In this sermon, the preacher discusses the theory of the four temperaments, which suggests that there are four basic kinds of people born with certain temperaments. He emphasizes that when a person has the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit within them, it should manifest in their everyday lives. The preacher believes that the true test of being born again is how one behaves at home. He also highlights the importance of guarding one's mind and filling it with things that are pleasing to God, as it affects one's feelings and actions.

Tonight I've come to share a message with you that I trust will be an inspiration and a blessing. It's one that's based on the Word of God and an analysis of the way in which people operate. I function on a simple premise, and that is that when a natural, everyday, ordinary human being has a supernatural power within him, he ought to be different. You believe that? As a matter of fact, I think the best test of whether or not you're born again does not occur in this building, but in your home. Because if Jesus Christ has done anything for you and for me, it ought to show itself at home. How we are at home is what we really are. We can come here, you know, and put on a good front. But as our children see us, as our partner sees us, that's what we really show. And you see, we shouldn't be just showy Christians. We should be demonstrations of the power of God within us. If a tree has life, you don't have to tell it in the spring, well, it's time to show buds and grow leaves. It just does what life demands. Well, if the Holy Spirit of God is within a believer, then he is going to demonstrate it without even trying. I'd like to show you what makes us tick. And to begin with, Pastor, I need your help. This is a fancy... Will you just grind this up? Well, can we move it up? Or do you have to tilt the whole thing to move it up? All right, let's live dangerously. There's a commission for this. Right. In heaven, I'll sign your check. All right, now this is a diagram. Can everyone see this all right? I want you to... I'll move it up here where you can get a little better picture of it. This is what you really are. This is the real you. Jesus said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Now, the soul is the seed of the will. And the thing that makes us different from animals is we have a will. We don't have to obey God. We're miserable if we don't. But if we choose not to obey God, we don't have to. And that soul, together with the free will that God has given us, makes us different from the animal kingdom. This is the unique part of us that we communicate to our children and through them, successive generations. Now, Jesus said, We're to love the Lord our God with all of these. Now, I'd like to show you what an unsaved person looks like. In symbol form, here we have a little picture of the big eye or the ego of man sitting on the throne of his will. And he is saying, I will do as I please. I will ascend into heaven. I will be the master of my fate. I, I, I. Sounds like a familiar story if you know Isaiah 14. Then, Jesus stands on the outside and he knocks at the door of a person's heart. Well, Jesus doesn't come along and knock like this. Let's understand, we're in a battle for the mind. And the Holy Spirit of God uses these eyes and these ears of ours to penetrate the mind. And whenever you hear the word of God, it's Jesus knocking on your heart's door and saying, Open the door, open the door. Or, whenever you as a Christian hear the word of God, it's the Holy Spirit speaking to us, telling us, This is my body. I have purchased this. It belongs to me now. Walk ye in my ways. Continually, through this vehicle of our mind, one of the most phenomenal mechanisms known to man, man has never been able to duplicate anything as phenomenal as the human mind. And if we, with our will, choose to put in our mind those things that are pleasing to God, it is going to create our feelings. But this man has chosen to disregard God. He is the master of his faith. And so he uses whatever he wants into the eye gate, to his mind. But whatever he puts in his mind will cause a feeling here. Be sure of that. Now, let's suppose this fellow comes to your church. He hears the Gospel message. He's deeply under conviction for sin. And he repents of his sin and invites Jesus Christ into his life as Lord and Savior. Let me show you what happens. Jesus Christ comes in to take over the throne of this man's life. And I'd like to explain something. He does not cease to live. He still has a will. But Jesus Christ is Lord of his life. And please understand that no one accepts Jesus Christ as Savior today and Lord ten years from now when he grows a little bit. Now, it looks like that with many Christians' lives. But that's not what happens. At the moment of salvation, the Bible says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we invite Jesus in, it isn't just to forgive the mess we've made of the past, but it is to become the Lord and Dominator of our lives. And that is conversion. You see, repentance isn't, Lord, forgive me for those lies that I told and for those things that I stole that are bothering my conscience. That is not repentance. Repentance is a turning around from the position of self-will, I will lie and I will steal and I will do as I please, to instead, I will give my life over to Jesus Christ and he becomes the Lord and Master of my life. And every time we assert authority over our lives from that point on, we are reneging, so to speak, on the transaction we made with him. Now, this man is a Christian and when he has received Jesus Christ as Lord of his life to become his Dominator, then a miracle also takes place. He becomes a new creation. I'm going to ask you to say a verse of Scripture with me. I do it boldly because I know in a church like this, you know it. It's one of my favorite verses in the Bible. If you don't recognize the tag when I give it, then when we start saying it together, you'll recognize it and we can all say it together. But I want you to say with me a verse that describes this experience. 2 Corinthians 5, 17. How many of you know that verse? Great! I knew I was in home country. All right, let's say it together. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away and behold, all things are become new. Isn't that a phenomenal verse? When Jesus Christ sends his Holy Spirit into our lives, we become a new creature. We have a new motor within us. You see, the heart of man is the motor of man. All function of the heart or all function of the body is motivated by the heart, not the mind, but by the heart. You see, the heart is the feeling sensation. And scientists tell us that in from our temples and back from our forehead, we have an electronic switchboard, so to speak, which they call the emotional center. That's what Jesus meant when he said, the heart, as a man thinketh in his heart and out of the abundance of the heart, so everything happens. So, we can control this heart by feeding this new nature. He comes in as a baby nature. If you were saved last Sunday, you have a brand new baby nature. Don't expect to act too much like a Christian right away. Why? Because this old fellow has so many entrenched habit patterns set in motion that it won't be long and you'll be acting more like him than you act like him. You say, well, what should I do? Go back to the church and see if I can't get another installment? No. I've gotten an education in the last nine months. Nine months ago, I became a grandfather for the first time. And you know, that is a frightening experience. And I've learned a lot of things. One is that babies haven't changed much in the last few years. They still cry. And they still smell. And you know, they're very demanding. But they all have one thing in common. They need to grow. And they have this insatiable appetite. You know, two o'clock in the morning or two o'clock in the afternoon makes no difference. They want to eat. Now, a baby Christian should do exactly the same thing. Want to eat, eat, eat. Now, what does he eat? He eats that which will help him through the eye gate and through the ear gate primarily. And you will find what you put into your mind will cause you to feel. That's the reason that you feel so great when you've gone to the house of the Lord and heard the Word of God. You don't analyze it and say, am I just having an emotional kick or something? No, no. You're feeding your spiritual nature and he is strong in the Lord. That's one of the reasons many of us who have gone to young people's camps would come away after a week of concentrated study in the Word of God. And we were strong in the Lord. We go back into school in a secular situation. And if you didn't have a continual feeding station and you weren't regular about your your Sunday church habits so that you could continue to supplement your spiritual diet, it wasn't long before your battery ran down spiritually. And you couldn't understand it. Why? Because the Word of God wasn't dwelling in you richly when you were back at school like it was when you were at camp. We need this continual service station. And may I just pause here to point out that that's what the Church of Jesus Christ is doing today. The church is a spiritual service station. We take all the wrecks and all of the accidents and all of the new Christians and all of the old Christians and we feed them the Word of God. And then we send them out into the highways and hedges and the factories and the places of business to communicate the good news that more and more people need to accept Jesus and come to the house of the Lord to feed on the Word of God that this new nature might grow thereby. Which of these two natures? Now I'm assuming everyone in the house on a Thursday night is a born-again Christian. I hope I'm not making an invalid assumption. If you're not, what you need to do is invite Jesus Christ in as Lord and you'll have this same new nature. Now, which of these two natures controls your life right now? You say, well, this one. In some cases it's a big nature because you've been a Christian for a long time and you've quit feeding this old nature. Well, I'll tell you which one controls you. The one you feed the most. If you feed as a Christian, if you feed through the eye gate, the rubbish of this world, and I mean it is getting more and more like trash than ever before. If you feed the news media and the boob tube and the movies and all of the things of the world into your mind, be sure of this, it isn't going to do one thing for your spiritual nature, but it will sure do a lot for your sensual appetites. And I want to point out one thing, that you as a free moral agent decide what you will let your eyes and your ears absorb. Let me illustrate something. Pastor, may I use this as an illustration? May I use it as an illustration of pornographic literature? Now, it isn't. I know I've read this. It's a very fine and excellent paper. I'm flabbergasted you could put out such a fine paper. But that didn't come out the way I meant. It speaks well for this local church. I've read it, he's been sending it to me, and I really appreciate it. But now, as a free moral agent, let's just assume that this is a piece of pornographic literature that used to be against the law. Today you can pick it off any newsstand. And as a Christian, I walk into the newsstand, you walk into the newsstand, and I make a choice, do I not? I can walk over there and I can look at it. But I'll tell you one thing, whether I'm a Christian or not has not one thing to do with the results. If I read pornographic literature, how do you think I'm going to feel? Pornographic. I'm going to have my baser man respond. I have an old nature. Now, some of you may be so wholly sanctified you think this guy is dead. Well, you come and see me afterward and I'll tell you, we'll get into an argument, and before long you'll prove he's very much alive. And every time, every time we put in our minds that which feeds this nature, we only make him stronger to overcome this new nature. Now I have another choice. When I go to bed tonight, I can decide I'm too tired to read the Word of God, program my mind for slumber, and just crawl in and go to sleep. And you know what my subconscious mind will do all night? Your subconscious mind never shuts off, never underestimate its power. You know what my subconscious mind will do? It will mull over all the things that have happened, and if I've read something of a sensual nature, that's what my food will be during the night. In fact, one of the reasons I'm convinced so many Americans are emotional and neurotic and on the verge of a nervous breakdown is very simply because the last thing they do every night before they go to bed is watch the news. That's right. Eleven o'clock news, you know, we've just oriented ourselves. We used to go to bed at a decent hour. Now we have to sit up and watch the eleven o'clock news, you know. And so the bright-eyed guy comes on, you know, and he looks at us through those horn-rimmed glasses and he tells us what a dismal status the world is in. The world news, you have the skyjackings over here and the thuggings and the muggings and the, you know, all the rest over here. And then he says in a cheerful voice, now we'll turn to the national news. So someone up here is being attacked and molested and all kinds of thievery. And then we hear about this gate that's going on in some watered villa in Washington. And we begin to wonder, who can you trust? And people go through all of this. And then now let's have the local news, you know. You hear about someone that was shot down the way and someone whose house was burned down. And all these nice, juicy tidbits. And then they switch to the sports news and you found your favorite team just lost its last game. And so you crawl into bed with all these negative thoughts rattling around. Now, how do you think you're going to wake up in the morning? Depressed, discouraged, despondent. And people wake up all across America the next morning and they say, oh, another day. Hey, may I offer you a suggestion that will be very helpful? I have in my counseling ministry dealt a great deal with depressed persons. God just has given