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[0:00] All three of these references just read, I regard as nothing more than synonymous with the filling of the Spirit. And when you see it sometimes in a different perspective, it comes across in a way that perhaps you have not appreciated before.

[0:16] And that certainly has been the case in my own situation. Before, I think I had a different kind of concept regarding the filling of the Spirit than I have recently obtained.

[0:31] And this is one reason I am excited to share it with you. All three of these passages were nothing more than an expression in different words of the filling of the Spirit.

[0:41] When one yields the members of his body as instruments of righteousness unto God, you do that only through the filling of the Spirit. And when you present your body to God as a sacrifice, which is our reasonable service and not to be conformed to this world, you do so out of and because of the filling of the Spirit.

[1:04] This all has to do with that thing which occupies your life, your thinking, your focus, the core of your life, what is most important to you, what is uppermost in your mind, what is always there as the overriding, overarching determiner of your lifestyle, your values, your choices, your decisions, everything.

[1:34] That's what you're filled with, whatever that might be. The believer is called upon to have as his focus spiritual realities, spiritual truth, the person of Jesus Christ, being occupied with Christ.

[1:53] That's what the filling of the Spirit is. And once you understand that this concept is not nearly as foreign, as some would think, but is intended and designed for the average, everyday believer, that might make a real difference in someone's life.

[2:15] Being Spirit-filled has nothing whatever to do with fanaticism or extremism, unless you want to think in terms of extremism as simply being sold out to God and to spiritual values.

[2:30] It has nothing to do with living a quirky, weird kind of life. It has everything to do with producing the fruit of the Spirit that we've frequently referred to in Ephesians or Galatians 5 of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, etc.

[2:49] These are the marks of a Spirit-filled life. It is important to understand that you and your will alone, your will, your volition, determines with what you will be filled.

[3:10] Take your choice. It's up to you. You can be filled with whatever you want to be filled with. And to be filled with the Spirit simply means that you have made Christ and His cause the central focus of your being.

[3:32] This is precisely, I think, what the Apostle meant when he said, For to me, to live is Christ. May I emphasize, this is intended to be the norm for Christians.

[3:49] If we are not filled with the Spirit, we are filled with the flesh or something else. Now, we want to take a look at a number of references that we were unable to get to last week that I trust will shed some additional light on this.

[4:06] And I would ask you to go, first of all, to Acts chapter 4 and verse 5. Acts chapter 4 and verse 5.

[4:23] We have seen repeatedly in passages prior to this that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. And we'll see that again in verse 8.

[4:34] We noted in verse 2, or in chapter 2, when he delivered that monumental Pentecostal address to the Jews, he was filled with the Spirit then.

[4:44] And here we read, beginning with verse 5 of Acts chapter 4, It came about on the next day that their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem.

[4:56] And Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high priestly descent. And when they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, By what power or in what name have you done this?

[5:14] This was the healing of the man at the temple gate, beautiful. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers and elders of the people.

[5:26] And then he went on to deliver this remarkable address. But I just want you to notice that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. What that means is simply this.

[5:39] Peter was in a frame of mind, an attitude, a disposition, that was holy and completely God-centered.

[5:49] He was not concerned at all for public opinion. He was not concerned about his personal welfare or safety. He was not concerned about anything other than honoring God in this incredible opportunity that he had.

[6:10] Peter was simply overcome with the reality of being God's spokesperson. And all he wanted to do was deliver the goods.

[6:24] That's what it meant to be spirit-filled. It doesn't even necessarily mean to be imbued with some special powers or ability.

[6:35] It means to be occupied with Christ. It means to have no other interest and no other focus other than that.

[6:45] It is tunnel vision to the Lord. Everything else is extraneous. Everything else is minor or insignificant. This is all that matters.

[6:59] He was filled with that concept. He was consumed with it. That's what it means to be spirit-filled. When you are walking in the spirit, this is your frame of mind.

[7:12] This is your attitude. The psalmist uses an expression regarding the heathen, the pagans. He says, God is not in all their thoughts.

[7:24] And I want you to think about that for a moment. It is an aspect by which he criticizes the pagan or the heathen. God is not in all their thoughts.

