Are You Living a Spirit Controlled Life?

My name is Bob Anderson and I'm glad to be with you these few minutes. If you happen to be in the wrong workshop, you can get up and leave and you won't hurt my feelings. This workshop is going to be dealing with the Holy Spirit in your life and it'll probably be a little bit different than other messages that you've heard on the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

I approach it a little bit differently, give you a little bit different twist and hopefully the Lord can teach you a thing or two from it. Let's open our time together in prayer. Father, I thank you for each one that's here.

Thank you that you brought us to the Glen and we pray that you'd be our teacher. Make clear to our hearts what we need to do, what we need to apply. Lord, we've heard so many things this week together but you know what you want to put your finger on, to change our lives to be more like the Lord Jesus.

So we commit that to you and trust you to do it. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, I went to Oklahoma University between 1965 and 1970.

I was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and I ran track in high school and OU is the only school that would give me a scholarship to run. So God in his sovereignty knew I needed to go there. I wasn't that good and at the time Oklahoma, U had kind of a crummy distance running program.

They've since improved greatly. So by the skin of my teeth, I was able to get a scholarship to OU and ran there several years. After I graduated and spent a couple of years in the army, the Lord led for me to come to Kansas State University to be the BSU director.

On my way up, I just knew that God wanted me to scrape the OU sticker off my car and because I was, you know, joining another big eight school and so I thought much about it and finally did that and of course had to replace that with a Wildcat sticker. And I asked God to forgive me. And I learned that I had committed the unpardonable sin at that point because he said no.

But no, he forgave me and now I'm a purple Wildcat and it took me about, I think, about four or five years to really change loyalties. Although of course I always root for OU when they're not playing K-State. But I just have to confess to you that I'm a Wildcat fan now.

But I'm glad to be with you. God has so blessed over the years at Kansas State and I really feel a part of the OU gang. My junior year in college was our first year to come to the Glen and it's been a tradition ever since.

And I remember Max getting a few of us together and just praying about coming. And we, of course, no one had been except Max and we didn't know what was involved. But God really met us here.

We brought two bus loads and prayed. Many people didn't have the money to come and we prayed in the money and spent many hours in prayer before we came. And God really did a work in our lives.

And I remember, in fact, when I was here, I came with some attitude problems. I had really been comparing myself with other people. And I felt like I had come out on the short end of the stick when God passed out abilities and gifts and all that.

And I had some problems with jealousy. And I remember just out on the lawn getting that right with God. And that's a major step in my own life.

And I hope that God is really meeting you here. And I know many of you have some needs and things you struggled with. And the Lord is faithful to minister to you.

I'm going to have to take a drink occasionally, mainly because the air is thin and I run out of breath. I've had a little cold. If you have your Bible, turn over to Ephesians 5.18 and we'll look at probably the most popular or well-known verse on the fullness of the Spirit.

The Apostle Paul says, And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. It's a command. It's not optional to us.

There's many things we could be filled with. We could be filled with rock music or we could be filled with sports. I lived for sports for many years, athletics.

We could be filled with trying to cultivate friendships. We could be filled with bad habits. We could be filled with some very good things, noble causes.

But there's one thing that is very clear in the Scripture, and that is we are to be filled with the Spirit of God. Now, the reason I think Paul said don't be drunk with wine is because in that time of history, wine was a very popular drink. In fact, to get a clean, pure drink of water in that part of the world was difficult to come by.

Water was not clean. Of course, even now you have to get typhoid shots to go to many places of the world to drink water. Max, myself, and a couple other fellows went to Nigeria and to Kenya last summer.

And everywhere we went, we had to check out the water before we drank it. And we had to suffer through typhoid shots. And many places of the world, water is not pure to drink.

In fact, most places of the world, we're very fortunate in America to have pure water. And so Paul very naturally said, you know, because wine was such a popular drink, most families drank it, he knew there was a lot of excesses. And he said, no, look, don't get drunk with wine, but here's what you need to do.

That is to be filled. A better word may be to be controlled with the Holy Spirit. And that's for me, and that's for you, and that's for every believer.