me a very compassionate heart for these needy people. And I have tried experiments with suggesting that every night before they go to bed, they sit down and read a couple of chapters of the Word of God and then bring out their handy little list of ten things for which they are grateful in their life. Always have a list of at least ten things that you're grateful for. And if you couples are having problems in marriage, I can tell you how to change it in two weeks. Just make a list of things you thank God for in your partner. And then go over that list every night before you go to bed. And the last thing you say before you go to sleep is, Lord, I want to thank You for Mary or Bill. I want to thank You for this in their life and that. And do you know how you're going to wake up in the morning? With a bright new hope. It is absolutely cathartic the way this has a transforming effect on your mind. Try it. And you see, the Bible teaches us that we should let the Word of God dwell in us how? Richly in all wisdom. But I'll be sure of one thing. Whatever you let dwell in your mind is going to cause you to feel. Our culture is so brainwashed into thinking that anything we feel like doing, we should do, you know. Boy, that is a lie. There are fellas in jail for doing that. The best way I know to destroy your life is just be a spontaneous combustionist of the feeling variety. Just do anything I feel like. You know what I would do if I felt like it? I would eat everything in sight. I have an insatiable appetite. You know my favorite food? German chocolate cake. I once told someone my vision, my very carnal vision of heaven is I'm going to dive off a diving board into a German chocolate cake and eat my way out. Now that's what I feel like doing. But I know I wouldn't get through the back door if I did. And so I have to deny myself that. There are all kinds of things that we deny ourselves. And the Bible tells us that we're to keep, we're to keep our body in subjection and put off the old man. Now how in the world do we do that? By putting on the new man. By walking in the Spirit. You see, as we feed our mind so we cause this new man in Christ Jesus to react. And I'd like to point out tonight that we have plenty, plenty of equipment and material. I have a diagram here that I want to preach to you. You didn't think I was going to use the Bible, did you? Well, let's turn to the Book of Galatians and I want you to read a passage with me. In the light of this diagram, by the way, in my opinion, this is one of the most important passages in the Bible for Christians to master. Now we should learn the Word of God. And you can't learn the Word of God just by going to church once in a while and listening. Or just sitting. You have to study the Word of God. And I've never known God to use anyone in or out of the local church that didn't study the Word of God. Because if you don't study it, you don't have anything to communicate. And if God is going to use your life and mine, directly or indirectly, it has to be in the battle for the mind. Alright. Now in verse 16 it commands us something. Galatians 5. This I say then, walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Alright, now the secret of the Christian life is in that verse. What is it? Walk in the Spirit. You cannot be miserable if you walk in the Spirit. Alright, let's turn that around. When you're miserable, what does that tell you? You're not walking in the Spirit. Right? Alright, when you're not walking in the Spirit, notice you have a warfare going on. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh and these are contrary to one to the other. So that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Let me show you how that works. Here we have the flesh. Here we have the new nature. Let's keep it simple because I'm not much of a mathematician. Let's suppose that this fella is 21 when he accepts Jesus Christ. How old is this old nature? 21 years old. Let's suppose that was 21 years ago. He's 42 now. That means he's almost halfway through life. And that almost gets further and further away every year. Anyway, here he is at 42 years of age and he's 21 years old in Christ. Now, which of these two natures is the strongest? Depends on which one he fed the most. But he is going to have both of these natures within him and at 42 years of age, be sure of this, he can feed either one. He can feed either one and the one he feeds the most is going to dominate his life. And you will find that these two war one against another. And the only way as a Christian you and I can be happy and successful is to walk in the Spirit. Do you know who the most miserable people in the world are? They're Christians who do not walk in the Spirit. You see, an unsaved person doesn't have this new nature in here reminding him every time he's going contrary to the Word of God. So if you're here without Christ tonight and you say, good night, why do I want to be a Christian? Christians are uptight. I just point out I've met a lot of uptight Christians. I've been uptight. I know what it's like to walk on both sides. I've walked year for years in this man and I know what it's like to walk in this one. And any Christian who's walking under the motivation of the flesh is a lousy illustration of Christianity. But that's not God's will nor God's plan. God's plan is that we walk in the Spirit. Walk in the Spirit as we feed our mind the Word of God and as we yield ourselves to the control of the Spirit. There's going to be a warfare within us. Okay, now look at verse 18. If you're led by the Spirit, you're not under the law. Now, get this. The works of the flesh, that is the manifestations of the flesh, are these adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness. We don't have to go into a long debate about that. Anyone that's motivated by this old man to commit adultery, fornication, lasciviousness and uncleanness, it's obviously, it's the sinful, carnal nature. Idolatry, witchcraft, oh yes, we can see that. Notice this next one. Say that out loud to me, would you? Hatred. Hmm, that's one of those nice, respectable Baptist sins that we don't mention very often. But he lists it in the same class as adultery, fornication. I hope that gives us a new perspective of inner rebellion and bitterness and animosity and unforgiveness that we are prone to harbor. Variance, going around trying to create some variation whether there's no cause. Emulations, wrath, that's hatred. And strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like. By the way, if we didn't read your pet sin, it's covered right there. And such like. Of the witch, I tell you before, as I've also told you in time past, they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Let me point out something here. He's not saying those who occasionally do those things. He's talking about those who as a habit, pattern, and life's motivation do those things. You'll find that unsaved people do those things because they don't have a new nature. Now notice the breath of fresh air in verse 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. And there suddenly you find an exciting