Telling the Truth

Guest (Male): Today, on Telling the Truth, Stewart Briscoe tells us how by living in the spirit, we as believers are able to make God smile. But before we begin, if you've ever struggled with the pain of betrayal or the weight of resentment, you're not alone. Forgiveness is one of the hardest things we're called to do, but it's also one of the most freeing. That's why we want to send you Freed by Forgiveness, a four-message compilation from Stewart and Jill as our thanks for your gift today. Call now at 282-788-4648. That's 262-788-4648 or give online at tellingthetruth.org. Thanks again for listening and for your support today.

Now, here's Stewart Briscoe with his message on making God smile by living in the spirit.

Stuart Briscoe: That if anybody woke up this morning and said today, I want to be unhappy. That is my goal for today. I want to be totally unhappy. I think probably I'm right in saying that most of us would much prefer to be happy. And I think perhaps it is even possible that some of us believe that in some way God can bless us and God can encourage us and God could make us happy. And there's probably a lot to be said for that. And there's no question about it that God has it in his heart to bless us.

And so by all means, come to God with your aspirations and your longings. Seek his blessing on your life. But I want to suggest something else for you. And it is this, that instead of us thinking in terms of God making us happy and God pleasing us, that we should think in terms of pleasing him. That's a rather novel thought. We probably think that God is just sitting up there and and we can't make any difference whatsoever to his experience. But there's no doubt about it. The scripture tells us that we can do things that grieve him.

And there's no question about it that the Bible also says that there are things that we can do that will please him. And so we're looking into various scriptures that talk about the ways in which we can please God or make God smile. We looked into Hebrews chapter 11. And we noticed something that I find very, very interesting. And that is clear evidence that it is possible for a human being down here on Earth to make a difference as far as God is concerned. We read about a gentleman called Enoch. Enoch was utterly unique in that he did not die.

He was translated into the presence of God. But we're told this that before he was translated, he had this testimony that he pleased God. Now, if you read about the time in which he lived and the situation in which he lived, it's very obvious that he was a bright and shining light in his day and generation. And he put a smile on the face of God. But the writer of Hebrews goes further. And he says without faith, it is impossible to please God. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. And then he goes on to describe in a little more detail the kind of faith that is necessary.

He that comes to God must believe that he is. And that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. And so we thought about this kind of show many of us went away to ponder these thoughts in our hearts. Do I exhibit a life of trust? Do I exhibit a life of simple abandonment to Christ? Do I live in the conscious enjoyment of his presence? Do I expect him to do in my life the kind of things that he says he will do? Because if we did, I promise you we put a smile on the face of God.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Well, now we're going to look into another passage of scripture that gives us more information on this very important topic. And I'm referring to Romans chapter eight. Paul's epistle to the Roman church and the eighth chapter. I'm going to read part of this chapter to you. Many people say that this is probably the greatest or certainly one of the greatest chapters in the whole of the Bible. It repays all the study we can spend on it. This is what it says. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus, the law of the spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us who do not live according to the sinful nature, but according to the spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their mindset on what that nature desires. But those who live in accordance with the spirit have their mindset on what the spirit desires.

The mind of sinful man is death. But the mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace because the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. That's the bad news. Now, the good news. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature, but by the spirit of God if the spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin. Yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the sinful nature to live according to it. But if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. But if by the spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Because those who are led by the spirit of God are sons of God. Well, that's quite a mouthful, isn't it? What a great, great statement. That is a a wonderful description of what we need to know as we seek to live in a way that will please the Lord. Now, you would notice in this passage that Paul draws a very dramatic distinction between two kinds of people. Who in verse five, he talks about those who live according to the sinful nature. And those people, he says, have their mindset on what that nature desires. But then in contrast to those people, he talks about those who live in accordance with the spirit.

And they have their mindset on what the spirit desires. He goes on to say this. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their mindset on things that will lead to death. But those who live according to the spirit have their mindset on the things of the spirit. And the result is life and peace. But he goes even further. He says those who live according to the sinful nature cannot please God. Now, that is a startling statement and we need to spend a little time trying to understand what it meant. What is this sinful nature of which he speaks?

Actually, in your older versions of the Bible, the term is translated flesh. And that is the translation of a Greek word sarx, s a r x, which is used in a variety of ways in the New Testament. But in this particular context and more often than not when Paul uses the expression in his letters, he is talking about the sinful nature or human nature left to itself apart from the renewing work of the Holy Spirit.

