What Spirit Are You Of

[00:00:00] This audio sermon is provided by AnabaptistSermons.com and may be freely copied and distributed. You may not sell or edit this sermon. Our prayer is that you would be blessed by this ministry. Good morning. Welcome back. Nelson, welcome back. [00:00:35] What some wonderful songs you sang. If, uh, good message in the song, we could just keep right on singing. Have a revival through song. If we would listen to what we're singing. I was challenged. I want to continue looking at Paul. [00:01:07] I want to first of all thank you for praying for me. And pray that you would keep praying for me as I speak. And if I take something out of context or I interpret something a little wrong, I'm open to correction big time. It's challenged by what Paul said in Romans chapter 1. [00:01:44] Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God. That was challenging to me. Separated to the Gospel. What's the Gospel? The Cross of Christ. Separated to the Cross of Christ. It's like, to me, Paul had the Cross of Christ in his vision non-stop. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to live the life that he did. [00:02:16] And, but this morning, that's part of the message this morning, but I don't know what a title would be. Maybe that, or maybe a title could be, what spirit are you of? Maybe that's totally different, but maybe not. What spirit are you of? In Luke 9, verse 55. Actually, I'll read maybe 51 to 56. Luke chapter 9. [00:03:01] I'd like to think this morning about what spirit are we of. And that spirit is going to determine the message of my life, the message of your life. In looking at Paul's life, there's a huge message there. Message after message after message. And why was there such... it's a good message. It's a message of Christ. [00:03:31] Look at it. But why? I think it was the spirit that was within him. And so I would like for us to examine ourselves this morning and see what spirit we are of. Luke chapter 9, 51 Now it came to pass when the time had come for him to be received up that he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem [00:04:02] and sent messengers before his face And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans to prepare for him. But they did not receive him because his face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them as Elijah did? But he turned and rebuked them and said, You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. [00:04:38] And they went to another village. Do we know what spirit we are of? Here, James and John, the Lord told them that they didn't. They didn't even know it. What spirit are we of? What message is coming from my life? What message is coming from the life I'm living? Your life. I want to turn to Matthew 10. [00:05:22] Just one verse. Verse 16. Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. I hope that my illustrations all make sense and I hope it all goes together and the Lord can speak to us this morning. I want to look at the difference between sheep and wolves. It's a big difference. [00:05:52] And maybe I wouldn't even need to say something, but I had to think also of how in John 1, John the Baptist saw Jesus come in and said, Behold the Lamb of God. He was a lamb. And so as we look at the difference between sheep and wolves, there's a huge difference. [00:06:25] I don't know if, you know, has anybody shared a sheep before? I don't think I haven't, but I think I've seen some sheep being shorn. Did I use that right? That was good. If I'm right, I think that they just kind of sit down and they just lay there. Shear them and I don't know if they struggle. Does anybody know? Do they struggle at all? Do they a little bit? [00:06:57] Do you have to really sit on them or do they just sit there and take it? Do they? Probably around the neck, cut off that. No, I'm just kidding. But as I was thinking of a sheep, some words came to mind. Harmless, defenseless, surrendered. I was hoping they didn't really fight back. Dave, wrong answer. I don't know. But have you ever tried to shear a wolf before? [00:07:30] Imagine the difference, shearing a wolf. I think that would be totally different. But, you know, a wolf will attack and kill. It will defend itself. It will charge you, you know, it will fight. I don't know what sheep do. I kind of have pictured in my mind that sheep will kind of gather in a group to protect themselves, I think. [00:08:03] If you look at sheep and wolves, what kind of spirit are, what's the difference in the message of the way they are? If you look at a sheep, what message are they sending? What spirit comes from a sheep? Now I know they can't have spirits, but I hope you know what I mean. Or a wolf, just even by looking at them. And so I had to ask myself, here we are in the midst of wolves, and we, Jesus is sending us as sheep. [00:08:48] And John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God. How can we be sheep? Are we being sheep? Is that the message of my life? Your life. Or are we a wolf? Fighting back. Or being aggressive. And then he says, Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. [00:09:22] Even look at the difference between serpents and doves. I'd like to go to Genesis chapter 3. The first five verses or so. Very familiar verses again. Now the serpent, verse 1 of chapter 3, [00:09:59] Now the serpent was more subtle or cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said, or yea, hath God said, you should not eat of the very tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. Then the serpent said to the woman, you will not surely die, for God knows that in the [00:10:35] day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Then we know how the story goes on and on and on, how