concept. There are nine, nine strengths of the Spirit-filled life. Nine strengths of the Spirit-filled life. Love, joy, and peace. Anyone ever been hurt by love, joy, and peace? Don't you enjoy being around people that exude love, joy, and peace? And then long-suffering, that's patience. And then gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control. This is the Spirit-filled individual. This is the individual that is committed to the Spirit of God. And may I point out that this is what God the Holy Spirit wants to do for you and me today. One day on an airplane out of Dallas going to Austin, Texas, I was seated next to a psychiatrist. And I of course wanted to talk to him about Jesus. And the minute I mentioned Jesus' name he became so incensed I thought for a moment he was going to leap off the plane. But when he saw how high up we were he changed his mind. And he instantly got into a heated debate. He just jumped all over me because of the Christians he had met and blah, blah, blah. And he said to me, by the way, he was half plastered. His bloodshot eyes and his breath smelled such that I knew he had had a few before he got on the plane. And then the girl came, you know, one of those half-clad girls that came along with one of those dresses that, well, I'm not sure it is a dress. Like my daughter said, Dad, I think that's just a wide belt. Anyway, she came along and she said, would you men like a drink? And I said, no thanks. And he said, I'll take his. And downed them both. And then when we got into talking about Christ he got so nasty and then turned to me and I could just sense he shifted into a habit pattern. He asked a question that he had probably asked a hundred people before. He said, if you claim to be a Christian, I want to ask you a question. What has Jesus Christ done for you today? How do you answer that? Did he have a legitimate right to ask that question? Drunk as he was, he had every right to ask that question. If I claim to be indwelt by the supernatural power of God, then he ought to have done something different in my life. Have you ever thought about that? What has Jesus Christ done for you today? I'd like to show you what he can do for you today, depending on the raw material you started out with. What Jesus does for us is dependent upon what we are to begin with. And you'll find that we all have a variety of besetting sins. The sin that does so easily beset us. And have you ever noticed that some Christians are all hung up on a sin that is no temptation to us? Isn't it nice to feel self-righteous whenever you see that? I don't understand why that Christian falls into that sin. I never have that problem. Of course, he probably doesn't have a temptation in an area where we have a problem. You see, we all have one. And you know, interestingly enough, it will follow a temperament pattern. I'd like to give you a very quick overview of the four temperaments concept. It will be very quick, and I think you'll find it interesting. And then I'll sum it up by showing you, taking us where we are, God the Holy Spirit is able to lead us out into a full, rich life. For example, the theory of the four temperaments is the best concept or theory of why we act the way we do that's ever been propounded. It's not original with me. It's a little older than I am, in fact. It's 2,400 years old. But this theory is that there are four basic kinds of people that are born this way. You're born with a certain kind of temperament. And it has strengths that we have on the outside of our circle, and weaknesses on the inside. Now, those of you in the back, don't feel bad. I'm going to blow this up in a minute, and you'll be able to see it. And these four basic temperaments, the sanguine, super salesman, the cleric, hard-driving executive, or leader, and the melancholy mystic, and the easy-going, nice phlegmatic, all of these people have strengths and weaknesses. The problem is their weaknesses are so powerful, they overshadow their strengths, and they're rarely able to be used of God unless they walk in the Spirit. And God's use of your life is dependent upon your gaining the nine strengths for your many weaknesses. And I don't care who you are or what temperament you are, whatever your weakness, there's a strength in the Spirit-filled life on a practical, everyday basis. Now, before I go into an analysis of this, let me just give you a couple of thoughts to think about. One is, no one is all one of these. You know, we just don't come out that way. Both your mother and father have made a contribution to you. And since opposites always attract each other in marriage, that's why we have such an interesting adjusting to do, then your children are going to be kind of a composite. But you'll find that the genes that have produced our color of eyes and color of skin and hair and body style and so on, those genes also produce the kind of temperament we have. And that temperament is the raw material from which God will save us by the working of His Holy Spirit. Now, that's one of the things I want you to remember. Another is, if you've been a Christian a long time, you may find it difficult to diagnose your temperament. And you know why? Because the Holy Spirit has already done so much for you. So that today's behavior won't give you a good picture. I have found that unsaved people, I can diagnose their temperament in five minutes. But I know Christians intimately and I still can't figure out what is their basic temperament. And to me that's a thrilling illustration of the Holy Spirit. Another thing I want to warn you, don't use this as a psychological club to examine all your friends. I want you to use this for self-analysis and then maybe to help you understand why other people do what they do. It makes it much easier to get along with them. Okay, first of all, meet my friend Sparky Sandwin. Sparky Sandwin is that effervescent, supersonic, extrovertish salesman type that could sell refrigerators to the Eskimos. In fact, I'm sure he could even sell rubber crutches to the crippled. But this man, this man is a natural born actor and speaker. I mean, he can talk off the top of his head or wherever he speaks and make it sound interesting. Here are some of his strengths. He is very outgoing and personable and responsive to everything around him. He is what I call a people people. If you watch a Sandwin, when he's alone, he's just kind of glum. But the moment he sees a people, his face just sparks up and he just comes to life. And one of the problems a Sandwin's wife has is, why is it he can sit like a big blob of gelatin in the living room chair and then all it takes is the doorbell and he just jumps into action and, you know, he's just a whirlwind of activity. And she thinks, wow, what turned him on? I can tell you what turned him on, a people. Really. Sometimes a bird will do it, you know. They're very responsive to everything around them. By the way, if you have some of these Sandwin people, enjoy their spontaneity and their happiness. I believe personally their major contribution in life is to just spread good cheer. Don't look at all the things they forget