And what is the Holy Spirit? Well, it's the very presence of Christ. All that Christ is is in the person of the Holy Spirit. You look at the life of Jesus, his love, his power, his victory, his compassion, his authority and teaching.

All of these are ours personally in the presence of the Holy Spirit. And, you know, I was thinking about this yesterday about what it really meant to be controlled by the Spirit. I have a little boy that's six years old and he's sick right now.

He's been sick about four or five days. He gets a fever, it goes up, and they can't figure out what's wrong with him. Sandy's taken him in for a test.

They've drawn blood. They've had throat cultures. And I talked to Sandy yesterday and they still can't quite pinpoint what the problem is.

And, you know, I'm just never too far away from thinking and praying for David. He just kind of keeps coming back to me. And, of course, there's sometimes I may be talking to someone else, I may be not consciously thinking about him, but I come back constantly to thinking and praying for David.

And, you know, when we're walking in the Spirit, we're just never too far away from the presence of God. And as we walk in his fullness, there'll be that coming back throughout the day. Even as you wake up at night, the things of God will be on your heart.

Now, before, actually, when Paul wrote this, it was 30 years after Jesus walked on the earth with his disciples. And if you can imagine the experience the disciples had, they listened to his teaching. They saw the miracles.

They walked with him. They saw him walk on water. They saw him not only perform miracles like that, but saw him perform miracles in raising the dead and casting out demons.

They saw his power and evangelism, remember, when he met the woman at the well. And so many things. And they observed about his life.

But all of this training and exposure to the very Son of God did not fully equip them for future service. In fact, at the end of Christ's time on the earth, those men remained defeated and frustrated and fearful. And one thing was lacking.

And as you recall in Acts 2, Jesus told them to go to Jerusalem and wait. And sure enough, the power of Christ himself and the person of the Holy Spirit came upon them. And you know that today we have the same things available to us that those early disciples did in the first century when God did so much through their lives after they were filled with the Spirit.

Power and evangelism, power and prayer, compassion, wisdom, all of these things we have available to us today. In fact, what did they have available to them? Well, they had the power of the Spirit. They had prayer.

They didn't even have the written Word of God. It was they had the Old Testament scrolls. It wasn't even really bound together available to them.

We have the written Word of God. But what's the difference? Well, we're just different people than they are. Not the same commitment.

Not the same loyalty, drive in our life to walk with Christ. How many of you have seen the movie Gandhi? Some of you have. It's an amazing story on a person that lives by conviction, by principle.

And as I observed his life, I thought of my own life and those of many Christians that are so shallow in how we live by conviction and by principle. And here's a man that did not even have the Spirit of God indwelling his life and yet gave his all. He died for what he believed in.

And, you know, people all over the world today are dying for what they believe in. The IRA in Ireland, the Palestinians, the Iranians and Iraqians are shedding their blood. Communism.

In all over the world, people are dying for causes. What's the difference? Well, they're dying for a wreath that perishes. And in Gandhi, in all his humanity, as I observed that movie, I thought this is the epitome of what human nature can produce.

Human nature probably cannot do any better than Gandhi. And yet what he lived for, because the Spirit of God did not indwell his life, it's perishable. And we, as Christians, live for a wreath that does not perish.

The things that we're involved with are going to stand the test of time. And I hope that excites you because throughout eternity, men and women are going to be enjoying God and the things of God because you are faithful and you allow the Holy Spirit to live through you. Now, let me just make a couple of comments and then I want to ask you some questions.

Many people think that the filling of the Spirit is just an event. And you've heard this and I've heard this. In fact, I've even said this.

Well, I was filled with the Spirit back at such and such a time. And, you know, kind of a point in time that they were filled with the Spirit. Let me give you a different slant on this.

I think the question that we should ask ourselves is not so much have we been filled with the Holy Spirit, but rather are we filled with the Holy Spirit? That is a much more significant question to us because when we became a Christian, Scripture teaches us in Romans 8, I believe verse 9, the Holy Spirit came upon our life, came into our heart when we became a Christian. In other words, we have the Holy Spirit in our heart and all that Christ is is available to us. So the question is not have we been filled.

