The Main Obstacle in Carnal Christianity

SPEAKER B Jesus promised his disciples in Acts One eight, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all here and Samaria and to the end of the earth. Welcome to. You shall receive power. And here are your hosts, Ettienne McClintock and Colin Hone. SPEAKER C Dear listener, greetings and a warm welcome. Thank you for joining us again on the program. We're delighted to have your company. And just as we start, we are going to say a prayer and ask God to bless our study and time together. Gracious Father in heaven, thank you for all your blessings. Thank you for your love for us. Thank you for this atmosphere that we can breathe, all because of Jesus and his sacrifice for us. And Father, as we now discuss some of the challenges that we face in our own lives in a relationship with you, Father, and also the way our mind sometimes can lead us astray, we just pray for the empowerment and the leading of your Holy Spirit. Baptize us afresh, baptize the listener as well. Father, lead us into all truth. May Jesus be lifted up, may we be drawn to you and may our relationship with you grow stronger from day to day is our prayer in Jesus name, amen. SPEAKER D Amen. SPEAKER C So in the last program, Colin, we spoke about being carnal and what it means, and that actually means living by normal human powers and abilities without the Holy Spirit or an insufficient measure or quantity of the Holy Spirit in our lives. So what are the main obstacles to carnal Christianity? SPEAKER D Well, that's right. We looked at living by normal human powers and abilities. Let's be honest, everyone has got natural abilities that's right. That you've developed over your lifetime. Some people are just really good at business and some people are not good at business. Some people are great at sport and some people aren't as good yeah. SPEAKER C And some people are great communicators and some aren't. Some are good at numbers and some aren't. That's right. SPEAKER D So we all have normal human powers and abilities. Okay. And they can be a substitute for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. SPEAKER C You mean as they can sort of like almost masquerade? SPEAKER D Yes. SPEAKER C And God has got so much more to give us, but we think we've already received. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER D So we've got natural abilities and we're doing things in our own ways and our natural abilities without the Holy Spirit or insufficient quantity of the Holy Spirit. SPEAKER C As we discussed previously with the Ten Virgins, because they all had oil, they all had a measure of the Holy Spirit. But some had enough for what lay ahead and others were running out when the cris came. SPEAKER D That's right, they didn't have enough Holy Spirit. And so that can happen in the church, right? People have natural abilities, but are they filled with the Holy Spirit. And so the main obstacle in carnal Christianity, we want to look at that at the moment and just summarize that like the great ethics of the Bible, like loving your enemy forgiving people, for everything. Yes, overcoming sin, et cetera, can only be achieved by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by human effort. And this shows us that the main problem in carnal Christianity is that it lies solely on human strength. We can't do God's will alone in our own strength. And let's read a few Bible verses on this topic, just so we can just clarify this. SPEAKER E Okay? SPEAKER D What about Isaiah, chapter 64, verse six, right? SPEAKER C And that says that all our righteousness are like filthy rags. SPEAKER D So how much of our righteousness is like filthy rags? Well, it says all and all our and the first point of it is our righteousness. In other words, we don't have any righteousness. And so Jeremiah, chapter 13, verse 23. SPEAKER C It explains the reason why all our unrighteousness is filthy rags. It says, can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil. SPEAKER D Now, you can interchange that and put down can Anglo Saxon change his skin? The skin we get is the skin we've got. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D It's the way we are. Basically, it's saying we have a sinful nature, we're born with a sinful nature and we can't change our hearts. SPEAKER E That's right. SPEAKER D That's the point of it. Okay, that may you also do good who are accustomed to doing evil. SPEAKER C So the issue really there is the heart. SPEAKER D It's the heart. That's the part. We can't change our hearts ourselves. And Ezekiel, chapter 36 and 26 to 27, god basically tells us that what he's going to do because of our problem, because our righteous like filthy rags and because we can't change ourselves, he. SPEAKER C Says, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will put My spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them. SPEAKER D And remember, we looked at whenever God speaks Word, it comes to pass. God said, Let there be light, and there was light. SPEAKER C There's creative energy in His Word, let. SPEAKER D There be the sun, the moon, the stars. He spoke it his word spoke. And so by his creative powers, he speaks. All right, he speaks. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D And then it comes to pass. SPEAKER C That's right. And the elements didn't previously exist. For example, before God said, let there be light, there was no light. There were no particles of light there anywhere. But when he said light, he spoke light into existence in a place where light did not exist. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C So it is the same when he speaks righteousness into our hearts, where righteousness did not exist, god says, let there be righteousness and there is righteousness. We receive the righteousness of Christ. SPEAKER D That's right. So when God says, I will give you a new heart if you believe that, believe in God's word. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D And by faith believe it when he speaks that it will come to sow. And you do the conditions that you need to do. SPEAKER E That's right. SPEAKER D If you confess your sins, he'll forgive your sins and cleanse you from unrighteous. So he says, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. God says he will do this? SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D If we ask if we surrender, god goes on and says, I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statues and you will keep My judgments and My commandments. SPEAKER C And do them, keeping them and doing them. SPEAKER D This is a promise. SPEAKER C It is a promise indeed. SPEAKER D And also, Romans, chapter eight, verse seven. SPEAKER C Okay, talks about our natural state. It says, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, what a revelation that is, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. Now, I like how the NIV puts it. It says, the mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so right because. SPEAKER D Of our sinful nature. The carnal mind, as that enmity, means war. We're at war with God, and we can't be subject to the law of God, nor can we be. SPEAKER E Wow. SPEAKER D And so we can't submit. But the only way we can do it is if God gives us a new heart and puts his spirit in. SPEAKER C Our takes the enmity away. SPEAKER D That's right. And he writes his laws on our mind and heart. Are we able to do what God says, what God wants us to do? SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D And I love what one of my favorite authors says, Ellen White, and she says it clearly and accurately in these words. SPEAKER C It says, he who is trying to reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law is in tempting and impossibility. Man cannot be saved without obedience, but his works should not be of himself. Christ should work in him to will and to do of his good pleasure. And that's found in reviewing Herald, July 1, 1890. SPEAKER D So he makes it clear he's trying to reach heaven by his own works and keeping the law is attempting impossibility. We cannot the Jews try to do that. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D And they failed at that. They could not keep God's law without a change of heart. That's why God says, I'll give you a new heart. I'll put my spirit in you and I will cause you to keep my law and be able to keep my law. And so they couldn't do it. They tried to, yes, but it's an impossibility. However, on the other hand, she goes on to say, man cannot be saved without obedience, but his work should not be of himself. SPEAKER E That's right. SPEAKER D It's a bit of a quantum there, isn't it? Really? SPEAKER C So what God requires of us, he's got to supply us with. SPEAKER D Yes. SPEAKER C Because we cannot generate it of ourselves. SPEAKER D That's right. So menacomi say without obedience, but his work should not be of Himself. Christ should work in Him, to will and to do of his good pleasure. SPEAKER E Right. SPEAKER D So that's the whole point. When we're filled with the Holy Spirit, we have Jesus living out his life in and through us. Now, did Jesus live a perfect righteous life? SPEAKER C Absolutely. 100%. SPEAKER D And John 1412, jesus says, you'll do the same works as Jesus. Okay, so how do we do the same works as Jesus? Well, the only way we can do the same works of Jesus if it's Jesus living out his life in and through us that's right. Because he led a perfect righteous life. SPEAKER E He did. SPEAKER D And that's why God looks upon it as perfect, because it's Christ's works. It's Christ's works. And I think these references show us sufficiently that we are not capable of doing God's will without the Holy Ghost. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D So our main concern is we always need to make a decision for God's will and that God gives us the strength to implement it. And I think you made a statement in our last program about God enabling us. SPEAKER C That's right, yes. So all his bidings are enabling. So what God asks us to do, he enables us to do that's right. SPEAKER D And this understanding of the doctrine of righteous by faith is extremely important and liberating. However, we're going to discuss it more in detail later on in some of our other programs. So what could happen when someone tries to do something that exceeds their strength? SPEAKER E Right? SPEAKER C Well, they could get exhausted or they could fail or both. SPEAKER D What happens when I often realize is that I can't do it and I failed again. I think to some degree, we all experience this disappointment. SPEAKER E Sure. SPEAKER D And I think the problem is more prominent in younger generation. The older one, for example. Older people from our generation, we're used to a strong sense of duty, a strong sense of obedience in the family, school and business yes. There was a lot more discipline when I went to school yeah, true. Than there is today. And even in the I was in the Navy for seven years, you'd know. SPEAKER C A lot about discipline. SPEAKER D And they told me even before, the generation before was even more disciplined. SPEAKER C The diggers. SPEAKER D Yeah. And so we don't get as easily annoyed by disappointment as maybe younger people. But the problem is equally present in young and old. Only a younger person notices it more distinctly. SPEAKER E Sure. SPEAKER D So traveling the path of faith in our own strength is the foremost problem of every carnal Christian trying to do things in our own strength, whether we know it or not. And so how do we solve the problem? Well, one person may pray more intensely for God's help and decide to try harder. Say yes. God, I'm going to try harder. Please help me. So really what you're saying is I'm going to keep doing things by my own effort. SPEAKER C So they know the standard, they know the requirements of God's word, and so they go and try to achieve that. So the desire is right, but the energy and the power behind it is insufficient. SPEAKER D Yeah, they're trying harder and asking for God's help. Well, how much of God's help do you need? 50%? 20%? 80%? 90%? Yeah, you need 100%. You need 100% help. And so another person might think that we shouldn't be so narrow minded. It doesn't really matter, does it? SPEAKER C We can't do it anyway. So what, are you beating us? SPEAKER E Okay. SPEAKER D God loves us. He understands it and it's okay. And so he starts to take things more casually and feels more freer to just live out his life and he's going to be okay. And some other people, and I've seen people as well give up and abandon their faith, and it makes them even feel better. They just give up. It's not worth it. It's impossible. And the only problem is that these apparent solutions are false solutions. The only problem is that these apparent solutions are false solutions because the consequences will become sooner or later. There was always consequences. So the correct way is to take God's laws seriously because they were given in love and for our own good. God gave us our laws for our own good and because he loves us. Your parents and my parents, and even at school in the middle, there's boundaries. Why are there boundaries? For our own protection. SPEAKER C Protection, that's right. SPEAKER D That's right. That's why they have, like, on cliff faces these days when you go in as a tourist to view these beautiful, awesome views these days. They have fences there. What are they? Fences there? Is that to stop me from being free? I want to get closer and even get a better look. What are they there for? SPEAKER C Make sure you don't fall off a cliff and kill yourself. SPEAKER D That's right. They're there to protect you. SPEAKER C And even though the law is exactly that, I mean, just the honor your father and your mother. For example, I was just watching a program on television just in the last day or so, where this person had defrauded and stolen all the money, broken into his parents house, pawned some of their stuff, sold it off. Got into their bank account, found their bank account passwords and details, and stole over $45,000 from them over a matter of a few weeks. SPEAKER D Wow. SPEAKER C This is because he didn't honor his father and his mother, so that was to protect the parents. But what about you shall not kill? You should not commit adultery. You should not steal. It's to protect relationships and people's lives and also protect people from being defrauded. SPEAKER D All the laws are about love, motivation, even the Sabbath. I mean, that is part of the Ten Commandments. SPEAKER C Yes, that's right. SPEAKER D I mean, most people out there are okay with nine of them, but that fourth one the Sabbath has been done away with, but the other nine haven't been done away with. They're still okay. But what does the Sabbath tell us about? It reminds us who actually God is. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D Who the Creator is, that he created. SPEAKER C Us for a purpose, because he loves us and he wants us to love Him back. SPEAKER D It's a weekly memorial of God as our Creator in heavens and earth. And he hallowed it and sanctified it and set it aside for holy purposes. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D If everybody had continued to set aside the Sabbath and keep it holy and set aside for holy purposes to spend time with God and to acknowledge God as the creator of the heavens and earth, well, everyone would be a Christian. