Pathway to Victory

Speaker 1

Hey, podcast listeners, thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word through the most effective media available, like this podcast.

To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes.

Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 2

Hi, this is Robert Jeffress, and I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day. This Bible teaching program on today's edition of Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 3

The same power of God that reached down and lifted Jesus Christ up out of that grave, that very same power of God is working in your life right now to free you from the power of sin.

And that's why the Bible says if we are going to be free and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, we have to understand our old nature has no power over us.

Speaker 1

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and doctor Robert Jeffress. You know, when someone accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, they instantly gain access to a vast source of power for conquering life's everyday struggles. But few Christians ever realize how to use it.

Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress explains the practical benefits of continuously surrendering to the Holy Spirit.

Now here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message. Dr. Jeffress.

Speaker 2

Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. As a pastor and Bible teacher, it's been my experience that many Christians feel somewhat alienated from the Spirit of God. Oh, sure, Christians understand God the Father because we see our earthly Father as a metaphor for our Heavenly Father. And we understand God the Son because the Christmas story is impressed upon our minds as children. But the Holy Spirit of God feels mysterious and unknown.

Well, long ago, I discovered that when I ignored the Spirit, my spiritual life became dull and powerless. And the day I learned to employ the presence of God's Spirit, my outlook on life was radically transformed. After many years of personal study in the Bible and many years of walking in the Spirit, I decided to write a book that would help people like you understand what the Bible teaches on this controversial subject of the Holy Spirit. My book is called *I Want More*, and a copy is yours today when you give a gift to support the growing ministry of Pathway to Victory.

In this book, you'll gain a whole new appreciation for the Spirit's role in your life. You'll see that God never intended His Spirit to remain a mystery to you, and you'll begin to see how the Holy Spirit is often the missing element in your life and will restore your passion, joy, and enthusiasm for walking with Jesus Christ.

Stay with us through the entire program today because I'll give all the details on how to receive my book, *I Want More*, at the end of today's program. But right now, let's get started with our study. Turn to Psalm 92 as I present the message, "What the Holy Spirit Can Do for You."

Speaker 3

Now, to prepare for today's message, we're going to read together from God's Word. So I invite you to take your Bibles and turn to Romans Chapter six. We're going to stand and read together verses one through six of Romans Chapter six.

Now, together, what shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin? That grace might increase, may it never be. How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this that our old self was crucified with him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. And may God bless the reading of His Word. You may be seated.

The psalmist said, the righteous will flourish like a palm tree. Isn't that a picturesque description? Shall flourish like a palm tree. What does it mean to flourish? As a Christian, one writer said it this way. God made you to flourish, to receive life from outside yourself, creating vitality within yourself and producing blessing beyond yourself. When you flourish, you become more like you. You don't just become holier, you become youier. God wants to redeem you, not exchange you. Isn't that a great thought? God wants you to flourish, not to become like someone else, but so that you can become the person God created you to be. Flourishing life from the outside, flowing inside of us, creating that vitality that allows us to be a blessing beyond ourselves. Flourishing is just another word for being filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

And that's what we're talking about in this series Unleashed: how we can experience that power of the Holy Spirit in our everyday life. Today we're going to talk about what the result of being filled with the Holy Spirit of God is. Today, I want to share with you four things the Holy Spirit wants to do for you. When you choose to surrender your life to the control, the filling of the Holy Spirit, God does some marvelous things for you. Specifically, there are four things the Holy Spirit wants to provide for you.

First of all, he gives you power in times of temptation, power in times of temptation. Turn to Romans, chapter 6, the passage we just read a few moments ago. Dwight Edwards, in his great book Revolution Within, says that most Christians think of their salvation experience as they do going through a car wash. The idea is you go into the car wash, a dirty clunker, and you come out a cleansed clunker, but you're still a clunker. And that's how most people view salvation. Before I'm a Christian, I am a dirty sinner whose life is controlled by sin. But then when I get saved, my sins are washed away, but I'm still basically a sinner.