See, that's the trademark of a Christian. Whether or not a person is a Christian is dependent upon whether the Holy Spirit indwells their life or not. If the Holy Spirit indwells a person's life, they're a child of God.

If he does not, they are not. And so the question is, are we filled? And the idea is in a continuous event. Galatians 5, 16 says, but I say walk in the Spirit and you'll not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

It's a walk. John 7, 37 and 38 says, if any man is thirsty, Jesus is speaking, if any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture says, from his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.

A river is a continuous flow and as the Holy Spirit indwells our life, there'll be a continuous flow of the living Lord in and through our life. Now, if we're commanded to be filled or controlled by the Holy Spirit, how do we know if we are? I was thinking about that question last year. How can I evaluate if I'm walking in the fullness of the Spirit? We're commanded to be.

And so I went to the Scripture and I believe the Lord gave me a few thoughts on this. And I want to share these with you. These are some questions that we can ask ourselves to help maybe focus in a little bit more clearly if we are walking in the fullness of the Spirit.

Now, these are just a few questions. Number one, do you have a growing awareness of God's great love for you? Romans 5, 5 says, for the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us. The love of God has been poured out within your heart and my heart through the Holy Spirit that was given to us.

And as we are walking in the Spirit, walking in his fullness, we'll be aware of that love because that's a part of the Holy Spirit's work in our life that we experience the love of God. The love of God has been poured out within our heart. Romans 5, 5. Now, do you respond to that love that God has for you? You know, how do we respond to human love? Well, any number of ways.

How I respond to my wife's love is to want to get more time with her. And I would hope that every one of you have that time each day that you sit at the Lord's feet to just enjoy him. You know, Skip Gray spoke the other night.

The first time I heard Skip was in Fort Worth in 1968. And I don't remember anything at all about the message except one thing. And that I came away with.

And that was that I don't have a quiet time just to learn information or to read through a calendar through the year or because it's the thing to do in the BSU. It's a requirement for my Bible study group or any of that stuff. The reason I meet with God is because I just love him.

I just love him and want to enjoy him. And all those other things are fine. You know, have something to share.

You know, would you get out of your quiet time and all that? Well, that's just kind of additional gravy. But the reason is because I just love God. You know, sometimes our quiet time gets dry.

And that has been so sustaining to me that the reason I meet with the Lord each day is just because I love him. Not because he's going to bless me or all this other stuff. I'll be blessed, sure.

But the reason is because he loves me and I love him. Now, the second question, does sin deeply grieve you? Does sin deeply grieve you? John 16, 8 says, and when he comes, he will convict the world of sin. Now, Jesus is speaking of the Holy Spirit.

When the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world of sin. And, you know, as we're walking with the Lord and we sin, boy, if the Holy Spirit is really at work in our life, sin will really grieve us. Now, I'm not talking about when you go off and just feeling like a crummy bum and, you know, wallowing in the gutter of guilt.

I'm talking about that godly sorrow that comes when we know we failed, when we failed God. A while back, something happened, and this was several months ago, and I had offended this person. And, boy, it was amazing how I sensed that I came under conviction.

And I realized how wrong I'd been. Until I cleared that up, I carried that godly sorrow. And then when I confessed it to God and to this individual, it was amazing how the Lord freed me.

Now, here's what happens. When we're walking in the Spirit and we maybe say something we shouldn't or have an attitude that we know is wrong, that conviction will come. Now, we have a choice.

We can either make that right and confess it or we can subdue it and push it aside. You know what happens when we don't confess sin and get that right? It's like a plane smoothing off our fine sensitivity. It's kind of like sandpaper.

You know, when you first get sandpaper out of a sack, it's rough and it's coarse, and it does the work it's supposed to do to sand something off. But as you use it, it gets duller and duller, and eventually, it's not much help. Well, if we don't obey God in getting sin confessed and getting our relationships right with each other, we get duller and duller to the Spirit of God speaking to us.

And eventually, we can get so dull we won't even hear His voice. And it's very dangerous not to confess sin and to get that right with God. Now, let me just share with you that each one of you need to decide who your primary audience in life is going to be.