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER C Everyone would be a believer. SPEAKER D Everyone would be a believer. SPEAKER C Be reminded on a weekly basis of God's creative power and redemptive power. SPEAKER D And it's also, yes, a reminder of God's redemptive prayer, that he is the one who saves, he is the one who provides, like Jesus provided for our salvation. And so basically what we're saying is we want to keep God's law, but the only way we can keep God's law if God gives us a new heart, okay. And through the power of the Holy Spirit, god gives us a new heart and he writes his laws on our mind and hearts and gives us a desire to obey his law. It's actually Christ living in us, seeking out to keep God's law. SPEAKER E That's right. SPEAKER C There's a text in proverbs. It's actually repeated a couple of times, but I'm going to go to the second time it's repeated. It's in Proverbs chapter 16 and verse 25. It says, there's a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is the way of death. So it's not really something we can figure out by ourselves with our own thinking. We need the guidance of God through the Holy Spirit and the Word to understand what our natural state is before Him. As we discussed in those texts, our carnal mind, our natural state is hostile towards God. It's not subject to his law because we are egocentric. And the law of God is other centered. It is love to God and our fellow man and putting God first and our fellow man first. And by nature, we don't do that. I mean, you look at a little kid when they're growing up, and you can see this in many kids, they may have two toys, have a friend come over and visit. They don't want to share those toys. They go, It's mine, it's mine. But then the parent will listen, look, you've got two toys, they've got nothing, and you teach them how to share. It's not natural to the human heart to have that unselfish approach to things. So God reveals to us our natural state, but we only become aware of it by looking at the selfless life of Jesus Christ. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C It's by beholding Him that we become aware and then desire to change. SPEAKER D So what's the problem with carnal Christians? And I think it's all about we don't live an abundant life. Carnal Christians aren't even aware that they even have a problem. And that's, like in Revelation, chapter three, talks about lukewarm Christians. They're not aware that they even have a problem. SPEAKER E Don't know. SPEAKER D They don't even know they have a problem. And it's really serious because half hearted Christians or lukewarm Christians are worse than non believers. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D For their deceptive words and noncommunal position can lead many astray. And we can see it in our churches. There's like these two groups that have happened, and I believe both of them are not the right way. We have one that has gone completely liberal because they find it impossible to do the things God requires of us, the standards high, and so we just throw it all away and it doesn't matter. God understands and let's be happy and just live. And it's self diluting themselves. And the other side is basically, it's just as destructive is called formalism. And I've seen many churches, and I've been involved in both churches, and usually the formal churches are usually the older generation. Yes, they're okay with that because they're used to doing things exactly the right way. They're used to discipline and things like that. So they can sort of deal with the formalism. But the younger generation cannot deal with the formalism. They see right through it and say, this is not really authentic. It's formalism, it's boring. SPEAKER C The heart knowledge needs to sink down a little bit lower, quite a number of inches to get into the head knowledge. SPEAKER E Sorry. SPEAKER C Sink lower to get into the heart. SPEAKER D And many of our young people are leaving our churches that have sort of a form of Godliness, but deny the power of the Holy Spirit in it. There's no love in them both. SPEAKER C Deny the power of the Holy Spirit. SPEAKER D Both sides. Both sides. And so I love what? And there's this book called Christ Our Righteousness by Arthur G. Daniels. If you ever get the opportunity, you can get this book from you can download it on the Internet. It's called Christ our Righteousness by Arthur G. Daniels, written in around the 1920s on Righteous by Faith. And what did he say about formalism? SPEAKER C Okay, he says, but formalism is something extremely deceptive and destructive. It is the hidden, unexpected cliff which the church has threatened to shatter on many times throughout the centuries. Paul warned us that this form of Godliness, as we read in two, Timothy chapter three and verse five, without God's power, so that's without being filled by the Holy Ghost would be one of the dangers of the last days. And admonishes us not to be taken in by this comfortable, self deceiving attitude. SPEAKER D And you've seen at the churches I've been at churches where right theology, no love. SPEAKER C So head knowledge is there, but the heart knowledge. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER D Hey, we dress right, dressing nice clothes, got three hymns, got, you know, the right believe they have the right worship music. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D And they've got the, you know, they're doing but everything is is a formalism. It's a routine. SPEAKER C And it's quite it can be quite lifeless. SPEAKER D Yet there's no soul winning. There's no outward focus on the mission. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D And they feel like because they're doing wearing the right clothes, saying the right words, singing the right songs, eating the. SPEAKER C Right food, all those things are there's nothing wrong with them per se. SPEAKER D They're important. But it becomes formal, and our young people are fleeing these churches. Okay. And so then you got the other side of the coin is you've got churches setting up and saying, what's going on? We've got to save our youth. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER C So what do the youth want? SPEAKER D What do we do? We've got to save our youth. And so what do we do? Okay, let's change. Okay, well, just wear whatever you want casually. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER D West Camera let's change the health message. Don't worry about what you eat or what you drink. SPEAKER C Let's change the music. SPEAKER D Change the music. Let's get more entertainment happening, more entertainment. Let's get more smoke, mirrors. You know what I mean? SPEAKER C Give them what they want, maybe they'll stay. SPEAKER D Maybe if we entertain them, they'll stay. And for a time it works. SPEAKER E Sure. SPEAKER D But the thing is, though, you're competing with the world. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER C And they've got bigger budgets, and they've. SPEAKER D Got way bigger budgets. And eventually the youth are still leaving at 65%. SPEAKER C So both are an issue. SPEAKER D Both are an issue. What we want is we want a place where you're filled with the Holy Spirit. A church that's filled with the Holy Spirit will have an outward focus on the mission. It won't be formal, but it'll be. SPEAKER C Spirit filled and full of life. The life of Christ. SPEAKER D That's right. So possible factors that can lead to carnal Christianity. What are some of the things that can lead? And we want to talk about these following factors or reasons that things can lead to being a carnal Christian. The first one is ignorance. SPEAKER C Okay, so what we don't know and that's the issue with Laodicea. They don't know. SPEAKER D Yeah, it's ignorance. We haven't devoted ourselves enough on the topic of a life with the Holy Spirit or we haven't found the key for putting it into practice. So we've got basically this ignorance. And that was the problem with the Laodicea. They were ignorant. They thought they were okay. They didn't even know they had a problem. SPEAKER C That's right. They didn't know. They were wretched, miserable, poor, belong and lake it. But they thought that they were rich and increased with goods. SPEAKER D So the second one is unbelief or small of faith. Lack of faith. SPEAKER E Right. SPEAKER D So it means being filled. The Holy Spirit has the