Guest (Male): More teaching from Stewart and Jill Briscoe is coming up, so stay with us. Did you know you can find more life-giving content from the Briscoes at tellingthetruth.org and on the Telling the Truth app. There you can sign up for daily devotionals, watch videos, read blogs, and access a variety of other resources to help you experience life. And while you're there, you can also request this month's featured resource as thanks for your gift of support to help share the abundant life Jesus offers with more people around the world. Visit us online or download the app today and experience life with Telling the Truth.

Now, let's return to hear the conclusion of Stewart's message about making God smile by living in the spirit.

Stuart Briscoe: There's a fundamental definition of what the scriptures mean by the sinful nature. It is human nature left to itself apart from the renewing work of the Holy Spirit. Now, this is what it says. Human nature left to itself apart from the renewing work of the Holy Spirit cannot please God. I would suggest to you that that flies right in the teeth of much modern thinking. I mean, what it is actually saying is that human beings lack the capacity to live in the way that God created us to live. And yet very, very often we're told by people that we're really very good people and that we're really doing very well.

For instance, when politicians are running for office, they often go out of their way to say what a great country this is and what great people we are, etc etc. And more often than not, they quote de Tocqueville who wrote Democracy in America. You remember the book that everybody quotes and nobody has read. Now, in that particular book, de Tocqueville did say this. America is great because America is good. America is great because America is good. Now, I know what he meant, but I think Paul would say, excuse me, I I have a problem here.

It it may be that in the sense that you mean it, Mr. de Tocqueville, America is good and there's no question about it that compared to other countries in the world, it's absolute paradise. And it compared to what a lot of other countries are doing is absolutely wonderful. But hold it a minute, Mr. de Tocqueville. The scripture says that human beings in their own natural state left to themselves apart from the spirit of God cannot please God. So do we have some degree of disagreement here? And the answer is we do. In the general thinking in our culture, there is a sense in which we believe we're doing all right.

We're not as bad as other folks. We're pretty good people. That we could be improved and we're not perfect, but pretty good. And Paul says, no. No. Human nature left to itself apart from the spirit of God cannot please God. This flies in the teeth of what many educators will tell us. The educators believe, many of them, in the perfectibility of human nature. If we just train people right and teach them right and go about things properly, we will produce the right kind of people. Well, there's no gain saying that in the sense of we may produce socially acceptable people.

And thank God for everybody who's trying to do that. I'm not knocking that at all, but we mustn't make the mistake of thinking that because we can educate people so that they behave in socially acceptable manner, that that necessarily pleases God. Because what scripture says is this, human nature left to itself apart from the work of the spirit of God cannot please God. It's hard to hear. It's hard to accept. But it appears to be, for my understanding of scripture, a fundamental truth that we must embrace if we're going to understand the depth of the salvation that is necessary for us.

You see, it isn't just a case of being forgiven for what we've done. We need a radical transformation of what we are. Now, if that is the case, let me give you a picture here. I want to suggest to you that many of our events dealing with the world's problems and the problems of the individual are rather like polishing an apple with a worm inside. And we keep on polishing, we keep on polishing, we keep on polishing, but we don't really get to the root problem. And the root problem as far as humanity is concerned and the root problem as far as society is concerned is the sinful nature that cannot please God.

So go on polishing the apple, but be careful when you bite. Because if there's one thing worse than finding a worm in an apple, it's half a worm. That's right. I have no idea why I said that, but it did come out. And I feel better now I said it. Okay. So much then for a definition, if you like, of the sinful nature. Now, let's go a little deeper in into this idea. Why is it that Paul has such a jaundice view of human nature? It has to do with his theology. You see, his theology is predicated on the idea that in the beginning God created human beings for communion with himself.

That human beings rejected it. And when they rejected communion with God who is the reason for their being, they tore themselves from their roots and cast themselves into a world where they were subjected to all kinds of nefarious influences that had entered in. Their minds were darkened. Their desires were warped. Their bodies became diseased. And something called the fall infected and affected human beings in every dimension of their lives. Something degrading happened to our thinking processes, to our desiring processes, to our discerning processes, to our deciding processes. So that we don't see things as we ought.

We don't desire as we should. We don't decide what is best and we do not do that which pleases God. There is a sort of a warp. There's a twist. There is a bias to the human nature. So what do we know? We know that if it is true that if you don't have the spirit of Christ, you're not a Christian. Conversely, if you are a Christian, you do possess the spirit of the living God. Now, read a little bit further down in Romans eight and you learn this that the spirit who indwells you is the spirit of him that raised up Christ from the dead.