And a lot of you have not nailed that down yet because the facts are you can always get away from people. You know, we can escape people. I travel quite a bit, and a lot of times, I am in airports, and in airports, there are magazine and newsstands.

And at times, I'm very tempted to go flip through the magazines and see out of curiosity what's in them. And a lot of them are not very edifying. And I have had to decide who my primary audience in life is going to be.

And you need to decide that because you can always get away from people. You can always do that. I remember one time, I thought I was away from people.

I was sitting in the barber shop. And in a lot of barber shops, they have Playboy magazines and all this stuff. And there was one setting a couple of seats over to me.

It was real early in the morning, and I was really tempted. I had my burst pack in my pocket. And, you know, that Playboy magazine was sitting two chairs over.

And I was, you know, really kind of going through this struggle. And I finally decided, God, I really want to please you. So I pulled out my burst pack and started reviewing my verses.

Well, the barber had been working on this fellow, shaving him. And they put a big towel around their face and get his face all warm and everything. And right after I made that decision, pulled out my burst pack, they pulled the towel off this guy, and it was the head deacon in our church.

And I went, thank you, Lord. But sometimes we think we're away from people. We're really not.

But, you know, you need to decide who your primary audience in life is going to be. And that may be a decision you need to decide this week. Are you really going to live before God primarily? And that's such an important decision.

If you don't make that decision, it's just a matter of time before you're going to fall. Because you can always get away from people. Okay, number three.

And just a question to ask yourself. Is your life explainable in terms of God? The Bible teaches this in Acts 1.8. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you'll be my witnesses in Norman and in the surrounding community and in all over the world, wherever you live.

And see, when the Holy Spirit comes upon our life, we have his power. And if we are walking in the fullness of the Spirit, we will be experiencing the power of God. Now, let me ask you a question.

The last, let's say the last, oh, month. If we passed out three by five cards, and I ask you to just relate two or three incidences that the Spirit of God worked in your life or through your life in real power in a way that you just wouldn't have done it in the energy of the flesh. You know, we can kind of hack through the Christian life in the energy of the flesh.

But I'm talking about the Spirit of God working in your life. Would you have anything to say? And you know, so often we could go through a whole year and summarize what God had done in our life on the back of a postage stamp. And what a tragedy.

If we are walking in the Spirit, God will be working in our heart, working through us as a river of living water. Now, we may go through some dry times, okay? All of us go through those. I remember my last semester in college.

You know, it was one of the most driest times I'd ever had. I wasn't getting anything out of the word. I looked at my life.

I didn't see any sin or rebellion. But it was just dry. And I remember spending a little time with Gene Moore.

Some of you know Gene. And asking him about that. And he said, friend, I'm going through the same thing.

And just hang in there and the blessing will come back. Just hang in there and trust God. And eventually that blessing of his presence will come back.

So we have to go through dry times, sure. But as you look over the past few weeks, months, is your life explainable in terms of God in your life? Or is it just explainable in you living in the flesh, in the energy of the flesh? Okay, number four, question number four. Is your primary concern when you make a decision, what is the Lord's will? Is your primary concern when you make a decision, what is the Lord's will? John 16 verses 13 and 14 says, but when he, the spirit of truth comes, he will guide us in all truth.

And that's part of what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives. He's guiding us in truth. Now, do you sense his guidance? And is your concern, Lord, what do you want me to do? See, the Holy Spirit is guiding our lives.

And are we alert and sensitive to that? Now, what about the decisions you make in life? How you spend your summer, even how you spend a weekend? I remember the other day I got up on Saturday morning and I had to run down to the post office and coming back, I had some time Saturday afternoon. And I just prayed, Lord, what do you want me to do this afternoon? There are a few things I could do. And the impression came, help David learn to ride his bicycle.

Well, we've got him this bicycle and he's six years old and about ready to start riding it. So I thought that's a good idea. And we had a great time.

