Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: It's really important to understand that God the Father sent his Son and God the Son sent the Holy Spirit so that we can function in the body of Christ in these last days, so that God can do exactly what he desires to do in me and working through my life. I'm just the vessel and he's the master potter. He can do whatever he wants with the clay.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. It's good to have you along today for our continuing focus on living a spirit-filled life. In today's message, Raul will challenge you to take an honest look at your own life to see if you've fully surrendered to God and have committed to following the leading of his Holy Spirit.

You'll see that your words, actions, and even your goals will change as you allow him to transform you and direct your steps. With the message, The Power of the Holy Spirit in the Believer, here is Raul Ries in the book of Acts, Chapter 1.

Raul Ries: All of a sudden, Jesus himself is coming along. He's coming to the end of this life, to the end of this ministry. When you read John Chapter 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17, the last five chapters of the Gospel of John, in those five chapters, 13 through 17, he speaks a last week to his disciples.

He begins to prepare them for his absence and the replacement of himself with the Holy Spirit. Listen to what Luke says to us in our text this morning, Acts Chapter 1, verses four and five. He says, and being assembled together with the disciples, Jesus commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said you have heard from me. For John truly baptized you with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

Notice what he's telling them. You need to wait to be empowered. If you're going to live in this world, you need the power of the Holy Spirit because where they're heading, they're going to be prosecuted, they're going to be persecuted, they're going to be defamed, and they're going to be killed, except for one, John the Beloved. Another one, Judas, will kill himself; he'll commit suicide. The rest of them are going to die horrible deaths, and they would never be able to do it apart from the Holy Spirit's power. Nobody can.

So the Holy Spirit is very important in the life of the believer. I want to ask you a question today as I ask myself that question: who is governing your life today? Satan? Your passions? Your desires? Or is it the Holy Spirit? Because that makes a real division from the natural man, the carnal man, and the spiritual man.

When you come to that experience of being born again of the Holy Spirit, even if you're carnal or you're spiritual, if you really have come to Jesus Christ, guess what? You can't get away with your fleshly desires or sin in your life. You can't. The Holy Spirit convicts you. He came to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. John Chapter 16, verses seven through eleven.

He says he came to convict the world of sin. Why? Because we miss the mark. Of righteousness because by faith I can repent and come to Jesus Christ. And he says what? Of sin, righteousness, and of judgment. And judgment, why? Because the devil already is being judged by Jesus Christ. He has no power in me or through me. I'm in the light; he's in the darkness.

When you walk into a room that is pitch dark, you can stumble and hit walls and hit furniture and you can get hurt. But what you need to do is find the switch, and when you get to the switch, if you turn it on, what happens? The darkness disappears. That's what happens when you're born again. The darkness is no longer there. The light rules very brightly.

And that's really something that each one of us needs not only to know, we need to understand it. Paul the apostle, in speaking to the Roman church in Chapter 8, verses one through four, speaks to them concerning the power of the flesh and the power of the spirit. He says this: Therefore, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.

For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could never do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending his own son Jesus Christ in the likeness of sinful flesh. And on account of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Holy Spirit.

Notice the difference. Walking in the flesh, there's no power. Walking in the spirit, oh yeah, a lot of power. A lot of power God gives to us. That's why in Acts Chapter 1, verse 8, the promise was given to the church. He said this: but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

There's a third preposition in the Greek. You see, back in John Chapter 14: with, in, now upon. Epi. It comes upon you. Has come upon you and then you shall be marturas, witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, all of Samaria, and unto the ends of the earth, the four corners of the earth. You become a witness wherever you go because of the Holy Spirit.

In studying the New Testament and going back to the Old Testament, you go back to the book of Joel in the minor prophets there in the Old Testament. And in the book of Joel, the prophet Joel says to us in Chapter 2 again, notice in verse 28 to 32, way before Jesus ever came, way before the Holy Spirit was ever given, the promise was given. Listen, almost a thousand years before Jesus ever came, that God was going to empower not only Christ, but he was going to empower us in the last days with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit has been here nineteen hundred years already. He said this: And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out my Holy Spirit on all flesh. Your sons, your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on my handmaids or my menservants and my maidservants, I will pour out my spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and the earth: blood, fire, pillars of smoke.

The sun shall be turned into darkness, the moon into blood, before the coming of the great awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, there shall be a deliverance as the Lord has said among the remnant whom the Lord calls.