[7:35] Well, is God in all the thoughts of a believer? He should be. And what is meant by that expression? To have God in all your thoughts.

[7:49] And as I mentioned last week, it doesn't mean that you go around just thinking God all the time. You'll never get anything done. You have responsibilities to care for.

[7:59] You have a job to perform. You have functions you need to carry out. But what it means is this, when it says, God is not in all... What happens when God is in all your thoughts?

[8:10] It means this. Every course of action you plan, every goal you are pursuing, every dream you want to see fulfilled, all stem from and issue from your focus upon Jesus Christ and how your actions and attitude is going to impact the cause of Christ.

[8:40] It is simply nothing more than living a God-centered life. It means that you take God, His Word, His values, His honor, His glory, you take that into consideration for every plan that you make and every step that you take.

[9:01] That's what it means to live a God-centered life. It means He comes first. He matters most. Your plans, your dreams, all the rest of it are subjected to how it fits in to the divine plan that is set forth in Scripture.

[9:18] And if it doesn't fit in, you've got no business pursuing it. It's as simple as that. It is a great regulator. It is a great definer. This is what it means to be Spirit-filled.

[9:33] This is what it means to have God in all your thoughts. Whatever plans you're making, whatever goals you're pursuing, you think, how does this fit in to my being a believer?

[9:46] How does this fit in to my obedience factor before the Lord? If it doesn't, you scrap it. To live a God-centered life means that pleasing God is more important to you than anything else.

[10:05] Everything else is secondary. This is supposed to be the norm. But we have in our day and age particularly so many Christians living well below that.

[10:20] Living lives that are for all practical purposes pretty much self-centered. Pretty much self-seeking. So that when a believer comes along who is living a God-ordered, God-centered life, who is filled with the Spirit, they stick out like a sore thumb.

[10:38] Well, we are glad for them. But, there should be sore thumbs all over the place. We should all be a sore thumb. We should all be sticking out like that.

[10:50] That is the normal Christian life. It is not living a weird life. It is not living some kind of half-baked life. It is living a life of focus on Jesus Christ that is surrounded with stability and confidence and the fruit of the Spirit is the produce.

[11:15] It is a beautiful thing. Peter was filled with the Spirit. He was occupied with the person of Christ and of God and the mission that was before him.

[11:26] In chapter 4, this same chapter, verse 23, note it if you will please. 4, 23, of Acts.

[11:37] And when they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

[11:51] Now, remember, these chief priests and elders were the religious establishment. These people were the top of the order religiously and, for that matter, politically in Israel.

[12:05] Now, they weren't in a civil sense in that they were under the Roman thumb, but so far as the Jewish people were concerned, these were the authorities in their midst.

[12:17] They reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, this is a beautiful thing.

[12:31] They lifted their voices to God with one accord. This is right after they had received these threats, dire consequences if they continued to pursue this Jesus thing.

[12:46] And they said, O Lord, it is thou who didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, who by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of our father David thy servant didst say, why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples devise futile things?

[13:11] The kings of the earth took their stand and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. For truly in this city, Jerusalem, there were gathered together against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever thy hand and thy purpose predestined to occur.

[13:42] And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that thy bond servants may speak thy word with all confidence, while thou dost extend thy hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of thy holy servant Jesus.

[14:05] When they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

[14:22] What an incredible passage. All this means is that this whole aggregate of people, however many there were, were all together on this issue.

[14:34] They were all consumed with the need to honor and glorify Jesus Christ, and nothing else mattered, not the threats, the intimidation, the authority, nothing that these chief priests and rulers could throw at them would faze them because they had this singular focus, and all human instruments beside that were puny and pale in comparison.

[15:02] They were preoccupied with this. That's what it means to be filled with the Spirit. It is having a perspective, perspective, it is having a mindset, it is having a conviction, it is possessing an attitude that consumes you, that nothing else matters besides that.

[15:23] And if what Peter says here is true, this ought to be for us as much as it is for them. Because he said, O Lord, it is Thou who didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

[15:40] Is that true? If it is, how can we be any less subservient to this one than they were?

[15:57] How can we be willing to settle for anything less than complete absolute devotion to this one? What else matters? What else is of any significance?