Dwelling in you. Think of that for a minute. The spirit of him that raised up Christ from the dead dwells in you. I wonder why. Presumably to empower you to be what you're not and to do what you can and to be a counteracting dynamic to that sinful nature that cannot please God. I wonder if the spirit of God can please God. I wonder if the spirit of Christ puts a smile on the face of God. Of course he will. So I wonder what's going on here. What's going on here is the apostle Paul is saying, look, our obligation is not to live to the sinful nature.

Our obligation is to have our mindset on the things of the spirit and to live a life in happy communion with the indwelling Lord Jesus who by his spirit in the power of his resurrection has taken up residence in our lives. If that happens, then we will begin to develop a new mindset. And this new mindset will not lead to things that lead to death. This new mindset will introduces to a whole new vista of life and a new experience of peace. For the mindset of the spirit leads to life and peace. But not only that, it then goes on to say this that if through the spirit we put to death the deeds of the body, God doesn't say, all right, if you're going to please me, you've got to kill those desires and you've got to kill those thoughts and you've got to kill those actions and you've got to slay those things.

He doesn't say that. He says through the spirit you put these things to death. Why does he say that? A very simple reason that we in and of ourselves can struggle to deal with the things that displease him. And we will continue to do them. But if we begin to cooperate with the spirit, these things can slowly be dealt with. And that is the essence of our growth and maturity and transformation in Christ. And if that is the case, we then begin to discover what it is to be led by the spirit. And we gladly follow his promptings.

And guess what? We begin through the spirit to put to death the works of the body. We begin gladly to follow where he is leading. We begin to live as he created us and redeemed us to live and we put a smile on the face of God. Our obligation is not to live with the mindset on the sinful nature. Our obligation is to live with our mindset on the indwelling spirit of Christ. Spirit who raised up Christ from the dead. Indwells us to empower us, enable us to be what we're not to do what we can't, and put a smile on the face of God.

Because sinful nature cannot please God. And put a smile on the face of God. Because sinful nature cannot please God.

Guest (Male): Tell us, Stewart, how it's possible to really surrender to the spirit's work in our lives? How can we know we're letting go?

Stuart Briscoe: Sometimes the the terms that we use to describe our spiritual experiences are not as helpful as they might be. We we talk about surrendering to the Lord. I'm not quite sure what kind of image that projects into people's thinking to my mind. It it's it always it always seems to be a picture of object defeated soldiers bleeding and worn and living in tatters covered with mud, trudging wearily into a prison camp. So I I don't I don't I don't use those kind of terms very much. How is it possible to really surrender to the spirit working our lives?

I'd rather put it this way. How is it possible for us to keep in step with the spirit? That that incidentally is a biblical term. To keep in step with the spirit. In other words, to recognize that the Christian life is lived one step at a time.

Guest (Male): You say that we can't kill those desires we want to get rid of, that the Holy Spirit has to do it. Well, how can we see that happen?

Stuart Briscoe: I'm I'm not sure that I I put it quite like that. And if I did, I need I need to correct it. The the scripture is very explicit on this particular point. It what what he's talking about is dealing with these things that we need to get rid of and we want to get rid of. It tells us if we through the spirit put to death those things, we will live. Now, there's a there's a big big difference there. It isn't the case of we've got to do it and it isn't the case of we've got to leave the spirit of God to do it.

There is a cooperative thing here. If we through the spirit put to death these things, we will live. And so when we think in terms of this, what we're really saying is the spirit of God prompts me to want to deal with these things. He will enable me and I'll draw upon his resources and live in obedience. So it's not me and it's not him. It's both.

Guest (Male): Thanks for listening to Telling the Truth today. We're so glad you've joined us and want to encourage you further with a powerful resource from Stewart and Jill Briscoe. If you've ever struggled with the pain of betrayal or the weight of resentment, you're not alone. Forgiveness is one of the hardest things we're called to do, but it's also one of the most freeing. That 's why we want to send you Freed by Forgiveness, a four-message compilation from Stewart and Jill as our thanks for your gift today. In it, you'll discover how you can break free from bitterness and step into the healing and freedom Jesus offers.

So request your copy of Freed by Forgiveness when you give today. Knowing your support helps more people around the world experience freedom in Christ, many for the very first time as they hear God's truth thanks to you. Call now at 282-788-4648. That's 262-788-4648 or give online at tellingthetruth.org. Thanks again for listening and for your support today. Thanks so much for listening today. Tune in next time for more encouragement straight from God's word. Experience life right here on Telling the Truth with Stewart and Jill Briscoe.