the woman took and ate. I'd like for us to look at the serpent. How he kind of gave a partial truth. You know, he said, you won't surely die. [00:11:07] You know, they didn't just keel over like Ananias and Sapphira. But they did die spiritually and they did die later on in the old life. I don't know how old they were. It's like he took something, he twisted it, he doubted God, he put some doubt there. And he didn't take them for God's Word. The serpent didn't. [00:11:39] He was very deceptive. He twisted the truth. You know, it's like he painted it all up and made it look really pretty. Made it real good. He gave them. It's like he set a reward out there. And I had to think, what was the reward? You won't surely die. You'll know. You'll be like God. That was the reward that he was trying to give to them. But was that reward a blessing or a curse? [00:12:14] It was a curse. It wasn't a blessing. See, he said, you will be as God. God knows that when you eat, your eyes will be open and you will be like God. But that was a curse. So, I want us to look at, are there truths that God wants us to learn? [00:12:49] That maybe we twist a little bit so we don't have to learn them. Are there truths about our lives that we don't want to submit to? Are there verses? Are there sermons? Are there truths from people's mouth? Truths from God's Word, more importantly, that we don't want to listen to? [00:13:20] that we allow Satan to twist and to turn so that we don't have to humble ourselves. I'm not going to humble myself. That's not my problem. I don't have that problem. I also want to notice how a serpent does very good at hiding. I thought yesterday I was thinking I should have a snake up there or a dove. You know, a dove will sit here out in the open. [00:13:53] What will a snake do? The snake, you ever see a snake on your back patio just kind of sunbathing himself? Wrong answer, Cam. I always find them in the weirdest places. Or not weirdest, but you lift up a log. It's a snake. Or he's down in the grass. And you walk by him and sometimes you don't even know him. Maybe the guy behind you comes behind you and, Hey, there's a snake! You know, he was down in the grass hiding. [00:14:27] He's just kind of there. You can walk by him. You don't even notice. He just kind of blends in. Proverbs 28, 13. I should have just wrote some of these down, these single verses. He who covers his sin will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. So what spirit are we of? Are we a person that wants to cover things up? [00:15:00] If we want to cover things up, what spirit are we of? If we want to keep things out in the open, hey, I failed here. I'm sorry. I'm terribly sorry. What spirit are we of? 1 John chapter 2, verse 15 to 17. [00:15:33] Very familiar. Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it. But he who does the will of God abides forever. And also in James... Chapter 4, verse 4, Adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? [00:16:22] Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Now I know, I believe that there's not one person in here that wants to be an enemy of God. Not one person here. But are there things that we are thinking, are there things that we are doing, things that we are saying, excuses that we're making for ourselves, saying that we want to be? [00:16:56] Are we twisting it? Is Satan twisting it? Are we deceiving ourselves? What is, what spirit am I of? Do we really love Jesus? Is the Spirit and the message of my life saying, I love Jesus, when people look at me, when they look at you, people that know you best, or even the stranger that don't know you so good? What is your Spirit and your message saying? [00:17:29] And sometimes it's pretty easy for us to look at the youth, look at what they're doing, the clothes they're wearing, their hairstyles. Places they're going, their interests, the things that they want to talk about. It's always cars and sports and boy, we can really get down on them. But it's not just for youth. It's for all of us. [00:18:02] What are we interested in? What do we love to talk about? Where is our love? Is it on gadgets and computers? Is it on work? Is it on whatever? Where is our love? Is our love in just looking good? Or do we love the Lord and that flows from within? [00:18:37] Mark chapter 7 Actually, yeah. 21 to 23 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, laudness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. [00:19:22] All these evil things come from within and defile a man. Is that just for youth? It's for me. What spirit am I of? Sometimes, I think for me, we can have a fear of man. [00:19:59] Proverbs 29 says, The fear of man bringeth a snare. We used to be into trapping. I think Davis and Peyton made some snares, didn't you? I have never made one, never set one up. I don't know how to, but I think I kind of know how they work. And is a snare for their head or for their foot? What is a snare for? Doesn't it just kind of hang there in their path and they kind of run in there and it gets tight and chokes the life out of them? [00:20:30] Fear of man bringeth a snare In Galatians chapter 1 verse 10 Paul says For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still please men I would not be a bondservant of Christ If I still please men I wouldn't be a bondservant So he wasn't trying to please men How can we be men pleasers? That's probably a long subject. [00:21:00] I heard Nate one time say he's a man pleaser. I know what he was talking about. He was talking about work and making people happy and getting them their lumber on time and all this. But how do we please men? I think that we say what they want to hear so that we're not embarrassed. Is that a man pleaser? I don't