Living Life In The Holy Spirit

Transcript

Alright, thank you very much and hello again radio friends. How in the world are you? You doing alright today? This is your good friend, Bob Cook, and I’m glad to be back with you for another look at the Word of God and we’re walking around these days in the Book of 1st Thessalonians. Catherine Marshall, while she lived, founded the work called The Intercessors, and it’s a group of people who voluntarily band together to pray for the needs of others. They have a little publication that comes my way every other month or so and in this one is the story of the mother of Saint Augustine. Her name is Monica and her marriage was difficult because her husband, Patricius, was a non-believer given to frequent bad temper outbursts. They had two sons and the oldest one, Augustine, was especially gifted and brilliant but rebellious and had wanted nothing to do with the faith of his mother.

Well Monica began to pray every day, prayer when alone and twice each day in her church. Finally the first breakthrough came with her husband as she prayed and was patient and lived Christ before him, finally gave his heart to Christ. He became a believer only months before his death. By this time Augustine was in total rebellion, his brilliant mind was intent on learning and he said “my spirit was wholly intent on learning restless dispute. I had my back to the light.”

Nine years passed finally he goes to Rome mother keeps praying every day and engages the help of others as well in prayer. He got very ill in Rome, but finally recovered all the while rejecting Christ and he went to Milan and become acquainted with Ambrose, the statesman Bishop of that city. And the warfare inside of Augustine now began to intensify. He writes that his prayer became, “Give me chastity but not yet” (Laughs).

One day while talking with a friend he unexpectantly burst into tears. He returned to his house picked up a volume of Paul’s letters open it and was stabbed by these words “not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provisions for the flesh and the lusts thereof.” Soon afterwards he wrote to Ambrose asking to be received as a convert and he was baptized on Easter Sunday. Augustine at that time was 32-years of age.

A year later Monica now 56-years-old grew ill while traveling with her son and her grandson and finally she passed away. Her mission to her family was completed. A lifetime of prayer dedicated to seeing to it that God saved her boy. The key factors, this writer goes on to say seems to be persistence. She prayed everyday–relationship with her church. She used the worship of her church and was very active in it.

Tears, there was no holding back of emotions and the prayers of others, Monica sought the help and prayers of others knowing there was extra power in the prayers of many and trust. Her trust was always in God, trust in His timing, trust in His power and trust in His love.

I thought there was a good reminder to some of us who may have been praying for a good long time, someone who is unsaved, or someone who have strayed, someone who is difficult, or maybe even impossible as the saying is. Don’t give up intercession praying for others and get the help of others to pray with you for those whom you are burdened. Mother’s Day is just around the corner and all of you Christian mother and grandmothers hang on and pray. You are God’s anchor in the ship of life and you hold things steady while the waves are tossing and while people are on their way to a decision. So keep on praying and keep on believing. Let me encourage you to do that.

Turn with me the 1st Thessalonians Paul said “Our gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance as you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake he became followers of us and of the Lord having received His word in much affliction with joy with the Holy Ghost”. So that you became examples to all to all that believed Macedonia and Achaia.

Now we talked about that word “word”; you need something to say. Many a persons a poor witness because he doesn’t know what to say about the Lord Jesus and I think I gave you a few verses that might help you nail down the key truths of the gospel, didn’t I? Now we talked about power and that’s the same word that you used in Romans 1 “The gospel is the power of God unto salvation you shall receive power,” said our Lord same word dunamis we get our word dynamite or dynamic from it.

It’s the idea of a power that never burns out, never gives up, God’s power in power, God’s power. Then he said “It came to you our gospel came to you in the Holy Ghost”. The believers’ new testament of believers didn’t make a crusade of this matter, but they were always aware of the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. As you read the record you’ll find the words, “Peter full of the Holy Ghost said,” “Saul full of the Holy Ghost said.” There was a conscious dependence upon the fullness of the Holy Spirit of God.

I think we need to get back to that these days. Don’t you agree dear friend? Don’t be afraid of fanaticism. Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse had a good saying along that line. He said “fanaticism is not too much religion, it’s too little brains”. If you stick to the Word of God and believe what it says plainly and tie your life to what you know to be the will of God and open you heart voluntarily by faith to the blessed Holy Spirit who comes in to dwell when you get saved. Let him occupied every room in your heart house. My friend, you’re going to know something of the power of God as manifested by the Holy Spirit God.

Jesus said when He has come He will convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment. The Holy Spirit of God working and speaking and living through you has a convicting effect upon people around and shows them their need of Christ in the Holy Ghost. How do you make this real? My interest always is trying to put shoe leather on these truths so we that we can apply them.