But Dwight Edwards says no. What most Christians don't realize is that somewhere between the power wash and the power rinse cycle, it's as if God drops a brand new engine inside of us when we're saved. And now the old engine is still there. But God gives us a brand new engine, a brand new set of desires. And when we come out of our salvation experience, we have that new power, that new set of desires. Now we can still allow ourselves to operate with the old engine. But only a fool would make such a choice. God has given us a brand new power. And that power is the Holy Spirit of God.

Look at verses 2 to 4 of Romans 6. He says, how shall we, then who died to sin, still live in it? That was unthinkable to Paul. Or do we not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death? Now remember that word baptized there? That's a dry baptism, not a wet baptism. It's not talking about what you do when you jump in that baptistry up there. That's just a sign, a symbol. He's talking about what happens to you when you're saved. You are baptized, you are immersed with the Holy Spirit of God. You've been called to a new way of living.

Now look at verses 3 and 4. Therefore, we have been buried with him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of God the Father, so we might also be raised to a newness of life. If you are a Christian, God does not want the rest of your life to be characterized by defense. The fact that we have this new engine, this new power inside of us means that our life can be characterized by victory and by holiness. The Holy Spirit of God gives us power in times of temptation.

Now notice what we have to do to experience that power. Paul says in Romans 6, first of all, if you want God's power, that new engine, to take control of your life, you first of all have to know the condition of your old engine. Know the condition of your old engine. By that, I'm talking about your old nature, that set of desires that are opposed to the things of God. That set of desires we are all born with. Know the condition of your old engine.

I have found that Christians tend to go to one of two extremes when it comes to this old nature, this old engine. Some Christians actually deny that they have a sin nature once they become a Christian. But on the other hand, other Christians go to the opposite extreme. They exalt their old nature and they actually believe that they are still living under the control of that old nature. Look at what Paul says about the condition of our old nature once we trust in Christ. Verses 6 to 7 He said, Knowing this, that our old self, that is our old engine, was crucified with him, that our body of sin might be done away with so that we should no longer be slaves to sin. For he who has died is free from sin.

When you trust in Christ as your Savior, you know what happens to that old set of desires. Paul says that set of desires is crucified. Not just wounded, crucified. Just as a person who died from crucifixion could not grab hold of something, he has no grip left. Paul is saying, those old set of desires that were the ruler of your life before you were saved, it has no hold over your life. It has no more power over your life than you choose to allow it to have.

Secondly, he says, not only that, we need to consider the power of our new engine, that new set of desires. Understand fully that new set of desires and the power it has in your life. Look at verse 11. Even so, Paul says, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. You know, I used to hear people say, and I still hear them say it sometimes. What this verse means is, as Christians, we need to pretend that we're dead to sin. If we'll just pretend it long enough, maybe one day it will be true. But if you just pretend that you're no longer under the power of sin, he'll come up and bite you at some point. The Bible says, don't just go around pretending that you're free from sin, do an accurate calculation, and understand where you are spiritually. The fact is you really are free from sin. Therefore we need to act accordingly. That's what Paul is saying here. Even so, consider, calculate that you are dead to sin.

Then he goes on to say, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Now listen to this. The same power of God that reached down and lifted Jesus Christ up out of that grave, that very same power of God is working in your life right now to free you from the power of sin. And that's why the Bible says, if we are going to be free and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, we have to first of all, understand our old nature has no power over us. Secondly, we have this new power that allows us to say yes to God.