Joel was talking to us about the last days before the great tribulation would ever come. That God in those days would be what? Baptizing people with his Holy Spirit. It's been here nineteen hundred years. One of these days, the Holy Spirit will be taken. According to Paul in Second Thessalonians Chapter 2, once the presence of the real church of Jesus Christ is taken out of the way at the rapture of the church, the Holy Spirit's presence will not be upon the earth. It will be like the Old Testament days, only on certain people. Read your Bibles.

The tribulation people will not have the Holy Spirit. They'll be like the Old Testament saints; they have to believe by faith without anything to see. So it's really important that we understand that here God, through the Holy Spirit, is giving us insight into what he desires from each one of us individually. So the promise is to who? To those that believe in Jesus Christ according to Acts 1:4-5.

Then in Joel Chapter 2, verse 28, the Father says that in the last days he would pour out his Holy Spirit upon all flesh. Nobody will be without excuse. And then the Holy Spirit would come and empower the church with great power. Acts 1:8 said that.

And then the second point is the work of the Holy Spirit among believers. What does it do? Number one, it regenerates a person. Remember Jesus speaking to Nicodemus in John Chapter 3, verse 3, when he came among the Nicodemus? The reason I bring him up is because he was a Pharisee.

And the Pharisees of that time, there were six thousand members. And Nicodemus was one of the seventy-two that came not by day, he snuck out by night and asked Jesus what must I do to inherit eternal life. And Jesus says you must be born again of the Holy Spirit. You must.

It's not through infant baptism, it's not through adult baptism, it's not by joining a church and signing a piece of paper, it's not by giving money to a church. It is only by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit of regeneration, being born again of the Holy Spirit that a person can enter heaven.

Think of how many of our loved ones have never been regenerated. Think of people that you know that go to church every Sunday but they're never regenerated by the Holy Spirit. That means that when you're regenerated by the Holy Spirit, there is a definite change in your life, in attitude, supernaturally. That's why Paul in Second Corinthians 5:17 says, Therefore, if any man or woman becomes a Christian, old things are passed away, behold, everything has become brand new. Brand new speech, new listening, new thinking, new heart, new walk, new talk. Everything we do is new. We're not the same people. We may look the same, but we're not the same people. That's what makes a difference in regeneration.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Browse somebodylovesyou.com for biblical resources to help you walk with the Holy Spirit in his wisdom and power. You can also join Raul for Straight Talk every Tuesday morning on the Somebody Loves You Worldwide YouTube channel. Now back to more with Raul Ries.

Raul Ries: Secondly, the Holy Spirit indwells the believer. He's not outside; he's inside of you. He lives in you. That's why in Romans Chapter 8, verse 11, he says, But if the spirit of God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead is dwelling in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through the spirit of God who is dwelling in you. Where is his home? Your heart.

Thirdly, he came to anoint you. The anointing of the Holy Spirit. In First John Chapter 2, verses 20 to 21, he says, But you have an anointing from the Holy One and you know all things. I have not written to you because you don't know the truth, but because you know it and that no lie is of the truth. The anointing of the Holy Spirit supernaturally is given to each one of us that are born again by the Holy Spirit of God. Very important. That's what makes the difference.

And then he is also the baptizer. He baptizes believers with the Holy Spirit. Remember on the day of Pentecost, they were all sitting in one place and then all of a sudden a sound from heaven came like wind blowing and they were what? Kind of like a picture of tongues over a flaming tongues over their heads and they were all baptized with the Holy Spirit and they were all speaking in tongues and they were all saying what? Glorifying God, including the mother of Jesus, Mary. The Holy Spirit.

And then the Holy Spirit is the one that guides us in our lives. We need to be careful how we're guided. He says in John 16:13, he says, However, when he, the Holy Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak of his own authority, but whatever he listens to, he will speak and he will tell you even of things to come. Wow. He's the one that gives us information when we pray, when we spend time before the Lord.

And then he said that he's also the sanctifier, the one that sets people apart. In Romans 15:16, he says that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the Gospel of God, Paul says, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, and notice, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Set apart by the Holy Spirit of God.

And then I like the next one. It bears witness as a believer. The Holy Spirit. Romans 8:6. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded in life is to what? To have peace in your life.

And then you know what? When you're feeling bad and you're going through a trial or you're going through somebody's death or you know you feel bummed out, guess what he's there for you to do? He's there to comfort you. He's the comforter. Paracletos. The one that will comfort you in your needs.

In John 14:16 and 26, he said this: And I will pray to the Father, Jesus said, and I will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever, the spirit of truth, which the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. Notice that. He dwells with you and is in you.