[16:10] nothing I know of. Not houses, not lands, not wealth, none of that stuff matters. That's all just stuff. That's all it is. Nothing matters.

[16:24] Apart from this relationship with this one. Present our bodies as a living sacrifice sacrifice, and be not conformed to this world.

[16:36] What does it mean to be conformed to this world? It means to walk in the flesh. Walk in the flesh, which I find very easy to do. No problem.

[16:49] But when we are focused on him, we submit our bodies as a living sacrifice, and Paul says, which is your reasonable service.

[17:05] When you submit your personhood, the totality of your being, to Jesus Christ and his cause and whatever he wants for you, don't think of yourself as having gone above and beyond the call of duty.

[17:22] it isn't possible to do that. No Christian has ever gone above and beyond the calls of duty in service to Jesus Christ.

[17:33] No, not even those who laid down their life and were martyred for Christ. Do you know what that was? That was their reasonable service. In light of who he is, that's your reasonable service.

[17:50] Now, if you get a group of people who think this way and live this way and act this way, going to make a significant impact.

[18:03] And that's what we are supposed to be all about. We are different. We have a different calling, a different focus.

[18:14] This is what Christianity is. When it is lived in the norm that it was intended. Chapter 5 of Acts, a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife's full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles' feet.

[18:42] But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?

[18:58] Question, what was Ananias filled with? Sex tells us, doesn't it? He's filled with Satan. We could almost say that is very close and certainly akin to being filled with the flesh.

[19:16] Because Satan uses the flesh. It's one of his greatest allies. And of course, he uses it to our own detriment.

[19:28] Satan uses our flesh to help destroy ourselves. think of that. You act out of whatever it is with which you are filled.

[19:43] Whatever it is that drives you, whatever it is that is your consuming passion, that's where you are. And that's what you are. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

[19:59] We are to be filled with all the fullness of God, not as an oddity, but as a normality. If ye then be risen with Christ, and you are, seek those things which are above.

[20:18] Why are we so infatuated with the things below? Because of the flesh. Why was Ananias and Sapphira so consumed by materialism?

[20:35] Because they were lining their pockets with the money that they didn't give to the apostles, even though they were pretending as though they had surrendered it all. Why were they keeping back part of it?

[20:48] They were keeping back part of it because they were succumbing to the flesh. Now, they could have sold this man, this case in point, they sold this property for $50,000.

[20:59] They could have brought $20,000 to the apostles and said, we sold this property for $50,000 and we want to give $20,000 of it to the Lord and what we want to do with the $30,000 that we're keeping for ourselves is none of your business.

[21:15] It's our money, we can do with it as we want. Peter would have said, fine, I'm cool with that. But what they did was, they gave $20,000, kept back $30,000 for themselves, but they pretended like they were giving the whole thing.

[21:34] And Peter asked them in question, says, tell me, did you sell the property for $20,000? Yes, that's right, we sold it for $20,000.

[21:46] That's what we brought to you, isn't it? We sold it for $20,000. Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? All he had to do was tell the truth.

[21:57] In fact, they didn't have to bring anything. The problem wasn't that they didn't give all the money to God. That wasn't the problem. The problem was they gave part, but they pretended and put on a front like they'd given everything.

[22:10] And it was a big, fat lie. What were they doing? They were just walking in the flesh. They were concerned about earthly things, more than heavenly things.

[22:22] I have heard Christians criticized, you probably have too, on the grounds that, well, you take this Christianity business too seriously, I'll tell you what happens.

[22:36] You just become so heavenly minded that you're no earthly good. That accusation has often been laid at the feet of Christians.

[22:49] Christians. Whereas, there is far greater danger of being so earthly minded that we are no heavenly good. That's where most of us are.

[23:04] What do you call that? That's walking in the flesh. That is self-serving, self-seeking. I don't know about you, but I come by that quite naturally. I really know how to look out for number one.

[23:18] God is a big God. He can take care of himself. That's the attitude we often have. He doesn't need my little two cents worth, but he wants it. Why has Satan filled thine heart?

[23:37] You see, you can be filled with whatever you want to be filled with. Chapter 6.

[23:48] Acts. The book of Acts. This is an interesting time.

[24:03] The disciples were increasing in number. A complaint rose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.

