Children have a way of controlling our life do they not – I heard about a young boy who received a harmonica for Christmas from his uncle. After the first of the year he saw his uncle for the first time since receiving the harmonica. With a large smile he said, “Thanks for the harmonica you gave me for Christmas," "It’s the best present I ever got."
"That’s great," replied his uncle. "Do you know how to play it?"
"Oh, I don’t play it," the little fellow replied. "My mom gives me a dollar a day not to play it during the day and my dad gives me five dollars a week not to play it at night!"
Now that is a boy who has control of the situation.
Question who controls you? Everyone is controlled by something. Is it your spouse, your children, your job, your wealth, your health? Is it your possessions, your collections, your habits? What is it that controls you?
As Christians we are to be spirit controlled. The Holy Spirit is to be alive in our life and evident by our words and deeds.
This morning I want us to observe the second treasure we have from God – The Holy Spirit.
I want us discover how he relates to the believer, his importance in our life and what the results are of the Holy Spirit in our life.
THE TOPIC OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A FRONT-LINE ISSUE FOR CHRISTIANS TODAY The Holy Spirit is to a believer what God the Creator is to the physical world. Without God, the physical world would not exist. It has been created and is continually sustained by the omnipotent power of God. So the Holy Spirit - is to the Christian. The Holy Spirit is the divine agent who creates, sustains, and preserves spiritual life in those who place their trust in Jesus Christ.
To understand the Holy Spirit this Morning let’s look at What God’s Word has to say on the subject.
READ TEXT ROMANS 8:9-17
1. We need to understand the one who controls us.
Paul says you are either controlled by the Spirit or by the sinful nature – it is one or the other. There is no straddling the fence, no 50/50 arrangement – you are either in or you are out.
As Christians we are controlled by the Holy Spirit - Misconceptions
Spirit has to be felt
Spirit is present only when there is emotion
John MacArthur shared the following thoughts about the Spirit – I thought it was a god way to define who is the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is not merely an influence or an impersonal power from God. He is a person, the third member of the Godhead, equal in every way to God the Father and God the Son.
Among the many characteristics of personhood that the Holy Spirit possesses and displays are: He functions with mind, emotion, and will; He loves the saints,
He communicates with them, teaches, guides, comforts, and chastises them;
He can be grieved, quenched, lied to, tested, resisted, and blasphemed.
The Bible speaks of His omniscience, His omnipotence, His omnipresence, and His divine glory and holiness.
He is called God, Lord, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of Yahweh (or Jehovah), the Spirit of the Father, the Spirit of the Son, the Spirit of Jesus, and the Comforter and Advocate for believers.
Scripture reveals that the Holy Spirit was fully active with the Father and Son in the creation and that He has been with all believers and enabled and empowered them even before Pentecost. He has always been convicting men of sin, giving salvation to those who truly believed, and teaching them to worship, obey, and serve God rightly.
The Holy Spirit has been the divine agent who uniquely came upon God’s servants and inspired God’s sovereignly chosen men to pen God’s Word.
True believers have always served God not by human might or power but by the Holy Spirit (cf. Zech. 4:6).
The Spirit was involved in Jesus’ conception as a human being and in Jesus’ baptism, anointing, temptation, teaching, miracles, death, and resurrection.
Since Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has, in His fullness, indwelt all believers, illuminating their understanding and application of God’s Word as well as empowering them for sanctification in a greater way than had every occurred before.
He fills them, seals them, communes with them, fellowships with them, intercedes for them, comforts them, admonishes them, sanctifies them, and enables them to resist sin and to serve God.
THAT MY FRIEND IS THE HOLY SPIRIT!
As Christians every one of us is to be controlled by him.
Rom 8:9, You, (CHRISTIAN) however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
1. No Spirit in your life – there is no Christ in your life.
2. Since we are controlled by him, our nature is changed
THIS IS KEY – When God comes into your life in the person of the Holy Spirit There must be a change in your life. Vs. 12 says we are not under obligation to our sinful nature – we owe nothing to the flesh.
