Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: I need the power of the Holy Spirit in my life for that is the only way that I can really become strong. And yet there are so many that when the temptation is given to them, they immediately give into it, and they're defeated. And they feel bad, and they backslide. If your position in Jesus Christ today is not better than it was yesterday, you're already in a backslidden condition.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. We're glad you've joined us as we open God's word once again to see what it means to walk in the power and abundance of God's Holy Spirit.

Today Raul will urge us to daily fill ourselves with biblical truth as we yield to the will of the Lord. Stay with us to see that we can contribute to God's kingdom when we ask the Holy Spirit to help us resist temptation, get rid of sinful habits, and maximize our spiritual gifts. Let's continue where we left off last time in Acts chapter 2. Here's Raul Ries.

Raul Ries: And then check this out, verse 40. And with many other words he testified and exhorted them saying be safe from this perverse generation. And then those who gladly received the word were baptized and that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. Can you imagine 3,000 people got saved in one day just like that because of the Holy Spirit?

You see, we can't add to the church. It has to be the work of the Holy Spirit. By His Spirit, not by my might or my power, but by His might and His power. In the book of John's gospel in chapter 7, Jesus also gives the promise of the Holy Spirit coming. Let me read it to you.

This is what He says beginning with verse 37. He says, on the last day of the great day of the feast, Jesus stood up and He cried out saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come unto Me and drink. He who believes in Me as the scripture has said, out of his innermost belly, out of the innermost belly of your heart (that is the innermost part of your heart) shall flow rivers of living water." That is gushing out, overflowing.

What is He talking about? Next verse: "But this He spoke concerning the Spirit whom those believing in Him would receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified." You see, but now it came to pass in the book of Acts. The Holy Spirit now has been poured out. The Holy Spirit has been given to the church.

And I feel that if we're really true seekers of the Holy Spirit, we don't worship the Holy Spirit, we worship Jesus. But if we really want to receive the power of the Holy Spirit within my life, I really need to take an examination of my life before God and see what is really hindering my walk with Jesus Christ because I do want to be filled because I need the power to overcome the flesh.

It's as I spend time with the Lord in prayer and the Word and I begin just to wait upon Him, and I ask Him, "Lord, by faith I come to you today. Lead me, guide me throughout the day and whenever there may be temptation or there may be trials or confrontations or there may be some booby traps out there, Lord, help me and let me go over those things." You see, I ask the Holy Spirit to lead me.

But many of us begin our day without God, so how can God help us? Think about it. We need to spend time with Him. And we need to understand that when God begins to do a work within our lives, that there are 21 gifts of the Holy Spirit that God wants to give to each person. Not all 21 gifts, but there are 21 gifts that are given to the body of Jesus Christ, not to choose, but for Him to give to you.

The first list is found in Romans chapter 12, verse 6 through 8. In verse 5, Paul says, "So we being in many of one body in Christ and individual members of one another, having then gifts differentiating from what according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. If prophecy, let us prophesy with portion of our faith. If serving, let us use it in our ministering or serving. He who teaches in his teaching, he who exhorts in exhortation, he who gives with liberality, and he who leads with diligence, and he who shows mercy with cheerfulness."

So we have seven gifts of the Holy Spirit here. First Corinthians chapter 12, verse 8 through 10, we have another nine gifts. He says, "For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Holy Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith, to another healings, to another miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another interpretation of tongues. But one in the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills."

You see, it's not you choose, He wills. He is the one that gives to you whatever He wants as you open your heart to God. And then again in Ephesians chapter 4, beginning with verse 7. He says, "But to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore, He says out of Psalm 68:18, when He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, but notice He gave gifts unto man."

I love that. Underline that. When Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, He left the Holy Spirit and He gave gifts to men. Check this out. "Now this He ascended, doesn't it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the one that ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things."

And here is the purpose of the church, "That He himself has given some to be apostles, some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastor teachers. Notice that. Here's five more gifts. Five and nine and seven is 21. 21 gifts of the Holy Spirit given to us. But check this out, for the equipping or the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry."

You see, it's not for you to enrich yourself with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to you so that you can do the work of the ministry. You see, so you can be a Sunday school teacher, so you can be a missionary, so you can be an evangelist, so you can be a pastor teacher. So you can be whatever God has called you to do. He will empower you, He will give you the gifts and the talents to be used by you according to the divine will of the Holy Spirit.

But it's never, ever, ever to enrich myself with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. That's never said here. Watch what else he says, verse 13. "Until we all come into that unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God into a perfect man to the measure and the stature of the fullness of Jesus Christ, that we should no longer be (here it is) children, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness by which they lie wait to deceive."

Who are those that fall by the side? Those that are carnal, those that are not being perfected in the Word of God. If you're not studying God's Word, you're going to be deceived. You're going to be cast to the side. You're going to hear every wind of doctrine that comes along and you're going to believe it and you're going to follow it until you're destroyed. But not so to those that are mature, not to those that are growing in Jesus Christ.