to do. Enjoy that. They're carefree. They never worry about the past. They never worry about the future. I have a very dear friend whose life has been a disaster. He had an unhappy marriage. He was saved. That was a difficulty. He lost his son when he was 12 years of age. His wife turned bitter and she re-divorced him. And here we are driving through the city of Portland, Oregon. He's all alone, been single for six years and happy as a lark. And we were talking about the miserable people that come to me and ask for counseling as we were holding meetings and so on. And he turned to me and very spontaneously said, You know, God has been so good to me, I've never had a problem in my whole life. Only a Sandwin would look at life like that. They're super compassionate. You tell this fellow a sad story and he'll break down and cry right there. And they're friendly, enthusiastic. They love to please people. They'll go out of their way to do anything for people. They're just people-oriented creatures. Now, if I could stop there and that's all there was about it, it'd be neat, wouldn't it? By the way, I always give the strengths first. You know, put a little sugar coating on the pill. And when you make up your mind what you are on the basis of strengths, don't be so carnal as to change it when we get to the weaknesses. That's a natural tendency. Here are some of his weaknesses. Number one, he's emotionally unstable. He can not only weep with those that weep, but he can get mad at the drop of a hat. And you step on his toe or you do something and he just blows his cork. He gets red in the face. You've heard the expression, he turns livid with rage. Well, it's Sparky Sandwin. Now, one thing about it, he never carries a grudge. Once he's blown up all over you, he forgives you. And he never carries a grudge. In fact, he never gets ulcers. He gives them to everybody else. He's undisciplined. He just never finishes anything. That's why he's unproductive, always on the move, and usually voted man most likely to succeed in college, but fails in life because he doesn't follow through and finish. He's got a jillion things going. His wife will usually say, our garage is filled with unfinished projects. And he's weak-willed. He's always going to go on a diet, or he's always going to quit doing this, or he's always going to turn over a new leaf. And he's loud and egocentric and very undependable. The only thing you can depend on him to be is late or forgetful or whatever. And exaggerate? I mean, this fellow's a great storyteller. And some of you department superintendents, you love to have Sparky Sandwin go down there to the junior department and tell the kids a story. You know, that is always a calculated risk for several reasons. One is he may forget to show up. Another is he never studies in advance, and so you're just not sure whether it's going to be a Bible story, a Bible-related story, or a parallel story, or something totally different. In fact, I know one Sandwin who had Goliath killing David. This individual is prone to be fearful. He's prone to be fearful in his lifestyle. He has a bold exterior, but underneath there is a basic insecurity. The Holy Spirit of God can do a lot for this kind of individual. I'll show you in a moment. Now meet the second of the four basic temperaments, Rocky Kalerick. I'm sure you've met him. He is an extrovert. He's not as excessive an extrovert as Sparky Sandwin, but he is an extrovert as a rule. He's a natural-born leader and builder and producer. He knows where he's going. He's a goal-conscious person, and he's always got his plow on the ground doing something. One of his strongest characteristics is strength of will. When he makes up his mind to do something, he is determined, and he finishes the job. In fact, Kalericks are usually more successful in life than any other particular temperament. You know why? Not because they're smarter. They're usually given credit for being smarter, but they're not. They just finish what they start, and other people don't. And they're very visionary. He can hardly enjoy a nice rolling hillside, because all he can see is streets and sidewalks and schools and houses and, you know, buildings. Very optimistic. He has no analytical ability about him. He just sees something that needs to be done, and let's go on with the show. And someone says, well, you know, there's a big chasm up there. Well, we'll build a bridge, you know. Somehow it'll all work out. Let's just get on with the program. And very practical. He has no aesthetic appreciation. Music, he can't stand it. And he could never understand why anyone would ever waste money on art. You know, paint, you know, paint the wall. And no frills and anything like that. Everything has to have a utilitarian purpose for him. And very decisive. Makes up his mind quickly. He can make it up wrong quickly, but he makes it up. Very courageous. And he's a leader because he's self-confident. Have you ever noticed people will follow a leader, good or bad, right or wrong? You wonder, why do they do it? In fact, people with a greater intelligence will follow a leader with lesser intelligence. Why? Because he exudes self-confidence and they don't. People will never follow an insecure person. Okay, here are some of his weaknesses. He's unemotional. Cold. Quit crying when he was 11 years of age. Self-sufficient and independent of God and everyone else. In fact, if you don't lead this fellow to Christ by the time he's 11 or 12 years of age, it's very doubtful he'll ever come to Christ unless his whole world collapses. I've had the joy of leading several clerics to Christ over 40, but in every case they had nothing but tragedy before they finally came to Christ. And they're impetuous and proud and domineering in their characteristics. They bulldoze over everyone. And in fact, if you work for a cleric, you know what he wants you to do. He's already told you ten times today. And inconsiderate. These people are so inconsiderate they have no sensitivity to other people. They're thick-skinned. They have natural rhinoceros hide. And when you insult them, they don't even know they've been insulted. And in fact, I have a friend who's a cleric sanguine salesman. A good salesman. He's one of those insurance salesmen that no is not in his vocabulary. You tell him, no, I've already got insurance up to here. He doesn't even hear you. Well, he went to a conference one time. Fine Christian fellow. Went to a conference one time, and he all of a sudden saw how insensitive he was to the needs of his family. So he came home from that weekend and he told the family he was going to be more sensitive. And so at the dinner table that night, he whips out his little notepad and he said, family, the Lord has revealed to me that I'm insensitive to the needs of my family. So I've come home determined and I look at my 15-year-old son and said, son, what are your needs? Two days later, he's in my office and he looked at me rather perplexed and he said, Pastor, I just don't understand my family. They're real neat people. And unforgiving. Now sanguine, you know, he forgets it out of sight, out