[24:13] And the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables, but select from among you, brethren, seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit.

[24:33] full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.

[24:45] Well, now, if these are going to be seven men who are filled with the Spirit, we would expect them to be sent forth to do great exploits, to accomplish great preaching missions and great evangelistic efforts.

[24:59] these seven men are going to be super saints, right? So, what are we going to have them doing? They are going to be caring for the needs of the widows.

[25:16] Well, you don't have to be Spirit-filled to do that, do you? You have to be Spirit-filled to want to do that.

[25:29] because one of the things that characterizes one who is Spirit-filled is humility and there is no task that they consider below them.

[25:46] Well, I don't want to do that. I'm overqualified to do that. I need some greater challenge than that. Well, I remember hearing a famous orchestra leader, I think it was Leopold Stokowski, he was asked on one occasion, what is the most difficult instrument to play in all of your orchestra?

[26:15] He thought for a moment, and he said, without a doubt, second fiddle. I guess it would require filling of the Spirit to play second fiddle.

[26:33] What I'm saying is this, the filling of the Spirit is also an attitude, it is a disposition, it is a focus, it is a desire, it is a deliberate volitional thing, whereby you just take Jesus Christ, and you put him in your life, where he belongs, right in the center, and everything flows out from that.

[27:12] That is walking in the Spirit. Select from among you, brethren, seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom.

[27:25] I get the impression that there is no way that you can be of a bad or questionable reputation and be filled with the Spirit.

[27:37] They go hand in hand. And this also is part of the qualifications for being an elder, as Paul wrote to Timothy and to Titus. How can you tell whether someone is filled with the Spirit?

[27:53] I can't look inside you and see what you're filled with. What's the only thing we have to go by? The fruit.

[28:07] Once again, we're back to the fruit of the Spirit. How can you tell whether someone is filled with the Spirit? Do they manifest? Do they display love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness?

[28:21] Do they display those things? Do they do it on a consistent basis? If he or she does, that's a good indicator. Now, granted, people can be phonies, they can put on a front, they can be one thing in public and something else in private, which is hypocrisy, and that's not filled with the Spirit.

[28:41] That's the flesh again. But the flesh can be so resourceful in covering itself up so that it doesn't show. And yet, the flesh is still there.

[28:56] Chapter 7 and verse 51. You know, I am satisfied that we find so many instances of the filling of the Spirit here in this historical portion.

[29:14] We find it referred to in Paul's epistles, but we don't find the examples of it so much as we do the command for it, like in Ephesians 5, where we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit.

[29:29] It simply means we are commanded to make Jesus Christ the focus of our life. You can do that with your will. You do that with your own personal decider. By the way, don't make this a matter of prayer and ask God whether or not it's His will that you be like that.

[29:46] That's nonsense. He may just well shout to you from the heavens, I've already told you that. You don't ask God to do anything that He has already clearly commanded us to do.

[30:03] Sometimes it's wrong to pray. It's always wrong to pray when you already know what God... Lord, should I really love my wife like Christ loved the church?

[30:19] But you, you, you haven't given me the ability to do that. power. I would do it if you enabled me to, but you haven't given me that power. And you don't know what it's like to live with that woman.

[30:33] This is all cop-out stuff. This is all it is. It's cop-out stuff. It is trying to get God to take responsibility for what we are responsible for. Wow.

[30:47] Where am I? Chapter 7, verse 51, Stephen, wrapping up his message, wrapping up his life, you men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit.

[31:16] You are doing just as your fathers did. You know what he's saying? You are flesh, flesh, flesh, flesh, walking in it, steeped in it, filled with it, living out of it.

[31:27] That's all you are. And you've got all of this religious pretense. Oh, you've got all of the T's crossed and the I's dotted and you tie the mint and the anise and the cumin and all the rest of the nonsense and you are up to your eyeballs in the flesh.

[31:46] Wow. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who had previously announced the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.

[32:00] You who received the law as ordained by angels and yet did not keep it. And when they heard this, they were cut to the quick.

[32:11] he had just stabbed them with the knife of reality and truth. You heard the expression before, truth hurts.

[32:23] It's what happened here. It hurts. We, we in our flesh hate to be uncovered, to be displayed.