prerequisite of completely surrendering our lives to Jesus, and this too could happen because of ignorance or maybe because we're afraid that the Lord will lead us differently than what we want. This means that we don't trust God's love and wisdom enough. I mean, I've dealt that with myself and I've spoken to other people, and surrender is not an easy thing because there's things in our lives that we're. SPEAKER C Afraid that we let go, we'll be miserable and unhappy. But the thing is, we should not focus on what we think we're going to lose. We should focus on what we think we're going to gain because God promises us so much more than the world can offer us. SPEAKER D That's the right attitude. Yeah, but what does it come down to? It comes to lack of trust in God. SPEAKER C It does come down to lack of trust. A lack of faith. SPEAKER D Lack of faith and trust. God did not God say, I have plans to prosper you to give you a future, not to harm you? SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D So when we put our faith in God and we give up the things that he wants us to give up, he's got something better for us. In actual fact, when we hold on to the things that we think we love and that we need and we don't want to let it go of, and that our lives will be miserable without what you're saying is I don't trust God, that my life will be better off without them, that he's got something better for me. But God's word said he has. SPEAKER E He does? Absolutely. SPEAKER D We need to believe that. SPEAKER C And, you know, the Bible tells us without faith, it's impossible to please God because we do not let go of these things that actually separate us from Him. SPEAKER D That's right. Another one is erroneous notions, an example. A person can think they're filled with the Holy Spirit even though they aren't in reality or not sufficiently. I think I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. I think, didn't I get that when I was first baptized? Well, you did. SPEAKER C So when they talk about their experience in the Lord, they always hearken to the past when they started by faith. But because they have not continued in faith, all they can tell you, they can't tell you about the present victories or the present joy they experience in life. They talk about what happened in the past. SPEAKER D So they think they're Holy Spirit. They've got the Holy Spirit or they haven't got enough. And this is the most frequent one out there, many people believe, well, when I was baptized, I received the Holy Spirit, and yes, you did. There was conversion, but if you read the Scriptures and read the Book of Acts and that there's more. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D It's a daily being filled with the Holy Spirit. SPEAKER C And I think in the previous programs we spoke about those in Matthew chapter seven, where they say to the Lord, lord, Lord, have we not prophesied? Have we not cast our demons? Have we not done wonderful things in your name? And he says, Depart from me, I never knew you. SPEAKER D Same problem with the foolish virgins. That was the main problem, the foolish virgins, they thought they had enough of the Holy Spirit, enough to get them by. Yes, they weren't sufficiently filled with the Holy Spirit, but they had some. And Jesus says, I don't know you as well. It's exactly the same. That's right, same principle. So another thing is people are too busy. We live in a world that is really busy. It's crazy, there's so many things to do. Lives are filled up with work and family and church and entertainment and so. SPEAKER C Many things, emails and social media and you name it. SPEAKER D There's a lot of more things in life, isn't there? SPEAKER C A lot more things to distract us. SPEAKER D To get our attention or distract us is probably a better word. And so people are too busy, they're overburdened that, they think they don't have enough time to maintain a relationship with Jesus, or they take the time but don't make any progress in connecting with God. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D So people are too busy and they haven't got time to spend time with Jesus in prayer and in his Word. And another one is hidden sins. When we have hidden sins, this is like a short circuit, meaning there's no connection with God's power. The Word says in the Bible, doesn't it, that if you hold on to iniquity that the Lord will not hear that's right, hear you. So people holding on to hidden sins and so that can limit God's power in their lives. And number six, the last one is act according to their feelings, following their feelings. And this generation are really prone to following their feelings. But God word says the righteous live by feelings. Is that what it says? SPEAKER C It doesn't say that. SPEAKER D Does it say we'd live by faith? Correct. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER C The just shall live by faith. SPEAKER D That's right. So we live by faith in God's Word, don't we? God says it. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER C The Word is connected to it because it says man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. So faith, living by faith and living by the Word is really synonymous. SPEAKER D And we could go through the whole Bible and pick out people who live by faith. Abraham, Moses, all of the great giants of the Bible and great Christians path live by faith. In other words, God promised in his word that he was going to do something and they believed it before it would happen. And it was a credit to them as righteousness because they believed in God's word. And so people go into feelings, do I make decisions by trusting God. Or according to my feelings. If I went by my feelings, I would never trust God. Yeah, my feelings take me all over the place. It's like a roller coaster. SPEAKER C And sometimes the Lord impresses you because you feel good. That day you got out of the right side of the bed, but the next day you get out of the wrong side of the bed and you think, oh, the Lord feels different towards me. His feelings haven't changed towards you, but yours have. SPEAKER D And I'll finish with as we take a break, this statement by Roger Monot and it really impressed Helmet Horbill when he wrote this book. And he was involved in the occult, wasn't it? The occult, devil worship, demon worship. And he said these words. He says the spirits would encourage people to listen to their feelings. This is demonic. Or fallen angels would encourage people to listen to their feelings instead of God's word and Jesus and his prophets. In no sure way could the spirits attain control of people's lives without individuals realizing what was happening. So they would say, Listen to your feelings, follow your feelings. And then they could then take control of their lives. SPEAKER C Okay, great. Thank you for that, Colin. We're just going to take a break, dear listener. And when we come back after this short message, we're going to ask the question why should I ask for the Holy Ghost even though I am already filled with the Holy Spirit? So that's the question we're going to answer when we come back, so stay tuned. SPEAKER F Thanks for joining me. An interesting passage. In Jeremiah 13, God tells Jeremiah to take a linen belt and leave it among rocks. Of course, when Jeremiah retrieved the belt, it was ruined. So God says in Jeremiah 1310, this evil people which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart and walk after other gods to serve them and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. That's how wicked God's people had become. He referred to them as good for nothing. But what did God try to do? He did all he could to redeem his people, even sending his own son to die for them. And us understand this as sinners, we're good for nothing. But in God's sight, we are good for saving. And he's doing everything he can today to save you and those you love. I'm John Bradshaw, for it is written, let's live today by every word. SPEAKER C Dear listener, welcome back. Our program today on You Shall Receive Power covers the topic of the main obstacle in Carlo Christianity. And just before the break, we were talking about how we answer this question why should I ask for the Holy Ghost even though I am already filled with the Holy Ghost? SPEAKER D It's a good question, Eddie. SPEAKER C It is a good question. SPEAKER D I'm already filled. Why ask for the Holy Spirit if I'm already filled and so, for example, the Holy Ghost was given in order to stay in us. SPEAKER E Okay? Yes. SPEAKER D On the other hand, we should continue ask by faith for the Holy Ghost, how do we solve this parent contradiction? And so, on one hand, Jesus says in John 14, verse 17, he says these words in John 14, verse 17. SPEAKER C Says, for the Holy Ghost which dwells with you will also be in you. SPEAKER D And he's talking about he the comforter. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D Jesus or another advocate that Jesus was going to send, he says, he dwells with you. So the Holy Spirit was with them disciples, but he shall be in you. SPEAKER C That's right, yes. SPEAKER D In Acts, chapter two, verse 38. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER C This is Peter's sermon at Pentecost that says they repent and let every one of you be baptized and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. SPEAKER D So Jesus is promising the Holy Spirit to be not only with you, to be in you. And Peter's also tells the 3000 people that were baptized, or probably more, but 3000 accepted the call. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D He says, repent, number one, that's the first step of receiving the Holy Spirit is you need to repent of your sins. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D And then Jesus forgives your sins and cleanses you and gives you power to overcome. And he says, Then you receive the power of the Holy Spirit to come and Jesus to come and dwell in you and a power to witness. But on the other hand, then Jesus speaks in Luke, chapter eleven, verse nine to 13, he says these words about prayer. He's saying he say, when you pray, pray and ask for the Holy Spirit. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D And when he says these words, ask and it shall be given to you, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER C So ask is mentioned quite a number of times to ask, to seek and to knock. But ask, I think it's five or six times it's mentioned there in that passage. SPEAKER D That's right. And it's using the Greek verb, a continuous action. So, in other words, keep on asking constantly. And then you got Ephesians, chapter five, verse 18, where Paul says, do not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER D And in both cases, in the original Greek text, it's a continual request. In other words, keep on asking for the Holy Spirit. Keep on being filled with Spirit. It's not just a one. You received it and that's it. Remember, that was a problem with the Foolish Virgins. I asked for it once, conversion, but I haven't been asking since. SPEAKER C The measure of the Spirit didn't grow from there for them. So they continue asking as part of the growing process and also recognizing the fact that we continuously need the Holy Spirit in our lives. SPEAKER D Now, Ellen White, in a book she wrote, she equates for asking for the Holy Spirit like we need things in the natural world. For example, do I just breathe once when I'm born? SPEAKER C You wouldn't live long. It'll be a burial shortly. SPEAKER D We take a breath when we're born, don't we? SPEAKER C Yeah, absolutely. SPEAKER D And we're born again. You must be born again, Jesus said, by what? The spirit, right and water. All right. So do we just breathe once? We receive it once when we breathe and see, she equates the natural world to the sames in the spiritual world. SPEAKER C So there's lessons in the natural world for us to understand the Spirit. SPEAKER D So let's read what she says. SPEAKER E Okay? SPEAKER C This is from Acts of the Apostles, page 284. It says, yet the operations of the Spirit are always in harmony with the written word, as in the natural. So in the spiritual world, natural life is preserved moment by moment, by divine power. Yet it is not sustained by a direct miracle, but through the use of blessings placed within our reach. So the spiritual life is sustained by the use of those means that providence has supplied. If the power of Christ would grow us up into a perfect man, and unto the measure and the stature of the fullness of Christ, as we read in Ephesians, chapter four and verse 13, we must eat of the bread of life and drink of the water of salvation. We must watch and pray and work in all things, giving heed to the instructions of God in His Word. SPEAKER D Well, and she continues on and says, we receive life at our birth. In order to stain life, we have to eat, drink, exercise and breathe, don't we? SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D And it's exactly the same in our spiritual life. We have the Holy Ghost through our baptism by water and the Spirit born again, so that the spiritual life remains in us, a whole life. In order to stay in this spiritual life, it's necessary to use the spiritual means that God provided the Holy Ghost, god's word, prayer and testimony. So there's a continually asking for it. And then Jesus also says in John, chapter 15, verse four, when Ellen White concerns and he says, abide in me and I knew. And what does Ellen White say? What does that mean to abide in me and I knew. SPEAKER C Well, she says, abiding in Christ means a constant receiving of his Spirit, a life of unreserved surrender to his service. And that comes from desire of ages. Page 676. SPEAKER D Now, what is the word abiding in Christ? So abiding in Christ means a constant receiving. Is that a one off? SPEAKER C No, constant receiving means continual. SPEAKER D The word continually means always. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D That's why Paul says, keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit. Don't be drunk with wine, be filled with Spirit. Continually be filled with the Holy Spirit. That's why Jesus says, continually ask for the Holy Spirit. So why do you think Jesus and Paul and others are saying we continually need to ask for the Holy Spirit, why not just ask for it once and that's it? What do you think is the danger in that? SPEAKER C Well, I think we have a continual need and of course, if it's not supplied, we will start relying on our own strength. SPEAKER D That's it. Isn't that what Helmut Hormel is saying? We actually end up relying on our natural. SPEAKER C So we become fleshly or carnal Christians. SPEAKER D Carnal Christians, because we're not constantly receiving and asking. So we said, oh, I automatically got it when I did get it. Yes, you did receive it when you were converted and you received it when you asked for it at your baptism. But we become dependent then on God, not dependent on ourselves. And that's the problem with carnal Christians. They end up being dependent on their known natural abilities instead of being dependent on God to be filled daily with the Holy Spirit and have Jesus live out his life in and through them. It's all about interesting, you know, we. SPEAKER C Can look at our past experience with the Lord and it would have been know, when we experience that first love with the Lord, we come to Him, we're baptized, we give our lives to of the Lord, and we look back and look how wonderful the Lord worked in the past. And then we look at prophecy and we go that there's going to be a big revival and the three angels'messages will be proclaimed in all the world and the whole world will be lit with the glory of God. And we look into the future and go, well, God's going to work very powerfully in the future, but what about now? Because we are told that the Holy Spirit, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, was never withdrawn from the church. The early reign which happened at Pentecost was to stay with the church until the lateral reign was to come. SPEAKER D Yes. SPEAKER C So God wants to do some wonderful things in our lives now. Don't think of a God that's only worked in the past and the God will work in the future. We serve a God that can work in the present. But we need faith. We need to exercise faith in his word and his promises, because God does not action anything without our consent. He's given us the ability to choose and to will according to his good pleasure or otherwise. But unless we consent, unless we agree, God does not force us. SPEAKER D So let me ask you, for example, when you grow a plant, right? SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D Back in ancient Israel, you had the early and latter rain. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D The early rain would cause the seed to germinate yes. SPEAKER C To start growing. SPEAKER D And to start growing, did it just rain for five minutes and that was it enough to cause it? SPEAKER C Did it keep on raining regularly? It needed water, otherwise it would die. SPEAKER D That's right. And that's the problem we have in our crops. If we don't get regular water. Okay? You need to regularly water your plants or your vegetables for them to grow. You don't just water them once and that's it. And expect them to just grow by their own natural ways. SPEAKER C Or the seed stays in the ground and there's no rain. It won't germinate. And then all of a sudden think, oh, it's harvest time now we need a flood. And the flood comes and washes the. SPEAKER D Seed away because it hasn't matured. SPEAKER C It hasn't matured. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER D It's the same thing here. We need to daily receive the Holy Spirit amen. And be filled with the Holy Spirit, the rain to grow, to be ready for the latter rain. And if we're mature mature when we mature just before the harvest, which is the second Jesus, we receive the latter rain. But those who haven't grown in will not receive the latter rain. The latter rain. They're just going to be, like you said, washed away by the flood. SPEAKER E That's right. SPEAKER D It's a good example. So where do I stand? Which group are you in? SPEAKER C Well, I wish to stand with a group that's full with the Holy Spirit and prepared for the lateral reign. SPEAKER D That's true. SPEAKER C How about you, dear listener? We hope that that's your desire as well. SPEAKER D That's right. There's a great story here, or something alarming, and it's a story here how it tells about his mother. He says, when my dear mother was 20, she answered a man's question by saying that she wasn't interested in faith. And the man replied and said, if you died in the night, what happens if you died in the night? And this comment hit her hard, but it was very positive. It led her to make a decision for Jesus and his church. And maybe this question will help you too. Suppose you died today, you had a heart attack or accident. Do you have the assurance of eternal life with Jesus Christ? Don't remain uncertain. SPEAKER C You don't want to be uncertain about this. SPEAKER D You don't want to be uncertain about this. SPEAKER C This is eternal consequences we're talking about here. This is a weighty subject. SPEAKER D That's right. And so helball goes on to say, I'm very alarmed as I have begun to understand the great magnitude of this problem. I've thought and prayed about it. If I should really add this paragraph so this paragraph we're going to read now helmut Horbel was really struggling to write this. He didn't know whether to put it or not because it might offend some people. But he said he had to do it. He says, I'm taking the chance, since the matter of happiness in life now and eternal life, and it also especially has an influence on marriage and family, as well as the church and occupation. I don't know who it applies to, but I want to be of help to the person's concern, since I've been helped as well. It is crucial that everyone that is carnal realizes this. Otherwise he can't change with God's help. God and his love wants to richly bless us through an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. As a result, great loss can be avoided and immeasurable blessings can be experienced. And the wonderful thing is that we can quickly remedy the situation with God's help. SPEAKER E Praise God. SPEAKER D So the problem of carnal Christian is described in the Bible in different ways and this is what he says individual groups and people and groups can have be very difficult, different focal points. But the central problem is the same. The different descriptions are in the flesh or carnal. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D Means the same thing in Romans eight, verses one to 17, it talks about the flesh, carnal one. Corinthians, chapter three, verse one to four talks about the flesh or carnal. And Galatians, chapter five, verse 16 and 21 talks about the flesh or the. SPEAKER C Spirit and what the works of the flesh look like. SPEAKER D Works of the flesh and the fruits of the spirit. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D There's always these two different groups. There's the foolish and the wise virgins parable of the ten Virgins, Matthew 25 and Anna White tells us that the state of the church represented by the foolish virgins is also spoken of the Latice state. What she's saying is the foolish virgins are lukewarm. SPEAKER E Yes, that's right. SPEAKER D They're carnal christians. And for example, it says I wish you were cold or hot. Isn't that amazing? Helmut comments on that and says Jesus prefers cold to lukewarm. SPEAKER E Wow. SPEAKER D What is his reason for this? Because he says basically half hearted Christians are worse than unbelievers for their deceptive words and noncommittal composition may lead many astray. Where the world person shows his true colors, the non believer shows what his true colors. The lukewarm Christian deceives both parties. It deceives the world, worldly people and Christian. He's neither a good worldling nor a good Christian. And Satan uses him to do a work that no one else can do. SPEAKER E Wow. SPEAKER D This is what Ellen White said. What was the letter 40 419 three, where she quoted in the Seven Day Venice Bible Commentary, volume seven. And she goes on to say, not born again or hasn't remained in this condition. In John chapter three, verse 121, jesus said to Nicodemus, yes, you must be born again. SPEAKER C Yeah, born from above to see the kingdom and then to enter the kingdom with born of water and the spirit. SPEAKER D Yes. And Ella White goes and tells about this new birth experience. And what does she say? SPEAKER C She says the new birth is a rare experience in this age of the world. This is the reason why there are so many perplexities in the churches. Many, so many who assume the name of Christ are unsanctified and unholy. They have been baptized, but they were buried alive. Self did not die and therefore they did not rise to newness of life in Christ. SPEAKER D So what you're saying is people who are being baptized in water. In water who haven't died to self. SPEAKER E Right. SPEAKER D They haven't surrendered or they haven't asked forgiveness for their sins. SPEAKER C They have not been crucified with Christ by faith. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER D In other words, I'm holding on to a few sins. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER D Okay. They haven't repented of all their sins, but Peter said, repent and then be baptized. SPEAKER E That's right. SPEAKER D Wasn't that there was a sequence, repent and then be baptized, which means it's dying to self and then rising up into new life. But if you haven't died to self, you can't rise up to new life. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D So that's why you've got to confess your sins. SPEAKER C Unless the seed goes into the ground and is covered, which is like burial and death. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER C It will not germinate and grow when. SPEAKER D Jesus says, if you confess your sins, all right, repent. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D He is faithful to forgive your sins and to cleanse you, cleanse you through the water and through the Holy Spirit, to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. And so she goes on, self did not die, and therefore they did not rise to the newness of life in Christ. And we also read also from Arthur G. Daniels talks about people who've not died to self have a form of Godliness, but denies power. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D And what does he say? SPEAKER C Right. It says, but formalism is something extremely deceptive and destructive. It is the hidden, unexpected cliff which the Church has threatened to shatter on many times throughout the centuries. Paul warned us that this form of Godliness without the power, as we read in two, timothy, chapter three, verse five, that means without being filled with the Holy Ghost would be one of the dangers of the last days and admonishes. SPEAKER D Us to take not to be taken. SPEAKER C Not to be taken in by this comfortable, self deceiving attitude. Now, it's interesting that that whole principle that he unpacks, he says, where they have a form of Godliness without denying the power. In verse one of chapter three, there of two Timothy, he says that in the last days, perilous times with come, men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, bless them, is disobedient to parents and so on. And then he says that they have a form of Godliness, but they don't have the power. SPEAKER D They seem loving on the outside, external. They seem loving. Nice people. Hey, I'm okay. I'm a nice person. But what did she say, though? What things are they doing when you're. SPEAKER C Just well, they're lovers of themselves, lovers of money. So ambition, ambitious. And we celebrate ambition, don't we? They boast us. We can look at many people, even world leaders, who are quite boastful in. SPEAKER D The Church as well. SPEAKER C Proud, blasphemous, disobedient to parents. They unthinkful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous without self control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty. Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, then saying, having a form of Godliness, but denying the power. SPEAKER E Wow. SPEAKER D So this is what it's going to be in the last days. And I guess we're seeing that today. SPEAKER C Yeah, the entertainment industry is really going ahead in leaps and bounds. I mean, they're inventing new ways of doing things, new ways of doing movies. And people love that entertainment more than they love God. And that's really the issue. SPEAKER D Now, I want to read a couple of statements that this author, Ellen White, now, Ellen White, just in case you haven't heard her, was believers, a messenger from God. Yes, she was a prophet. She had many, many hundreds and hundreds of visions. And from her visions, she wrote many, many books. One called the Great Controversy. The Desire of Ages steps to Christ. Many, many books. And here's some things she said in a vision that she saw. She says in a dream. All right, she saw this angel or a sentinel right. Stood at the door of this important building. Just read that what she said in the dream. SPEAKER C In my dream, a sentinel stood at the door of an important building and asked everyone who came for entrance, have you received the Holy Ghost? A measuring line was in his hand, and only very, very few were admitted into the building. SPEAKER E Wow. SPEAKER D What was the question? That this obviously a sentinel is angel like angel. This is like an entrance almost to heaven. It's almost like a bit of a parable that she saw this dream, a vision. And what was the question? SPEAKER C So this is really the conditions of entry. It's almost like your ticket to enter. SPEAKER D Yeah. SPEAKER C It says, have ye received the Holy Ghost? SPEAKER D And wasn't that the difference between the wise and the foolish virgins? The wise entered into the building because. SPEAKER C They had sufficient oil. SPEAKER D They went into the heavenly Jerusalem, into the building, the building with Jesus, and. SPEAKER C The door was shut after them. Yeah, that's right. SPEAKER D And then the other ones came and said, let us in. And what did Jesus say? SPEAKER C I don't know you. SPEAKER D I don't know you. Jesus saying, I don't know you. And very few were admitted into the building. In other words, they weren't filled sufficiently. SPEAKER C With the Holy Spirit. And obviously there was a measuring line to determine whether they had the Holy Spirit, because he says the measuring line was in his hand and only very, very few were admitted into the building. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER D Now, look, you know what, I don't want to be gloomy and doomy and stuff, but we've got to be real. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D There's no point pretending. That's the problem with latestia the latest seen condition is it pretends it's okay, I'm okay, it's going to be okay. But it's like saying, I've got cancer and I'm going to be okay. I don't need any help. I don't need any remedy. I don't need a physician or a doctor to help me. I don't need the remedies, natural remedies that might help me. It's like being diagnosed with a condition and just then denying it and saying. SPEAKER C I don't need any help, but that doesn't help anybody. It actually just hurts you more than helps you. And look, my denial of that in my past has never helped me. It's always hindered me. And I've come to regret a lot of those instances where I have not heeded the word and the counsel of. SPEAKER D It'S not easy to look in the mirror and be honest with yourself sometimes, because sometimes what you see it's like when you I pray this prayer sometimes, and it's a really dangerous prayer, but it's a good prayer. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D And it's for my benefit when I say, search my heart, O Lord, to see if there's anything wicked in me when I pray that prayer. You're asking God to search your heart. SPEAKER C I've prayed the prayer as well. And inevitably, there's something that I didn't know about myself that I get god. SPEAKER D Reveals to me, and he reveals that through the Holy Spirit sometimes. He reveals that through my wife. She'll point out some things after I pray that prayer. And Colin, I've noticed this. This is about you. And I go, wow, I didn't really even know that about myself. SPEAKER E Wow. SPEAKER D But that gives me an opportunity to do two things. I can deny it and go, I don't have a problem, I'm okay. God still loves me, and yes, he does, and I'm going to be okay. Or I can go and repent of that and say, god, change my heart, put a new spirit in me and remove this from me, this character flaw or whatever it is that I'm dealing with. SPEAKER E Yeah. SPEAKER C And the whole message to Laodicea, which tells people something they do not know, jesus says, there as many as I love. So it's not because he doesn't love Ladicea, he loves Laodicea. As many as I love I chasten or rebuke and chasten. Therefore he says, be zealous and repent. So there's a chastening part that comes and then afterward it brings the peaceable fruits of righteousness. I just want to read this text in Hebrews, chapter twelve and verse eleven, where it clearly states now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present. Isn't that true? I've not really enjoyed some of those aspects as well when I see things, but painful nevertheless. Afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. SPEAKER D Well, so what's the outward result of that righteousness? SPEAKER C Peaceable fruits of righteousness? Fruit which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. SPEAKER D And righteousness is the fruit of the Holy Spirit according to Ephesians, chapter five, verse nine. SPEAKER C Yeah, that's dead, right? SPEAKER D In other verses it says, a father doesn't an earthly father chasten his child. SPEAKER C Yeah, that's right. I can read it if you want to. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER C It says there, furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live for they indeed for a few days chasten us, has seen best to them, but he for our prophet that we may be partakers of his holiness. SPEAKER D So the whole point is God is chiseling away, and chiseling can hurt. I love the way John puts it, that pruning cutting away things that branches. And what's the point of cutting the branches? So you can produce more fruit. SPEAKER E Fruit. SPEAKER D The fruit of righteousness. SPEAKER E Amen. SPEAKER D And so it's for our own benefit, and it hurts sometimes. Who wants to be told, hey, listen, you've got a character problem, or you've got the way you're living? SPEAKER C The natural heart doesn't want to hear it. SPEAKER D You don't want to hear it. SPEAKER C I know how it's cut across my heart at times when someone has said that to me, especially when it's true. SPEAKER D Then it really cuts and they to see it doesn't want to hear it. They don't want to hear that. They need to zealously repent. They don't want to need they need a new heart that they need to Jesus in. They don't want to hear that we need the righteousness of Christ. We want to be actually, really it comes out of this we want to be saved in our sins. SPEAKER C That's what it comes down to. SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D Isn't it? We want to be saved in our sins. Isn't that natural? Lord, I want to go to heaven, but can I still keep on being saved in my I still love the. SPEAKER C Pleasures of the world. SPEAKER D Can I still continue on sinning? SPEAKER C A bob each way. A foot in each camp, a bob each way. SPEAKER D And Ellen White made this solemn statement. I've struggled with this statement because it's not what I want to hear. Yes. What does she say? SPEAKER C This comes from Christian Service, page 41. SPEAKER D About those who are being ready right when Jesus returns. SPEAKER C It is a solemn statement that I make to the church. SPEAKER E Okay. SPEAKER C So very solemn, just like Helmet Hallbull had those solemn statements he made before that not one in 20 whose names are registered upon the church books are prepared to close their earthly history wow. And would be as verily without God and without hope in the world as the common sinner. SPEAKER D Wow. SPEAKER C So you've joined yourself to the church, you joined yourself to the Lord. You have been baptized. You have tasted a little bit of the goodness of God and the kingdom to come, and yet you stop there and you don't go any further, and you're just as lost as the person who didn't even respond. SPEAKER D It was very somber. And again she says, Why are we so sleepy? And she goes on and says, why are the soldiers of Christ so sleepily and indifferent? And the reason is this because they have so little real connection with Jesus, because they are so destitute of his Spirit, so destitute of the Holy Spirit. And we've got some more things we're going to continue in. Our next program, we're going to talk about the great danger and this whole program know steps to person revival being filled. The Holy Spirit. Is there's the solution to our problem? SPEAKER E Yes. SPEAKER D In Laodicea, God gives us the solution. He says to be what? Let Jesus in. SPEAKER E In. That's right. SPEAKER C Behold, I stand at the door and knock if anyone hears my voice and opens the door. So we have to open the door. SPEAKER D Which means we have to ask ask for the Holy Spirit. Then Jesus comes and lives in our life. And when Jesus comes, the Holy Spirit comes in our life. It'll convict us of sin so that we will what? Zealously? Repent. And that will cause us to then buy the gold, which is the love and what? Faith of Jesus? SPEAKER C That's right, faith. SPEAKER D Because we need the faith of Jesus. And it'll cause us also to buy that robe, that wonderful robe that only Christ can provide, which is his righteousness, which is imputed and imparted. SPEAKER E Fantastic. SPEAKER C Thank you, Colin. We're just going to take a break here and share our contact details. So if you want to know where to download this book, Steps to Personal Revival, you can get a free PDF. We can provide that for you if you haven't taken it down already. Or if you want to find out more about where you can get a free copy of the book by Pastor AG Daniels on Christ Our Righteousness, we can also provide you with that information. So stay tuned. We'll be right back after these messages. Thank you for joining us on You Shall Receive Power. If you would like more information about today's program or if you have any questions, please contact 3ABN Australia Radio by Phoning 024-973-3456. Or you can send an email to [email protected]. You can also contact us on our 3ABN Australia radio Facebook page. We look forward to hearing from you SPEAKER C Dear listener, welcome back. You are with you shall receive power with Colin Hone and Ettienne McClintock. And we just wrapping it up as we looked at those sobering statements that God gives us not to make us just feel bad about ourselves and leave it at that. God wants us to feel good about our relationship with Him, but sometimes we have to face our true nature and who we are before the reality. Yeah, the Holy Spirit comes, the first thing it does, it convicts of sin. But praise God once it's done that, it also gives us the gift of repentance, because the Holy Spirit doesn't just stop there and then it convicts us of righteousness. And this is the righteousness of Christ, which we can receive by faith in Him. SPEAKER D I'm going to finish off with a couple of statements from selected messages, volume one from Ellen G. White. SPEAKER E Okay. SPEAKER D And I think it might help us. She goes and says, I will not dwell upon the shortness of uncertainty of life. There is uncertainty of life. But there is a terrible danger, a danger not sufficiently understood in delaying to yield to the pleading of the voice of God's, Holy Spirit, in choosing to live in sin. For such this delay really is. This is delay. We're choosing to live in sin. She's saying, yes. What is the core of sin? Because they do not believe in me. Unbelief unbelief. John 16, verse nine. The sign that we really believe and trust in Jesus is that we completely surrender ourselves to Him. It has to do with our complete surrender, our willingness to follow Him in everything. And I want to say this again. I took the chance of helmet said these serious statements here, and I know for some people that might be difficult to hear. But the crucial question is this this is the question we want to ask are we filled with the Holy Spirit or not? Because when a person's filled with the Holy Spirit, what is the prerequisites? It's surrender, it's repenting. And what are the positive results of a life of the Holy Spirit? What happens when you erroneously think you are filled with the Holy Spirit and when you're not? And the good thing is, we can be thankful that we're devoting ourselves more to this topic on revival, on Steps of Personal Revival. And I think that our great and marvelous God has important reasons for presenting us impulsive by the Holy Spirit for revival. We need revival in our lives, and we need the Holy Spirit. SPEAKER C Dear listener, that's my desire for my life, and I hope it's your desire as well. We look forward to catching up with you next time. May God bless you and fill you with his Holy Spirit. Until then. SPEAKER D You'Ve been listening to a production of three ABN Australia radio.