of mind. Not this fellow. If you bump his car door out in a church parking lot and you did that when he was driving a Model T, he can remember it to this day. In fact, when he's looking down at you in your coffin, he's saying, well, too bad about him. If he only hadn't hit my car back in the 30s. Sarcastic. I sometimes think these people didn't get a tongue, they got a razor blade. They can leave people slashed and bleeding all over but their dominant motivation is anger. I know one woman who used to pick a fight with her husband every Monday morning. And I said, well, there must be some reason that you do this. Oh, she said, I found that I hate housework and the only way I can do it all in one day is to have a big fight with my husband. I get so mad I can clean the house in one day. Or she was bleeding inside. And I'll show you that in just a moment. Okay, now let's take a look at the third of the four basic temperaments. Mr. Melancholy. This is the first of the introvertish type. And I'm going to have to speed up. I notice your clock runs just as fast as mine at home. So I'm going to have to speed up on this. But I want you to notice that they produce many of the great good of the world. They're analytical. They have an analytical type mind. They can anticipate things that are going to happen. And they're super sensitive. They can feel the feelings of other people. You hurt and they'll bleed. And they're artistic, of course. They can appreciate the fine arts. They can see rocks. There's always some clown that comes around with a pile of rocks. And he'll look at it and he'll say, can you see the face on those rocks? You can show that to a cleric. He can stare at it for a hundred years and it'll always be a pile of rocks. But not a melancholy. You show that to a melancholy and why he can see the formation of a face. You give him a little while and he can see two or three faces. He's a super perfectionist. Everything he does is just exactly on. Very meticulous and careful. And, oh, conscientious. They do superb work and when they turn it in they still feel inadequate because it's not perfect. And they're aesthetic music lovers. I remember one dear melancholy lady that had a big poof hairdo on and we were at someone's home and they were listening to a new stereo set. And I was just wondering how she was going to put that stereo set over her big poof hairdo. You know, I never had figured out how they do that. They kind of stand over a fan and let it blow up, you know, and spray it with all that shellac and it just kind of zaps there. But she kind of faked me out. She took those earphones and just slipped them under like this. Now here she is. She's not an exhibitionist or an extrovert, but when the music came on she closed her eyes and she was totally oblivious to the fact that every eye in the room was staring at her. And she, I thought for a minute she was going to lift right off the carpet. She took the earphones off and she said, Oh, that music makes my head come to a point. You couldn't tell in all that hair. Anyhow, they can really appreciate music and they're super loyal. If you have a melancholy friend, you have a friend for life. And they're self-sacrificing. They will give themselves away. No matter what their vocation, they will usually take the hardest role and give themselves to it. And they're very self-disciplined. Here are some of their weaknesses. One, they're moody. Sometimes you meet them and they're happy-go-lucky. And sometimes you meet them and they're just wiped out. And one of the major reasons is because they're negative. They're always thinking negatively and negatively. And let me pause right here. I have just finished writing a book that's going to be out next month entitled, How to Win Over Depression. And I wish I had time to give you some of the thoughts in it, but I don't, except for this one. I can give you a formula that I guarantee if you use this formula, you'll never be depressed again as long as you live. Now, there's not a full-blown guarantee in a day when, today, the number one emotional epidemic in America is depression. You know how to avoid it? First Thessalonians 5.18 In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I have never seen a depressed thanksgiver. And I've never seen a happy griper. And you won't either. You'll find whenever you're depressed, it's because of a negative thinking pattern. And they're prone to be self-centered and everything in life revolves around them. And touchy? Ooh! You can offend a melancholy by looking at it. Or if you don't look at it. And he's revengeful. If you've done something against him, he can mull it over and feel bad about it and mull it over. And they get involved in theoretical, abstract things. It's fun to be a teacher of the Word of God. You go out and you can almost tell the melancholies. Any questions you have, and they'll ask some way out theoretical question that really is immaterial. But they get off on that side track and they don't get the practical application. And they're persecution prone and mental thinking pattern really is foul. And they're unsociable when they're in a bad mood particularly. And super critical. A perfectionist is going to be critical of himself and everyone else. Usually these people are unhappy because of their spirit of criticism and negativism. I was just telling someone tonight, I wrote Spirit, Control, Temperament for melancholy people. And had many testimonies of how their whole thinking pattern could be changed by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And I want to tell you Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit can do a lot for a melancholy. Now let me show you what a phlegmatic looks like. These phlegmatics are the neatest people. They are so quiet, calm, and easy going and never get upset. They make good diplomats. They love peace. And teachers. Who but a phlegmatic could teach kids to read? You know, look, look, look, Jane, Jane, Jane. Jump. Can you see a, can you see a cleric first grade teacher? He'd be leaping out the window. They make good accountants and technicians. They're very calm and easy going. It's not uncommon for a phlegmatic's children to say, I have never seen my father angry. They just don't get angry. They just have a very high boiling point. And they're very efficient and conservative. They're usually the last ones in a society to give up white shirts. And as one told me the other day, I'm so thrilled, he said, white shirts are coming back. They're very organized. Whenever they do something, it's always done neat and trim. By the way, you can tell the phlegmatics by going to work next Monday morning early. And find out who comes early to work. And you'll find that the people that come in about 25 minutes before the hour are usually phlegmatics. They don't like the hurry and the bustle of the freeway and rushing through the gate. Your temperament will be shown by the way you go to work. The melancholies go an hour and a half early to get their work done before the rest of the working force gets there. The phlegmatics go about 25 minutes early to avoid the rush. The