You’re witnessing for the Lord Jesus Christ or perhaps you don’t have any opportunity to say anything that is even remotely religious and you have to live through a busy day. How do you live it in the Holy Spirit. I think it’s a matter of conscious dependence upon your Lord every moment of the time. I used to tell the students at the college, “Pray your way through the day” and I had a little routine that I went through there, “Pray when you wake up. Say good morning Lord, instead of good Lord, Morning”. And pray before you greet your roommate with a loving snarl. And pray before you start your first class and pray before you engage even in a casual conversation in the hallway.

And pray before you go on a date, and pray before you make a decision, and if you’re in business pray before you go to the office, and then pray before you start your first task of the day and as the day goes on every time you turn to anything new pray that God may guide you. Pray before you answer the phone, you don’t know who it is on the other end. Pray before you sign a contract, God has already read the fine-print. Pray before you open a letter you don’t know if it’s a check or a bill, there’s difference. Pray before you make these decisions in life. Oh, yes God can guide you.

I remember so clearly my conversation with a friend whom I met in San Diego after an absence of some years, I hadn’t seen him for several years and to greeted him we sort of talked old times and I said, “Hey, it’s wonderful to see out here. What are you doing now?” Oh, he said, “I’m selling insurance.” Why? I said, “The last time I saw you working for Bechnet company back in Ohio.”

Yes, he said, “That I, the Lord led me out here and I’m”, well I said, “How are you getting along? Do you have to call cold turkey or do you get any leads? Oh, he said, “I get some leads and I developed some others” But Bob, he said, you know what I do he said, “I, every morning before I go out calling I spread all of my prospect cards out on the floor of my office in a semi-circle” and then he says, “I get down in the middle of that semi-circle and I pray Dear Jesus guide me today and I pray until God gives me some idea of who to go to and I do and He blesses me” and he smiled broadly.

I looked at him he was well-dressed, he was driving a fine car, as I recall it was brown Cadillac and he was feeling no pain. Tell me have you ever consciously depended on the Holy Spirit of God as many as our led by the Spirit of God they are the son’s God, says Paul in Romans 8. And learn, won’t you beloved, consciously to depend upon the Holy Spirit to guide you at home so that you don’t wound spirits by careless words.

To guide you in business so you make the right choices. To guide in selling so that you will have the right approach and the right closing of a deal so you’d get the order. To guide you in planning your life, to guide you in making decisions of the Holy Spirit of God dwells within you, He wants control your life, let him. Let Him do it, pray and by faith receive God’s guidance.

I’ve noticed one thing that when I asked for the Lord to guide me, the next step is to get going. It’s pretty hard to steer a Mack truck that’s standing still, have you ever tried that? If you’re not going anywhere it’s pretty hard for God to guide you. And so you pray in faith and trust your Lord and then get going the best you know how and He will indeed guide you. Says the Lord, “Shall guide the continually make that thy bones should be like a water guide whose waters fail not”. Oh yes, He’ll guide you if you let Him.

In the Holy Ghost means constant, conscious, dependence upon the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, letting Him fill every room in your heart house with Himself. Then it says came in much assurance, it’s an interesting word, “much assurance” it’s here, three other places it’s called “full assurance” it’s a Greek word plerophoria which means full, jammed full running over. Much assurance, it’s so much assurance that it’s just spilling over.

As a matter of fact this whole matter of successful communication of the Gospel is not so much an effort as it is a divine spillover of what is in your own heart. We cannot, said Peter, “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” we can’t help it. You can tell us not to but we can’t help it.

Bob Pierce used to tell the story of the man who in the old days when the trains were running, he took a trip on a Pullman car overnight to somewhere and as he stepped into the lounge there he ran into a person whom he hadn’t seen for some time and in the meanwhile he’d been converted and became a Christian. And so he greets him, and finally said, oh he said, “I’m so glad to see you. I haven’t seen you since I was saved. It’s so wonderful the Lord save me and took away my sins”. He begun to sing, “what a friend we have in Jesus”, you know.

Well, his friend cautioned him and he said, “Listen, there’s people trying to sleep here you don’t want to be too loud.” Oh, he said, “I know it. I know it. It’s just I get so happy when I think how the Lord lifted me up and save me and forgave my sins and made me a new creature”, Oh he said, “It’s great”. He began to sing again. “What a friend”, you know.

Well, well about that time they, the porter put his face through the green curtains that formed a doorway and he said, “Sir, if you can keep it quiet please have a little consideration for the guests and keep it quiet but if you can’t bless God I’ve got it too.” (Laughs). You know sometimes communicating the Gospel is just a blessed spillover, let that be true in your own life beloved today.

Dear Father today, Oh may we trust thee and have thy divine guidance every step of the way in Jesus name I ask it. Amen.

Till I meet you once again by way of radio, walk with the King today and be a blessing!