But there is a third understanding, a third truth we need to have, and that is we need to present our bodies to God. That is, once we understand what happened to our old nature, once we understand the new power we have, there are some things we need to do every day. Look at verses 12 and 13. Paul says, in light of what happened to your old nature, what's true about your new nature? Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body. What Paul is saying here is, don't let sin have the final say in your life, that you should obey its lust. And do not go on presenting the members of your body, the parts of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness. But present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

Considering this new power you have in Christ, start acting in a way consistent with that truth. I don't know how to illustrate this any better to you than to be just painfully specific when he says, don't present the parts of your body as instruments of sin, but as instruments of righteousness. Here's what he's saying. He's saying, stop filling your eyes with pornographic images from movies and Internet sites and start filling your eyes with the truth that comes from God's word. Stop using your tongue as instruments to criticize and tear down other people. Instead, start offering your tongue, your words, as ways to encourage and to build up other believers. Stop allowing your feet to take you places you know you shouldn't go, and instead present your feet to God to take you to share the gospel with other people. Stop allowing your mind to be controlled by anger and by fear. Instead, start, present it, allow it to be filled with the peace that comes from The Holy Spirit of God.

Again, the Bible says this resurrection to a new way of life isn't something we have to wait for once we die. It's a new way of life you can start experiencing right now by being filled with, controlled by the Holy Spirit of God.

Secondly, being filled with the Spirit, being controlled by the Spirit offers us direction in times of confusion. God says, I will not leave you as orphans in the world. Jesus said, I will give you the direction that you need. Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow after me. Some of you here today, some of you watching on television, you're facing a monumental decision in your life. Do I take this job or not? Do I move to this city or not? What am I going to do about this child? And so forth. All of us are facing decisions. Jesus says, I'll give you guidance. I'll give you my voice.

But here's the $64,000 question. How does Jesus speak to us? How does he reveal his will when we're trying to make a decision? You know, sometimes God speaks through his word, the Bible. Sometimes he speaks to us through prayer. Sometimes he speaks to us through wise counsel from other people. But one way God leads us and speaks to us is through His Holy Spirit's leading. Turn over to John 14, 16, 18. Many Christians overlook this simple truth that the Holy Spirit is the one who gives us direction in life.

Verse 14. Jesus was getting ready to leave his disciples to die, be resurrected and ascended into heaven. And he says, and I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper that he may be with you forever. Who is that helper? Jesus said, he is the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see him or know Him. But you know him because he abides with you and will be in you. And here's a great promise: I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you.

Have you ever had a prompting to make a telephone call to somebody? Just this urging that you needed to call somebody and call them now. An urge to send an email to somebody. Have you ever had an inclination that a trip you had planned, maybe you had better not go on that trip? Or maybe the prompting that you ought to change your route to work one morning. All of these things that we sometimes call intuition or the sixth sense, many times they are the promptings, the leading of the Holy Spirit of God. One of the benefits of being full of the Spirit is He will direct us in the way we should go.

Third, being filled with the Spirit offers us courage in times of opportunity. Courage in times of opportunity. We see that courage illustrated in the life of the first Christian martyr, a man named Stephen. If you have your Bibles, turn to Acts chapter 7 where we see this instance of the first time someone died for his Christian faith. Remember, Stephen was one of the first deacons. And in Acts chapter six it says he was filled with, he was controlled by the Holy Spirit of God. And it was that Holy Spirit of God that gave Stephen the courage to preach the message of Christ to a most unreceptive audience, the Jewish leaders, the Sanhedrin.

And they told him, you better stop preaching or we're going to take your life. They brought him before the ruling council of the Sanhedrin and notice how he responded to their threats to stop preaching. In verse 51 of Acts 7 he said to these men, you men who are stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, are always resisting the Holy Spirit. You are doing just as your fathers did. Now think about it. Here is Stephen talking to the men who had the power to take his life. How does he refer to them? He says, you are stiff necked. You're no better than your fathers. You are resisting the Holy Spirit of God. Let me tell you, that's not the best way to win friends and acquittals. Okay, but he wasn't interested in being popular. He was interested in faithfully teaching and preaching the message of Jesus Christ.

How did they respond to his message? Look at verse 54. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, see that being controlled by the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. And they cried out with a loud voice and covered their ears and they rushed upon him. With one impulse they began stoning him. And notice verse 60. He fell down on his knees and he cried out in a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And having said this, he fell asleep, that is, he died.

How do you explain that? Courage to use adversity as an opportunity to spread the gospel. The courage to stand up against those who were going to kill him, and yet the courage often also to forgive those who were stoning him to death. All of that is the result of being filled with full of the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit will give you courage in times of opportunity if you'll allow him to do so.