clerics get there right at the stroke. They give full bore all day and they're not late, but they won't get there 30 seconds early. And the sanguins are always late. You can just watch that. These people make reluctant leaders. By the way, we have found in our Sunday school they make the best leaders of anyone. If you can get them to commit themselves year after year after year, they'll work in the Sunday school. And other people like to work under them because they're efficient, they're well organized, they're always prepared. The rub is to get them to agree to do it. And they have the neatest sense of humor. They have a dry wit. They can make other people laugh while they're just very casual about it all. They're wonderful people. We'd all like to be phlegmatic except for some of these things. Number one, they're just unmotivated. Blase and spectators, they just don't get involved in anything. I have more sanguine or cleric women come in and say, what do you do to motivate a phlegmatic husband? You know, they just sit around the house like a big bob. It's just a gift with them. And they are prone to be self-protective. If you're a phlegmatic, may I offer you a quick bit of advice? Quit protecting yourself from getting over-involved. I've never seen a phlegmatic in my life who was over-involved. The only thing they're over-involved in is keeping from getting over-involved. They're stingy and selfish. They have their original nickel and they're trying to keep the ones in between. And they're indecisive. It's hard for them to follow through. They make good decisions, but they're so obsessed with not wanting to get involved that it's hard to follow through. And their biggest crime is fear. They worry about everything. In fact, their motto is in nothing give thanks and in everything worry. Now, let me show you what the Holy Spirit of God can do for all of these temperament types. Again, we see these nine characteristics. What does a sanguine need? He's got lots of love, lots of joy, but oh, does he need peace. So the Spirit of God is going to give him peace. And he needs long suffering to finish those many things he wants to start. And you'll find when the Spirit of God fills a sanguine's life, he is consistent and enduring. And he isn't gentle by nature, but he can learn to be gentle. And he gets involved in good service for Christ. And he needs faith and meekness. Oh, how he needs that for his giant ego. And then he needs self-control. You see how Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit can help a sanguine? Well now, in the Bible I find a classic illustration in the Apostle Peter. If ever there was a sanguine, it was Peter. Every time he opened his mouth, he put his foot in it and said the wrong thing. And yet, if you read through the book of Acts, you will find that the same man that spoke more than all the other disciples put together in the Gospels is still speaking in the book of Acts. But in the book of Acts, he is saying something. And the reason is because in Acts he was filled with the Holy Spirit. And then I think of the cleric. What does he need? Well, he needs love, joy, peace. He is long-suffering. He needs gentleness. He needs to get involved in the good acts of serving Christ. He needs faith in the Lord and not himself. And he needs meekness for his haughty spirit. And he is self-controlled. The Holy Spirit of God can do a lot for a cleric. And Exhibit A is the Apostle Paul. What do you think he was? The Bible tells about him before he was saved. He was breeding out threatenings and slaughters and hauling the Christians away to be killed. Nice, friendly type. And that same man, when filled with the Spirit of God, became a flaming evangelist and a man with deep sensitivity and concern for the souls of other people. What about a melancholy? Well, they need love for others. And oh, they need joy and peace. They can be long-suffering and enduring individuals. They are gentle by nature. And they need to get involved in the good acts of Christian service. You know, I found in the Bible that God used more melancholies than all the other temperaments put together because nothing so motivates a melancholy like getting involved in the work of the Kingdom of God. And if you have a problem with melancholy, I suggest you give yourself body, soul, and spirit to Jesus Christ to be used of Him. And He'll transform your life. They also need faith. And they need meekness. They are self-controlled. And as I mentioned, there are many illustrations in the Bible. I used Moses. An 80-year-old, sulking, wasted, emotional basket case. Spent 40 years getting an education and 40 years wasting it tending sheep out in the backside of the desert, sulking because the children of Israel rejected him. And all God had to do to get a hold of him was send a burning bush that wasn't consumed and speak to him audibly. Other than that, it was really easy to get through to him. And here's this 80-year-old wipeout that went on. He went on to become the greatest leader the world has ever known. No one has equaled the feat of Moses in all the annals of history of leading 3 million griping Jews out in the wilderness. It's a phenomenal thing. And what about a phlegmatic? What does he need? Well, he needs love for other people that overcomes his stinginess and selfishness. He is a joyful, peaceful person. And he needs endurance. And he is gentle. He needs to get involved in good acts of serving Christ and quit saving himself. And oh, how he needs faith for his worries and fears. And exhibit A in the Bible is Abraham the phlegmatic. Abraham was so hand-pecked. If you read in the Bible, you'll find Sarah said, go into my maid, so he goes into the maid. Then the baby is born and Sarah says, kick him out of the family. Or before the baby was born. She said, Hagar is ridiculing me because she's pregnant and I'm not. So he had to send her out. And then after the baby is born, she said send him out and he sent her out. You know, just anything Sarah said, he was willing to do. And then you remember, Abraham is the hero that on two occasions wanted Sarah to palm herself off as his sister because he was trying to save his head. And you'll find that his biggest problem was fear. But isn't it interesting, we never think about Abraham as the man that was afraid to serve God. How do we know Abraham today? As the man that believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. You say, how did it happen? The Holy Spirit. You see, the Holy Spirit is able to take the biggest weakness in your life and make it a strength. That's why suddenly we begin to recognize the greatest need that you and I have tonight is to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. You and I are faced with the exciting opportunity of being transformed human beings. Being walking billboards of a new resident power. But I'll tell you, it is not without the Holy Spirit of God. When Jesus said, it is absolutely expedient for you that I go away from you, because if I don't go, the Holy Spirit can come. You know, He was saying, there is something more important than My being here in the flesh walking