But this is what we need to do. "But speaking the truth in love that you may grow up in all things unto Him who is the head Christ, from whom the whole body is joined and knit together by whatever joint supply according to the effective working by which every part does its share." Notice what he says. Every one of us are working together for the same cause and the same purposes. We're not trying to step over each other. We're not trying to destroy each other. We're not in competition, my friends.

That's the problem in the church so many times. We're usually coveting somebody else's gift and we begin to covet, murmur, and complain. And pretty soon as we covet, murmur, and complain, we get in the flesh and then we're disqualified because God chooses who He wants and He anoints whoever He wants to use. But God is giving each one of us an opportunity to be used. That's why He says here, "Every part does its share, causes growth to the body by the building up of itself in love."

So everything we do here at the body of Christ, whether ushering, Sunday school, preaching, teaching, helping, serving, whatever it may be, we're all together in it as ministers or servants of the Lord. And we do it out of the basis of what? Of love. We're building up one another, not tearing down one another. Not putting down one another.

But we have to have love for God to do the work. Without love, we can't do anything. The basis to true ministry is the love of Jesus Christ. That's what God desires from each one of us individually here. The Holy Spirit wants a tremendously move in our lives. Not check this out, chapter 12 of First Corinthians. Now you have the background.

And this is so neat because here Paul, remember, he's dealing with the problems in the church. The problems that we even see today: the problems with carnality, the problems with drunkenness, the problems with fornication. Now just to give you an overview of the kind of church that Paul was mininstering to and he was writing to, turn for a second (keep your finger there) to chapter 5 of First Corinthians, the first verse.

He says, "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, such sexual immorality that is not even named among the Gentiles, that a man should have his father's wife." Wait a minute, Paul, what are you talking about? Paul is saying that in the church that he was ministering to and he was writing to that wanted to be a spiritual church but they were carnal, there was a woman in there that was shacking up with her son-in-law sexually.

And the church wasn't doing anything about it. The leaders were kind of shunning it on. And yet they wanted God to move. But how can God move when there's such a sin in the church like that? Think just in our own church, the sin that might be here Sunday nights, Wednesday nights. People that are living together in sexual sin or living together in a home and they're having sex together or drinking and drugs and alcohol and violence and lying and cheating and robbing and all these things, homosexuality, lesbianism.

All these things that grieve the Holy Spirit of God. So how can God really move when each one of us represents the church of Jesus Christ? And Paul says that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. So if we took every sin within the church, imagine how much sin is in the church. Think about it. That's why we're not seeing the blind to see and the dead to come to life.

In the early church, they saw that. It was the beginning of the church. The beginning when the Holy Spirit came in power and began to move tremendously in the body of Christ. And here Paul is warning because there's a guy that is literally instead of repenting, he's puffed up. He doesn't care what people think. Verse 2, look what he says. "And you are puffed up and have not rather repented or mourned that he that has done this deed might be taken away from among you."

And you know what Paul says next? He says if that person doesn't repent and he's in the church and he's a Christian, what you need to do is turn him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. Wait a minute, where does it say that at? Hey, verse 5, check it out. "Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ."

Guess what? If you know people that are living in sin and you're compromising with them and you're making them your buddies and you're just not saying anything about it and you don't pray because what he's going to tell you next is that if you know any brother or sister that is living a life of sin, don't even eat or have fellowship with them. Be totally separate and turn them over to Satan. Why? Because you want to see them in heaven. If not, they're going to go to hell because they'll never repent. Why? Because you're putting up with their sin.

Now you see why there's no power in the church? Too much compromising. Watch this, this is real heavy, verse 9. "I wrote to you this epistle not to keep company with sexual immoral people. Yet certainly I did not mean the sexual immoral people of the world." Notice even Paul corrects he says, "I'm not talking about non-believers, I am talking to believers. Believers that are still continually practicing sexual immorality after they came to Christ."

Watch this. I'm not talking to the non-believer, but I'm talking to the Christian. Or with the covetous or with the extortioner or idolaters since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company (and here he clarifies it) with anyone who is named a brother. Underline that. That's a Christian. One that has come to Jesus Christ. Who is a fornicator (what does that mean? Sex before marriage), that person is in sin.

And check this out. What else does he say? How about this that Paul says here. Not only with those people, fornicators, but covetous, idolater, a reviler or slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner. Notice that. Don't even eat with such a person. Don't even have lunch or breakfast or dinner with them. Why? Because then you partake of their sin.

You agree with them. People see you with them and they go, "Hey, I saw what's-his-name fellowship with that person and I know their lives." You know, that makes you one with them. Paul says don't even eat with them. Don't even hang out with them because God's going to judge them. Then again Paul, chapter 6, verse 9. Watch what he says.

"Don't you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Don't be deceived, neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexuals." Notice, "nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." And check this out. He's talking to Christians.

"And such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of our God." Pretty heavy, huh? I mean, he clarifies it all. So if there's any one in the church that is living a life which those sins that we have not only spoken of, but also Paul the apostle in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 4 through 6 speaks of other sins.