We went out to a little gentle sloping hill in the city park and went to Hardee's for Coke afterwards and had a great time. But see, I had this block of time and I just said, Lord, what do you want me to do? And what is your concern when you have to make decisions that affect an amount of time, that affect relationships, that affect your money? Really seek God because he's given us his spirit to direct our lives. And as you're walking in the spirit, you're going to be sensitive to his direction.

Okay, number five, does your life have liberty? Does your life have liberty? Second Corinthians chapter three, verse 17 says, now the Lord is the spirit. And where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Now, how about your life? Are you in bondage to fears or relationships? And you just feel all bound up and kind of like a prisoner? Or is there a sense of liberty to your life, of freedom in Christ? You know, Christ, when he came, he broke down the walls and the barriers. Now, I'm not talking about growing in the Lord and maturing. I have a little three-year-old and she has to obey the rule of not going out in the street.

So in a sense, she's bound to that rule. But for a three-year-old, I have given her freedom. You know, she can move around the yard and around the house and all that.

There are certain things that we're not at the point of in our own maturity that is a process of growth, okay? But I'm talking about those things that we know we should be having victory in and we're a slave. We're in bondage. Oh, the Holy Spirit wants to free us and give us liberty in Christ and to tear down those barriers and those walls that are keeping us from being what Christ wants us to be.

And there may be some things that you need to get with the Lord on and say, Lord, I'm a slave to this. It's dominating my thought life, my prayer life. And seek him because as he indwells your life, he'll combat Satan directly and give you freedom.

He really will. And I'd encourage you too if there's some things that you really need counseling on to seek someone out. Maybe it's fears or rejection or comparison with others or jealousy, areas that you just can't get victory on.

Seek someone out that can really talk through that with you because God wants us to be free from the things that enslave our life. You know, I was thinking recently about Paul and Silas in Acts 16 and they were in prisoners in the Philippian jail and they were in the innermost prison and locked, strapped against the wall. Their arms were in straps and their legs and, you know, from the world's viewpoint, they were a prisoner.

But who was really the prisoner? Well, I think the Philippian jailer was. He was the real prisoner. So we're not talking about circumstances in life here.

Circumstances may be very difficult for us, okay? But we can still be free in Christ. And as you recall, when Paul and Silas were released from their chains through the miracle, the Philippian jailer all of a sudden realized it wasn't those guys that were prisoner, he was the prisoner. And he said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? See, he wanted freedom.

So Christ sets us free and when we are walking in the Spirit, we will have a sense of liberty about our life. Any question about that so far? I'm kind of getting your lunch and everyone ready to eat. Yeah? You said, like, get rid of, like, jealousy and, like, all the sins.

How do you keep them out? Well, the way that helps me, let's say the area of jealousy. And let's say we feel that we're really bound, that we just compare ourselves all the time with people and you get around someone and you think, oh, man, I can't measure up to them. And I'm not talking about character things.

You know, we should desire to have godly character and we can desire that in the lives of others. But I'm talking about things that we compare ourselves on that maybe we're not at that point yet in our life. What I like to do is, for one, I go to the Lord and confess that I have sinned in comparing myself and in being jealous and that's wrong.

Because Christ is all I need. I can do all things through Christ. So I confess that and I believe and ask the Lord to tear down the stronghold that has bound my life in that area.

And I say, Lord, the devil has got some access here to my life and I go before him in the name of Jesus to tear down that stronghold. But that's not all I do. There's a third very important thing.

We need to build a stronghold of righteousness. And that's a lot of times the missing link. We may go to the Lord and ask him to help us get that out of our life.

But we need to build a stronghold of righteousness through memorizing scripture in that area. For instance, jealousy, memorizing verses on the faithfulness of God. And God is our strength.

We don't have to be jealous of someone else because Christ is all we need. And so to take positive steps to build that fortress, that godly quality of. Okay, number six.

Does your life bring glory to God? Does your life bring glory to God? John 14, 16. Jesus is speaking of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus says, and he shall glorify me.

For he shall take of mine and disclose it to you. You see, part of the Holy Spirit's role is to glorify Christ. And as the Holy Spirit lives in us, then our life should bring glory to God.