the earth. And that is that the Holy Spirit come to live in and dwell and energize every believer in every age. And I want to call to your attention, Christian, that you and I have no greater opportunity or more serious responsibility than to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. And one of the reasons I believe there is more action going on nationwide in the churches of Jesus Christ today than ever before is because for the first time, we're beginning to recognize the importance of the Spirit-filled life. I say this to our shame, and I know this is a broad indictment, but as Baptists, we have been retarded in relationship to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I know what it's like to be in the ministry for 15 years and never be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. You know what I thought about the Holy Spirit? I thought He was a member of the Trinity. Well, He is. And I thought He was a doctrine that you preach. And I understood the doctrine, but I never realized that He was someone that wanted to come and fill my life and make me a new creature in Christ Jesus. And I want to tell you that the Holy Spirit is more interested in filling your life than you are in being filled. I used to read reports about how someone was filled by praying all night or fasting or going through some great sacrificial movement. And then all of a sudden, the Holy Spirit revealed to me a simple method on how to be filled. I'd like to close by giving you just five simple steps on how to be filled with the Spirit. I'm sorry I don't have them visualized. I just misplaced it. But I can give them to you. Those of you who are writing them down, quickly write this down. Number one, examine yourself for sin. Examine yourself for sin. Acts 20.28 tells us that let a man take heed unto himself and examine himself. 1 Corinthians 11.27 Alright, examine yourself for sin. What do you do if you find sin? Number two, confess all known sin. 1 John 1.9, very clear. Whenever you see sin in your life, that's an evidence that the flesh is dominant, not the Spirit. So confess it. That's number two. Number three, and this is the vital important one, give yourself completely to God. Many times the Bible challenges us in such words as yield ye your members as instruments of righteousness unto God, as those that are alive unto God. Give yourself, your members, present your body a living sacrifice. We could use Romans 6.11, 6.13, Romans 12.1, and a host of others. Give yourself to God. And may I pause right here to point out that God is a jealous God. I do not believe you and I can be filled with the Holy Spirit if we have one unreserved area in our lives. It's my observation that most Christians are not filled with the Holy Spirit, not because they aren't basically consecrated to God, but because they aren't fully consecrated to God. Yielded completely. We all have strings on our lives. Lord, I'll do this if you just let me have this. You know, like one fellow said, I'm 97% yielded to God, but there's no power in my life. Well, 3% is what it costs him to be filled with the Spirit. And then fourth, after you've yielded everything in your life to God, your vocation, your ambition, your mind, your wallet, your home, your children, everything, then number four, very important, ask to be filled with the Spirit. Ask. You say, don't I have to stay up all night? No. Meet his first three conditions and then ask to be filled with the Spirit. He didn't say I'll fill with my Spirit all those who beg me all night, all those that fast and pray. You know what he said? If you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? Luke 11 verse 13. And then, number five, repeat that formula every time you sin. Every time you sin. I never give an invitation for people to publicly walk down the aisle to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, you may in this church. And that's certainly alright. I don't object if anyone does. The reason I do not is because you don't need to be filled with the Holy Spirit once. You need to be filled and filled and filled and refilled. In Ephesians 5.18 it says, and be ye continually filled. In the Greek it literally means the continuing action. And be ye continually, continually, continually filled. As a matter of fact, and please don't anyone laugh because I don't think this was intended for that purpose. He says, be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be ye continually filled with the Spirit. What does it take to get a drunk? Sober. Absence of liquor. After a while, it just runs through his system. Now that's the simile he's using here. As a drunk, in order to stay drunk, has to keep drinking and drinking. So, for a Christian to be filled with the Holy Spirit on a lasting basis, he has to be continually filled. A man said to me one time, Pastor, how often should I be filled with the Holy Spirit? And I said, every time you're not. You know, I ask to be filled with the Spirit when I go to bed at night. It's the first thing I ask in the morning. And several times during the day, depending on the consciousness of sin. The Bible says, walk in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not an addendum to our doctrine. He is a living person who wants to fill and enrich your life and mine. And the best key I know to a happy life is the Spirit-filled life. Now, I'll give you an assignment to go home in closing. Read Ephesians chapter 5 and you'll find something interesting. The greatest passage in the Bible on family relationships. Wife to husband, husband to wife, children to fathers, fathers to children. It's all right there. And the introduction to that whole thing is be filled with the Holy Spirit. In 27 years of counseling over 3,500 people, many of them for marriage problems, I have yet to counsel Spirit-filled couples. I've counseled some folks who said, well, you know, we used to live that way and we didn't have these problems. Spirit-filled people live Spirit-filled lives. Let's bow together for prayer. With our heads bowed and our hearts open before God, as you look into your own heart tonight, will you answer this question honestly? Am I a Spirit-filled Christian? If you're not, let's follow that simple formula. Number one, examine your heart. Is there some sin that you've not committed or that you've not given to God? Some habit? Some thing? Some desire? Some person perhaps? Confess it. Now, yield yourself completely to God. Just say, Lord, I want You to have everything in my life, and particularly that thing that you have been most reluctant to give Him. Give Him that. Your marriage, your children, your future, your vocation, everything. Now ask to be filled with His Spirit. Father in Heaven, we thank You so much for giving us the Word of God and its clarity. We thank You for the opportunity of knowing Jesus and for the power of the Holy Spirit. And we just pray that You'll apply these principles to each of our hearts as we have need. Father, we commit unto Thy keeping every soul in this room for the perfection of Your will to the glory of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.