And then in Galatians chapter 6, he speaks about those that are continually on drugs and they're drunkards and they're fornicators and adulterers and liars and cheaters and all those categories. He says if you continue to practice such things as a child of God, you shall not inherit the kingdom of God. That's what God said.

I would rather teach the grace of God and to be careful with abiding in Jesus Christ than to give someone liberty to say they're okay and living a life of sin and God will forgive you. Yes, God forgives, but there has to be true repentance. And if there's no true repentance, then God won't forgive you. You're in your sin. You will die in your sin and you'll go to hell in your sin.

Because light and darkness do not mix together. I think that if we want God to really work within this church, and we want God on Sunday evening, Sunday morning, and then on Wednesday nights and throughout the week and in your job and in your homes and wherever you go, if you want God to use your life, then you have to be a clean vessel for God. There has to be a true examination of our lives before the Lord if you really want God to use your life.

Otherwise, how can we be spiritual people of God? And how can we desire spirituals (in the Greek for gifts)? How can we desire spirituals when we are not even in tune with God? How can God baptize me? How can God touch my life if I am not willing to just lay my life down to Him and say, "Lord, here am I, I am your vessel, use me"?

You will never, ever be able to quit your sexual activity, you will never be able to quit your social drinking or your lying, your cheating, whatever it may be, unless you repent and you ask God to baptize you with the Holy Spirit. That's the only way you'll be able to get rid of it. You have to make a stand by faith. Otherwise, how can God really move among us? And He does want to move among each one of us individually.

Because He wants us to work in harmony together in the body of Jesus Christ with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Let me just give you the first couple of verses in chapter 12, what he says. Look what he says, "Now concerning spirituals, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that you were Gentiles or heathens carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.

Therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit." There it is. How many times have you heard somebody say, "Now I heard somebody that was a Christian speak in tongues and they began to curse God"? It could never happen. It will never happen.

When someone has the Holy Spirit of God, he or she can never, ever curse God ever again. You cannot do that. It is only the heathen that can do that. It is only that person that does not know God. Because if you have the Holy Spirit of God, God now controls your life. You see, it's no longer your own life. So you cannot call Jesus accursed or begin to curse Jesus Christ. No possible way.

But because he says no one can say that Jesus is Lord how? Except by the Holy Spirit. That is by being born again of the Holy Spirit, then we can say Jesus is my Lord and my Savior. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit. And then if we want God to move in this church and we want God to move among us, there has to be unity and there has to be diversity in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Look what he says in verse 4.

"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all." So God is going to give the gifts as He sees the need in the church here and it's going to bring not only unity, but it's going to enhance the ministry as you begin to yield to the Lord and as you begin to step out by faith with your gifts and your talents that God gives to you.

He'll begin now to use you in such a tremendous way that you will become not only a tremendous impact to the church, but to your community, to your job, to the people around you. Because now you're being used of God as God not only baptize you with the Holy Spirit, but He gives you the wisdom and the knowledge and the talents and the gifts to accomplish that work. Not looking to somebody else and coveting their gifts and their talents and their job, but being satisfied where God has placed you in the body of Jesus Christ. Be at peace with God. Don't covet somebody else's ministry. Be satisfied where God has set you and He'll give you even more.

Guest (Male): If you've been feeling weak against temptation or envious of others' gifts, we hope today's lesson has been a motivation for you to lean into the peace and power of the Holy Spirit. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries.

If you'd like to listen to an unedited copy of today's teaching, just call us at 800-634-9165 and request part 1 of Raul's teaching on spiritual gifts. We'll send you a copy for a donation of $5 or more. We'd also like to tell you about additional support from Raul's seven-part series, Filled, Empowered, and Equipped. It's available on CD and USB. Underscoring the pivotal role God's Holy Spirit can play in your life, this resource will challenge you to seek His leading and trust His plan as you carry out His work.

Visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165 to purchase Raul's seven-message study, Filled, Empowered, and Equipped. We'll send you the CD collection for $20 or the flash drive for $11. The number again is 800-634-9165. Or you can write to Somebody Loves You Radio, PO Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765. Look for podcasts of all of these programs on iTunes or Spotify. Podcasts can also be found on the Somebody Loves You worldwide YouTube channel, which is also home of Raul's Straight Talk, streaming Tuesdays at 10:00 AM West Coast time.

Thank you for your gifts in this listener-supported ministry. Every contribution helps us keep sharing the wisdom of God's eternal word. Join us again next time as we continue this series exploring the opportunities and blessings of living a fully committed, spirit-filled life. You'll see that if you truly want the Holy Spirit to move mightily through you, there's no room for sinful compromise. Here's Raul once again with a closing comment.

Raul Ries: Watch verse 7. "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one to profit of all. For to one is given the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, to another faith, to another healing, to another working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another interpretation of tongues.

But one and the same Spirit (notice) works all these things, distributing (here it is, underline it) to each one individually as He wills." It's not up to me, it's not up to you, it's up to the Holy Spirit the way He wants to fill the body of Christ. God desires to do that if we are willing to submit our lives to Him completely.