[32:37] it's ugly. It is not becoming. We retaliate. We defend. We fight back.

[32:49] They heard this, they were cut to the quick and they began gnashing their teeth. them. But, Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, Stephen's attitude was, look, I've got an audience, I've got an opportunity, I'm going to preach the truth, let the chips fall where they may.

[33:17] This could cost me a lot. so what? Nothing matters. Nothing matters but being well-pleasing to my God.

[33:33] Full of 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.

[33:51] They couldn't take any more. They rushed upon him with one impulse. They drove him out of the city. Listen, being filled with the Spirit, being filled can get you killed.

[34:14] You aware of that? One may pay a tremendous price, for being well pleasing unto God.

[34:26] Because there are certain venues when it means being well pleasing unto God, you are going to be powerfully displeasing unto men.

[34:38] And they have stones at their disposal, or guns, or knives, or whatever. being filled with the Spirit is no guarantee at all that if you're filled with the Spirit, God is going to rescue you in marvelous, miraculous ways, and set your feet safely on their way.

[35:02] No, no, no, no, no. He may do that. He may let the crowd have their way. And they did. And they stoned him to death.

[35:14] And here was a crumpled mass of man breathing his last breath of air in this world, filled with the Spirit, focused on Jesus Christ and giving up his life.

[35:33] He is one of those who love not their own lives unto the death. Is there something that you love more than life is there someone who means more to you than life itself?

[35:52] There ought to be. If you name the name of Christ, he ought to mean more to you than life itself.

[36:03] Because apart from him, there would be no life. Not yours or anyone else's. O Lord, thou art creator and sustainer of all life and all things upon the earth.

[36:21] Remarkable. Our last one is in Acts chapter 9. And as I said before, I think we find all of these in these historical portions because here is where we have so much drama and impact as a result of the life, death, and burial of Jesus Christ.

[36:43] We have it lived out in the book of Acts more than any place else. And that's why there are so many confrontations and occasions for men and women to be filled with the Spirit and to make a tremendous difference.

[36:58] And here we have another. Acts chapter 9. Well, in 8.1 through 3. Look at this.

[37:09] 8.1 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem.

[37:19] They were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea, Saveria, except the apostles. And some devout men buried Stephen, made loud lamentation over him. But Saul began ravaging the church.

[37:32] Let me ask you a question. What do you think Saul was filled with? What's Saul filled with? Flesh. Flesh.

[37:45] Ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women. He would put them in prison. Now, if you would please, in chapter 9 of Acts, now Saul still breathing threats and murder against the disciples.

[38:04] In other words, now Saul still operating fully out of the flesh, went to the high priest, asked for letters to him to the synagogue at Damascus.

[38:16] The flesh engenders hatred, animosity, strife, persecutions, and now he is filled with these things and seeks to act them out.

[38:34] And then, when we come down further in Acts chapter 9, after his conversion account, and I have thought about this, I don't want to become hair splitting, but there is a question as to when did Saul of Tarsus actually become a believer?

[38:57] Can we pinpoint the time? Some think that it was on the road to Damascus before he was taken into the city. Some think that it was after I have my own suspicions.

[39:10] I think this is a wise man opinion so be forewarned. I don't think his conversion took place on the road to Damascus.

[39:21] It's a wise man opinion that his conversion took place sometime during this three days after he saw the risen Christ and neither ate nor drank anything and he is in the house of the street called straight here and Ananias is sent to him and during these three days and three nights here is a man whom I have described as spiritually emotionally psychologically traumatized because of his former life and attitude toward those who embrace Jesus as the Messiah and now he has come into the cold stark reality that he has been totally completely wrong and he's trying to deal with that how could I have missed it how could I have been so blind how could I have been so wrong can't believe I can't believe it and yet he had to believe it because he could not deny the reality of it and the

[40:28] Lord came to Ananias and said in verse 15 I want you to go he is a chosen instrument of mine this Saul of Tarsus to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel for I will show him how much he must suffer for my name sake and Ananias departed and entered the house and after laying his hands on him said brother Saul the Lord Jesus who appeared to you so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit and immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales he regained his sight he arose and was baptized he took food and was strengthened so that you might be filled with the