And so we have to ask that question. Is my life bringing glory to the Lord? And, you know, I was just thinking, for some reason it's not working. Are you plugged in? It's plugged in.

Oh, okay. You know, a way I like to look at my life is draw a circle and put Jesus in the center of it. And I say, Lord, do you have access to every area of my life? And I'll think of the different areas.

Sports, possessions, relationships, school, friends, music, and others, eating habits, sleeping habits, reading habits. Some people are, I know a grown man that's a deacon in a church, and he's totally bound to paperback books and on space and the future and all this stuff. And so I ask myself, Lord, do you have access to every area of my life? And I think about those different areas.

What about sports and competition? Am I kind of controlling that and kind of keeping that from you? Some people have problems with clothes. Boy, they can commit this and that to the Lord, but when it comes to their clothes, that's kind of their thing. And they build a little barrier there.

And Jesus desires access to every area. Okay, and then the last question on just helping us evaluate if we're walking in the fullness of the Spirit, is His fruit, singular fruit, being produced in your life? Is His fruit being produced in your life? Of course, the verse on that is Galatians 5, 22 and 23, that the fruit of the Spirit is love and joy and patience and kindness and what else, goodness, faithfulness, self-control. Right, and see, if we're walking in the Spirit, boy, Jerry Bridges, it was such a key point this morning talking about our different personality types, and we like to gear in on one or two.

If we're bubbly, then we, that being joyful is, but no, we need to, all of those fruit should be being produced, being built and matured in our life. And as we're walking in the Spirit, more and more that fruit will be perfected. But, you know, and that'll take place.

These trees out here, beautiful trees, you know, the environment for their growth is just right, isn't it? Because they're healthy looking. And I know in Kansas, we're known for the wheat state. You know, the farmer just doesn't go out and throw the wheat out on the ground.

He prepares the soil and discs it up and puts nitrogen on it, and whatever else he does, and then he plants the seed and it grows. And if the soil has the proper nourishment and is prepared, then the fruit grows. And our life is the Holy Spirit lives in us.

In His fullness, the fruit grows and matures. And each one of those fruits should be true in our life and should be growing. And it's a process.

Just like I shared with you, my little girl, Jessica, she's not mature enough to drive a car. You know, I'm not teaching her. She doesn't have the freedom to drive a car yet.

You know, she can drive her tricycle, though, on the driveway. But as she grows and matures, she'll get more freedom and expand that. And that's really true of the fruit of the Spirit.

As we grow, the fruit grow and become more deeply a part of our life. Okay, those are the questions I wanted to ask you just in helping you evaluate maybe where you stand with the Spirit of God. A little bit different wrinkle to that.

Now, I want to share very briefly some keys in being filled with the Spirit. Just five quick points and we'll be through on keys to being filled with the Spirit of God. And I think we'll get out early.

So stay with me. Number one, get your heart right with God. Boy, it's so important.

Is your heart warm to the things of God? Or are there things in the way of you receiving from God? The other day, my wife and I were, it was toward the end of the day, and I was tired. And I had been around people all day. And she was helping our three-year-old take a bath and get ready for bed.

And they were talking kind of loudly. And the new little puppy came in. And Sandy was upset at the puppy because the puppy had pottied on the carpet.

And then one of the other kids was yelling for a drink. And I was kind of climbing the wall. And so I kind of yelled out at Sandy.

I said, lower your voice. I'm tired of this noise. And I was really kind of ticked.

And but you know what? That my spirit and her spirit were at odds with each other. And because of my outburst, I could not receive from her until I got right with her. So a little while later, I said, honey, I was wrong and yelling at you.

And really, it was a deeper problem and not desiring to help serve her and getting the kids ready for bed and clean up the potty mess on the carpet. And I had done, I felt I'd done my deeds for the day. I'd done one.

And yet God really showed me that was not the case. I needed to clean the other one up too. And but I had to ask her forgiveness to cultivate my heart to receive from her.

And that's certainly true with God. Is your heart receptive to the things of God? Get your heart right with him. OK, secondly, express your dependence upon the Holy Spirit by choosing in advance his will.

