do what we can, guided by the Spirit, prompted by the Spirit, led by the Spirit, God does what we can't. Now let me assure you, I don't want you to misunderstand. Even our choices are prompted by the Spirit. Before we ever begin seeking God, He begins seeking us. God begins stirring in our heart. God begins convicting us of sin. God begins revealing to us the necessity of making changes in our lives. We may fight to control our thoughts, our affections, or impulses, but that's not the answer.

The answer is to simply surrender them. Many Christians have found helpful what we call spiritual breathing. The exchange of oxygen comes from exhaling and inhaling pure air, we hope, of course. To exhale is to become conscious of sin and repent and confess. It is to let the Holy Spirit convict you of sin and to expel is to say, "Lord, I make a conscious choice based on the way your Spirit is leading me to surrender this thing."

And to inhale is to by faith claim God's forgiveness, to surrender to God, to ask Him to sit on the throne of our life, to accept His power. Let me illustrate it. Let's suppose I've just offended somebody else and I might say this: "Dear Lord, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I was upset with my brother. I consciously repent. I surrender my right to get angry. I ask You to forgive me. The carnal nature took control. Self sat on the throne. I invite You to take control, to be the governor again of my heart."

You know, I think about Diane. For almost two weeks without realizing it, Diane fumed with critical thoughts against her employer. "He doesn't know what I'm doing. He doesn't appreciate me. He keeps dumping more work on me. I'm not getting paid enough for this." This decreased her productivity. It created negativism in her office. She had a generally poor attitude. But Diane began—became familiar with these concepts of spiritually exhaling and saying, "Dear Lord, the flesh is on the throne of my life. I agree that bitterness is sin. Lord, please heal me."

Then I inhaled, she says. I believed He did. I apologized to the people offended by my critical attitude. And I put Christ back on the throne of my life. Whose voice have you been listening to? Is it the carnal or spiritual nature? To be filled with the Holy Spirit means to have Christ controlling the throne of our life. Who is in control of your life? Who is the Lord of your life? Who is the governor of your life? Who is your master?

Who is in charge of your life? The same Holy Spirit that inspired the Bible writers inspires us, convicts us, transforms our lives. And what is the basis of that transformation? The basis of our transformation is something I call attachment. Attachment with Christ comes in fellowship with Christ in His word. Now let me give you two practical principles. First, I have found great blessing in reading through the Psalms, in praying through the Psalms.

For example, you've got Psalm 1: "Blessed is the man or the woman who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law does he meditate both day and night. He shall be like a tree whose leaves do not wither, and whatever he does will prosper." If you want to live a life of spiritual prosperity, attach yourself to Christ through His word.

Let the Spirit of God lead you into the word of God and let the word of God transform your life. Read the gospel of John and look at the case histories in the gospel of John. And let the miracle-working power that changed Nicodemus' life, that changed the woman at the well's life, that changed the woman with the issue of blood's life, that transformed the demoniacs, that transformed the disciples, let that spiritual power transform your life as well.

Just now, would you like to say, "Jesus, I want to come to You. I want to open my heart to You. I want the Spirit to transform me within because I know that all my efforts to live the spiritual life will fail. I know that all my human works may come from a selfish heart as a carnal Christian. Lord, I don't want to be a carnal Christian. I want to be a spirit-filled Christian." Would you like to pray that prayer with me as we bow our heads? Maybe you're driving in your car, but you can certainly keep your eyes open, navigate your way, but send up a prayer in your heart.

But if you can, bow your heads. Father in heaven, we love You. We don't want to be carnal Christians with selfish, greedy hearts, but we want our hearts to be filled with the grace of God today. Oh Lord, move within us. Transform us and change us, I pray. May the Spirit of God come into our hearts just now, in Christ's name, amen.