Fourth, being filled with the Holy Spirit allows us to experience comfort in times of stress. I remember going to see a couple years ago who had received some very bad news. The husband had never been sick before a day in his life. But several months earlier, he had been diagnosed with colon cancer, and he had undergone chemotherapy to shrink the size of the tumor. It was ineffective. And now he had lost his sight in his right eye, and that was a sign that the cancer had metastasized into his brain.

You know, I never know what to say in situations like that. Now, I used to know when I was younger in the ministry, I would just talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. But the older I've gotten, the more I realize how hollow and trite words are. In moments like that, sometimes the best thing you can do is just be quiet. So I went to visit with this couple and thinking about still what I might say. Fortunately, that evening, I didn't have to say anything. They wanted to talk. The couple talked about, yes, they were disappointed in the report from the doctor, but they said they knew God was still in control, that he had a purpose he was working out. And what they wanted to talk about that evening was the husband's funeral service. The husband said, I wanted to make sure that my service is one that exalts the Lord Jesus Christ.

What is it that gives somebody that kind of courage? It's the byproduct of being controlled by being filled with the Holy Spirit of God. When that telephone call comes in the middle of the night telling you there's been an accident, when that doctor tells you that the report is not good, when that employer tells you your services are no longer needed, when that mate tells you he or she no longer loves you, you have a choice. As a Christian, you can either be filled with anger or with fear, or you can allow the peace of God that passes all human comprehension to take control of your life.

Power in times of temptation, direction in times of confusion, courage in times of opportunity, comfort in times of stress. These are just some of the benefits of being controlled by the Holy Spirit of God. But remember what I said at the beginning. It is a command, not a promise. Be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. That means there's something you and I must do to experience the filling of the Holy Spirit. And we are going to discover what that something is next time.

Speaker 2

There's so much more to learn about the spirit of God. I titled this series Experiencing the Power of the Holy Spirit. And in a moment, David will explain how you can receive the entire collection of messages from Pathway to Victory.

Maybe you've been reticent to invoke the power of the Spirit in your life because you're uncertain what that really means or how to take your first steps. I've written a book to help you. It's called I Want More. During today's teaching, we rehearsed many of the benefits of becoming controlled by God's spirit and what he can do for you every day.

But as I said a moment ago, the filling of the Holy Spirit is not a promise. It's not an item you can choose off the menu like a dessert at a restaurant. Becoming filled with God's spirit is actually a command. I would like to teach you what this means and how to implement the filling of God's Spirit in your life. It's all contained in the book I've written called I Want More. And a copy is yours today when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory.

Let me reinforce the value of your partnership with Pathway to Victory. You might assume that nonprofit ministries like this one have suffered financially. Actually, God's people, people just like you, have been remarkably faithful this past year. Our audience has rallied around Pathway to Victory because this Bible teaching program represents a spiritual oasis in their day.

So thank you for your generosity and please keep up the good work. Your gifts are valued and your gift today will truly make a difference. Don't forget, you can watch Pathway to Victory on television on hundreds of stations this coming Sunday, including TBN, the Trinity Broadcasting Network, at 9am Central, 10am Eastern. Or you can catch us Sunday afternoon at 5pm Central, 6pm Eastern on Daystar.

Speaker 3

David thanks, Dr. Jeffress.

Speaker 1

You're invited to request a copy of the book *I Want More*. When you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, here's our phone number: 866-999-2965 or visit online at ptv.org. When you give an especially generous gift of $75 or more, we'll also include this month's teaching series called *Unleashed*. You'll get that on both CD and DVD. Call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. You could also send your request by mail if you'd like: P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. One more time, that's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins. Join us again next time when Dr. Jeffress compares our role versus God's role in experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit. Hear a message called "If It's Going to Be, Is It Up to Me?" That's Tuesday on Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible.

One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in His Word. To become a Pathway partner, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes.

We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.