Express your dependence upon the Holy Spirit by choosing in advance his will for your life. Might add those last three words for your life. Express your dependence upon the Holy Spirit by choosing in advance his will for your life.

And gang, let me tell you, some of you may never experience the fullness of God in your life because you're unwilling to do certain things. And what a tragedy that you could go through life and go to Christian meetings, go to conferences, be involved, be involved, be involved, and yet never really experience the fullness of the spirit of God in your life because there are one or more things you are unwilling to do. And that's a tragedy that it happens to people every day.

Churches, BSUs are filled with them, that they make all the Christian formations, but the spirit of God is not living and active in their life because they are unwilling to do certain things. Express your dependence upon the Holy Spirit by choosing to follow his will, to obey him. Okay, number three, believe the Lord wants to fill you.

Believe the Lord wants to fill and control your life. That should just excite you when you wake up in the morning that the Holy Spirit wants to live in his fullness in your life. Luke 11 verse 13 says, if you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give his spirit to those who ask him? How much more? And I know how I enjoy giving things to my family.

I brought home a puppy dog the other day, and that was such a blast. And I get such a kick out of providing for them and giving gifts occasionally. And I know you do too when you make a friend or a relative happy by giving a gift.

How much infinitely more does our heavenly Father desire his Holy Spirit to live in our hearts in his fullness? How much more? Number four, by faith, ask for and receive his filling. By faith, ask for and receive his filling. And allow the Lord to the privilege of confirming his filling to you.

So many people want an experience, an unusual experience. And God sometimes gives an unusual experience. I remember when I was in Colorado working for the National Park Service after my freshman year in college.

And I met a man there named Arthur Blessed, who was an evangelist. And he took me with him out evangelizing down the streets of Colorado or Estes Park. And he shared on the filling of the Holy Spirit.

I remember going back to my little cabin and looking over Estes Park and getting down on my knees and saying, Lord, all that you have for me, I want. And whatever you desire is what I want for my life. And I just asked the Lord to fill and control my life.

And I had such an unusual sense of the presence of God and his special love for me. And when you experience the real fullness of the Spirit, you may have an experience like that, but you may not. Because a lot of times the filling of the Spirit is not a one-shot deal, as I said earlier, but it's a walk.

And we have that first big yes to God. And every day is an uh-huh. And we have, you know, God may want, you know, he wants your total life.

And you may have this first experience of, I call it a lordship experience really, where we turn all we have over to him. And his Spirit has the freedom to live in our life in his fullness. But every day is an uh-huh to the lordship of Christ again.

And then fifthly and lastly, yield yourself to God to obey him in all things. Yield yourself to God to obey him in all things. Let's bow in prayer together.

Father, we thank you that you, as a child of God, we have your Holy Spirit living in our lives. And yet so often we don't experience the fullness of your Spirit. And I pray that even today that each one here would desire your Spirit to live in our lives in his fullness.

That he would have the freedom to do everything in our lives and through us that he wants to do. Holy Spirit, fill our lives, control us, direct us to bring glory to you, to produce the fruit of the Spirit, to mature us. And Lord, that our lives would just be explainable in terms of the living God.

Lord, I know so many here have struggled and desired maybe more than ever before to bring glory to you through their life. Oh, Father, I pray that the bonds of Satan would be broken and that your Spirit would become so real to them in filling and controlling their life. Thank you, Lord, for this time.

In Jesus' name, amen. Now, let me just give you a little practical thing. When you get up in the morning, what I like to do is say, basically, Lord, this is a new day.

I thank you that your Spirit indwells my life. And right now, I commit myself totally to you today. And you know the way that you're going to be in the center of God's will five years from now? There's one way that I know of, and that's to obey him today and to walk with him today.

And you're going to get there in the very center of God's will five years from now by one day at a time. Now, I can handle that. You know, I can trust God for today.

This is the day that the Lord has made. And so commit the day to him and just tell him, Lord, I want to walk in the fullness of your Spirit. Help me to be sensitive to you.

And I do that every morning. And it's amazing how the Spirit of God directs me throughout the day. OK.

Thank you for coming.