How do you know if you are obligated to the flesh – you continue in that lifestyle.
Let’s do a quick check list to see if you are still obligated to the flesh
Inner turmoil
Resentment
Hostility
Irritability
Selfishness
Envy
Isolation
Bitterness
If you are letting these items control your life then you are not spirit controlled.
In God’s eyes there are two kinds of people – those controlled by the spirit and those controlled by the flesh. Too often we try to excuse bad behavior by saying something like “ That is just Sam, that is just the way he is” But according to verse 12 that is simply not true – We don’t have the right to be who we are or to do what we want to do – Because we are in Christ we are spirit controlled.
If a professing Christian habitually lives in the flesh and shows no need for repentance, forgiveness, worship or fellowship with other believers then that person is in danger of voiding their redemption. Because they are living by the flesh.
We have a new nature, a nature of the Spirit. We are obligated to live by the Spirit – To let the Spirit control our life. HOW?
Vs. 9 Spirit of God is to dwell in you – literally he is to feel at home in your life. “To get comfortable with you” The only way he gets comfortable with you is when you are comfortable with him. He does not conform you conform.
Vs. 10, Dead to sin, not that we will never sin, but we don’t feed our sinful nature. We either kill sin or sin kills us. Thus we avoid the things that will lead us to sin.
Lust – avoid certain TV and Movies, & Internet sights
Gossip you avoid being around those who gossip
Greed we need to seek God first
Theologian - B Fife, “NIP IT IN THE BUD”
How is this possible? By being controlled by the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit controls us, we are convicted of our sins and then we have two choices.
Repentance – die to our sins
Ignore the conviction of the Holy Spirit and thus we grieve the Spirit, Eph 4:30-32, Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. I am afraid many of us have been guilty of grieving the spirit for too many years and that is the reason we do not have his power in our lives today.
SINCE OUR NATURE IS CHANGED
3. What are the signs the Holy Spirit controls us?
The signs are visible – there is no such thing as a secret service Christian.
The Spirit leads us. Vs. 14, those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. We are identified with God because the Spirit leads us. The word led means to guide us or show us the way. Influenced by God through sometimes circumstances BUT most of the time through his word.
We have intimacy with God
Intimacy is more than simply knowing about God – Someone has defined Intimacy as In to Me See, that is a pretty good def. When we have intimacy with God we are open before him. We can say as the psalmist said, Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Ps 139:23
Intimacy also identifies us as Sons of God – Adopted into his family. Adoption is no accident; Human parents can give their love, resources, and inheritance on an adopted child, but they cannot give their own distinct characteristics. But God miraculously gives His own nature to those who have trusted in Christ. He makes them his children in the image of His divine Son, giving them not just Christ’s riches and blessings but also His very nature
The Spirit bares witness with our spirit that we belong to God
Assurance of salvation – He reassures us that our salvation is secure – Why is this important because the Father of lies, the devil wants to remind us of our sinful nature. To make us doubt we are God’s children and yet what happens is the Spirit “bares witness” to us – God cannot lie.
We become heirs with Christ.
We share what Christ shared
Share in his sufferings – we are going to know what it means to face ridicule, betrayal, rejection
But we are also going to share in his glory
Let’s understand the context of Paul’s statement. Paul is writing this letter in 57 a.d. Seven years later the Roman Christians will face an onslaught of persecution from Nero. Christians will be burned as human torches, placed in the coliseum with wild animals and many will be crucified. Yet in the midst of that suffering they will receive the glory of Christ. How because they have the Holy Spirit in their life.
DECISION – Who is in control of your life? Are you severing yourself from the bonds of sin and yielding to the Holy Spirit? Or do you still find yourself serving your old master sin. If you have accepted Christ as your savior then God is already at work in you. Changing you to be more like him. Paul made it very clear in vs. 9 You are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
If that is you there is hope – give your life to Christ Today.