He says, I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. And then verse 26, but the helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and check this out, and bring all things to your remembrance that I ever said to you. So when you read the Bible, you study the Bible and for weeks and months go by and even years, the word of God is always there in your brain, in the computer, and then guess what happens? It gets backed up and when you need it, it comes up. The Holy Spirit. He's the one that has it for us.

And then you know what it does? It brings joy to the life of the believer. In Romans 14:17, he says, For the kingdom of God is not eating or drinking, but it's righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit of God. That's the Christian life.

I like the next one because the next one is used all over the place. He's a discerner. He gives you discernment from Satan, false teachers, false prophets. When something is not right, the Holy Spirit warns you.

In First John Chapter 4, verse 1, he says, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the spirit of God, that every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. Talk to the Mormons. Talk to the Jehovah Witnesses. Talk to the Unitarians. Talk to any cult and ask them: did Jesus Christ come in the flesh? You know what they'll say? No.

Then what does he say? Check this out. He says, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the Antichrist. Wow. And what else? Which you have heard was coming and now already it's in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. Satan has nothing to do in my life. Why? Greater is he that is in me, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit. And what? Satan can't touch me. It's only by permission. And when God gives permission, he gives me what? The liberty and he gives me the joy and he gives me the power to overcome. I love the way God's word speaks.

And then those that have the Holy Spirit, guess what you do? You bear fruit that is lasting. Galatians 5:22-23. But the fruit of the Holy Spirit is what? Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and against such there is no law. No law. Love is the key to the Christian life.

And then you have the diversity of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. What do you mean? Well, in Romans Chapter 12:6-8, he tells you about the gifts. First Corinthians Chapter 12:9-11, he tells you more about the gifts. Ephesians Chapter 4:11-16, some more of the gifts. A total in three chapters of twenty-one gifts of the Holy Spirit.

And yet Christ is the head and some of us want to be the hand or the foot or an ear or an eye and maybe God made you the toe in darkness all the time, but you don't want to be smelly. That's just the way it is. Everybody here has a gift. You may be a thumb, you may be a toe, you may be a nose, an eye, an ear. God is the head; Christ is the head.

And nobody should ever jump and try to be a hand if God never called you to be a hand. You will be in trouble. You've got to be what God called you to be. Very important. The Holy Spirit doesn't bring confusion; it brings peace and order. God is a God of order.

So it's really important for me to pray, Okay God, what are my gifts? He starts out in First Corinthians Chapter 12:3-11. He says, Therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the spirit of God calls Jesus accursed. No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

And then 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 in all of them. You see, the body of Christ is huge. Many, many hands, many, many feet, many toes, many eyes, many ears, many noses, many mouths. God's a God of order, but the main head is who? Christ. And without the head, there is no body. The body is out of whack, no balance. You see, it can't operate; it can't function. It needs the head to function.

Guest (Male): Whether you have an idea of how God wants you to serve him or you're still trying to figure it all out, it's encouraging to know that his spirit will fill you with strength, wisdom, and confidence. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. If you'd like to hear today's program in its unedited form, we'll be happy to send a copy to you for a donation of five dollars or more. Just call us at 800-634-9165 and ask for today's teaching, The Power of the Holy Spirit in the Believer.

Now, to deepen your confidence that the Lord is always present in your life, we'd like to offer you Raul's seven-part series, Filled, Empowered, and Equipped. It's available on CD and USB. Each lesson explores how the third member of the Trinity can bless you with purpose and provide all that you need to accomplish kingdom-building work. Visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165 to order Filled, Empowered, and Equipped. We'll send you Raul's seven-message study on CD for twenty dollars or on flash drive for eleven. That's 800-634-9165.

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You're a great blessing to us and we are continually grateful for your partnership in this listener-supported ministry. Join us next time as we continue this series with assurance that God has left detailed instructions for the use of your spiritual gifts. And when you obey the Holy Spirit, you can trust him to fill you with all that you need to carry out God's will. Now here is Raul Ries once again with a closing comment.

Raul Ries: So it's really important that we understand that if this is true, then we as believers need to understand that every one of us need the Holy Spirit and then at the same time listen to me very carefully, Paul the apostle, Ephesians 4:30: if you live a life of carnality and sin, guess what happens to the Holy Spirit because he's a person? He is grieved.

You're hurting the Holy Spirit of God. He cannot work effectively in your life. It's really important to understand that God the Father sent his Son and God the Son sent the Holy Spirit so that we can function in the body of Christ in these last days, so that we can be empowered with God's grace and love and mercies, and we can make the right decisions and witness to the people of God, and we can win people to the Lord. So that God can do exactly what he desires to do in me and working through my life. I'm just the vessel and he's the master potter. He can do whatever he wants with the clay.