[41:31] Holy Spirit there was an incredible transition that took place between the time Paul got to the house of this man on the street called straight for three days and three nights he agonized over his old life and his persecution of believers and his commitment and dedication to Phariseeism and how utterly completely wrong he had been and what he was doing was processing information he had already received information from Stephen before he consented to his death but he didn't buy it Stephen gave him powerful proof that Jesus was the Messiah and that was in his mind and he has to deal with it but he hadn't reached a conclusion that affirmed it he was still in a mode of rejection

[42:33] Stephen was just a misguided fanatic and Judaism is better off without him I'm glad he's dead and he had to transfer from that position to those three days and three nights that he was alone working through this information that he had received he could not deny the vision of the risen Lord he could not deny what he told him he knows he heard what he heard he saw what he saw now he's processing the information and what is he going to do he's going to reach a different conclusion and the conclusion is I have been wrong completely I have been ignorantly stupidly wrong and I've got to reverse myself let me tell you something there is no pain to the human psyche like the pain of repentance changing your mind because it is an admission that you have been wrong you have been wrong wrong wrong we live in a world today where nobody needs to be wrong about anything because if there are no absolutes there's no right and there's no wrong everybody can be right whatever position you have doesn't matter it's okay because you're okay and so am I aren't we glad aren't we wonderful nobody's wrong nothing to repent of because nobody's we are guilty of no wrong doing and

[44:12] Saul of Tarsus said I can't countenance that I cannot deny reality I know what I know and I'm responsible for it I've got to change my position and Ananias comes in and says brother Saul the Lord has sent me that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit I told you in our last session I think that just about every believer is filled with the Spirit at the point of salvation and the reason being at the point of salvation at that precise crisis time when we are regenerated in our human spirit and we pass from spiritual death unto spiritual life when that takes place at that time we are preoccupied with God and his son

[45:14] Jesus Christ and what he did on our behalf that consumes our thinking and our being and the only thing that matters to us is getting right with that God that is a form I do believe of the filling of the spirit because when you are in a position to trust Christ and you see the light and it becomes real to you and he becomes real to you that's all that matters that's all that matters that's all you're thinking about and that's why there is often an emotional release sometimes tears sometimes great anguish of soul sometimes great sorrow sometimes great expressions of regret because we have got information that conflicts with where we were before it creates a mental spiritual emotional crisis within us and we become consumed with this

[46:20] Christ who claims to be the Lord of all and voila I suspect that is filling of the spirit that just about every believer has experience how is it determined with what we will be filled our will you are in charge of whatever you concentrate on you are in charge of what you think about you are in charge of what you make the center and the focus of your life we tend to produce in attitude and action whatever it is that dominates our thinking and values we express outwardly what we are filled with inwardly that's just the way we work that's just the way we are filling of the spirit grossly misunderstood grossly underutilized intended to be the norm for every one of

[47:29] God's people may we pray please father if there is one here right now who is seeing that information received is causing them to process that information and perhaps reach a different conclusion and let it be realized right here and now for anyone who has never put their personal faith and trust in Jesus Christ perhaps because you never understood enough perhaps because you've just been putting it off you can with your will make this a decisive time in your own life and all you need do is express the desire of your heart to the God who made you Lord Jesus I believe exactly what the scriptures say about you who you are and what you did and why you did it and

[48:37] I want to count myself among those whom you have regenerated and made new I want to put my trust and my faith for my whole being and my whole future in Jesus Christ because he alone is worthy of it he alone can do with it what needs to be done I just want to be your child I want you to take this life of mine and make of it whatever you want it to be I want to be a Christ focused believer thank you thank you for all that you've accomplished for me through the death burial and resurrection of Christ thank you for the great salvation you've given me dear friend if you've made that your prayer if that is your reality be sure to tell someone someone who cares about you and will be eager to hear those words or talk to me let me know

[49:44]  I've got some literature that will be of help to you thank you father for the truths that we have discovered this morning if anything has been found of the flesh we cannot afford it we pray that it will pass away and come to naught would you take that which is from your spirit and seal it to our hearts and minds that it will be with us till we see the Lord Jesus face to face we pray in his name amen thank you you are dismissed we will gather in front of the church as announced earlier just as soon as you can make your way out there