know. Maybe it would apply a couple of different ways, but are we willing, am I willing to stand alone? [00:21:40] Am I willing to stand up for Christ? Am I willing to stand up for His righteousness? No matter what, no matter the people around me, no matter what they're going to say, no matter if they're going to laugh at my clothes, at my hairstyle, at my way of thinking, at me wanting to be a goody-goody, It don't matter. It didn't matter to Paul. Why would it matter to me? Paul had the Cross in view. He was separated under the Gospel. He was separated under the Cross of Christ. [00:22:18] Christ. So nothing else mattered to him except Christ and Christ alone. So where do we get power to do this? Where do we get power to stand alone? Where do we get the desire? How do we get it? How do we get this desire to stand alone? Why would we even want to? And first, let's turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. [00:23:05] Verse 18 says, For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. So if you take out all the words that are in the middle and you say, for the message of the cross is the power of God. The message of the cross is the power of God. And I'm not saying that we take those words out in the middle. I'm just saying to help me understand it a little better. The message of the cross is the power of God. [00:23:37] What is the message of the cross? Here's Christ loving me enough while I was yet a sinner. Died, gave Himself for me. I can come to Him with my sins. It's the only way to God is through Him. Humbling myself before the Cross. There's power in that. And as we keep our eyes focused on Christ hanging there, dying for us, we receive power. [00:24:11] It gives us desire. Why wouldn't we give ourselves for Him who gave Himself for us? Why wouldn't we? At any cost. Am I not willing to give myself for Christ? All of me? He gave all of himself to me. Why wouldn't I spend myself? [00:24:45] Why wouldn't I just give up everything? What is it? Why wouldn't I? So, when he says the message of the cross is the power of God, no kidding it is. Look at Paul, his life. What was his message? This was his message. Look at the spirit coming out of him. Let's read chapter 2. I want to read all 16 verses. And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, [00:25:22] declaring to you the testimony or mystery of God. He didn't come with any wisdom. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Okay, so that tells me again that He's got the Cross, He's got Jesus Christ and Him crucified focused, set in front of Him. He's zeroed in on it. [00:25:54] For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. What spirit was he of? Verse 6 [00:26:28] However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages of our glory, which none of the rulers of this age know. for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory but as it is written eye has not seen nor ear heard nor have entered into the heart of man [00:27:01] the things which God has prepared for those who love Him but God has revealed them to us through His Spirit for the Spirit searches all things yes, the deep things of God this is through His Spirit that this happens Verse 11, For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? What do we know? As a man, what do we know? Except the things of a man. [00:27:36] Even so, no one knows the things of God except the spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, [00:28:12] nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. What spirit are we of? Spirit of man, Spirit of holiness, Spirit of God. [00:28:46] We have the Spirit of the world chasing after the things of the world and calling it something that it's not. Allowing Satan to twist a truth. Allowing Satan to convince us that we're okay doing this? What spirit are we of? Are we totally given up to Him? [00:29:20] Totally given over? Surrendered? As we look at the cross, as we look at the message of the cross, as we see Him dying there for us, He wouldn't even have to. In 1 Corinthians, yeah, let's see what he says in chapter 6. [00:29:57] Verse 19 and 20. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you from whom you have from God and you are not your own? for you were bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's. [00:30:36] I'll turn to Mark chapter 1 verse 10 real quick. This is John the Baptist It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, he saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove. [00:31:07] Then a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And Paul is telling us here that we are bought with a price. He's got this message of the cross. He's got the cross, Jesus hanging there in his eyes. And he's telling us we were bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. And looking at how the Spirit came down like a dove. [00:31:50] And a question is, you know, do you feel, are the heavens open above you? Are you pure before God? Are you pure in your thoughts? Are you pure in your actions? Are you pure in the things that you say? Are you pure in the things that you desire? [00:32:25] Or are you hiding? Afraid to come into the light? Because you're going to be humiliated. What spirit are we of? What spirit are you of? We need to humble ourselves. I want to close with a verse from 2 Timothy 1.7-8 [00:33:05] For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, and a spirit of love and a spirit of a sound mind. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. I pray that God would speak to us, that we would submit ourselves to Him as we look to the Cross. Continue looking there. Looking at the Cross is not a one-time. [00:33:36] It's not a one-time thing. Paul said that we are being saved. We are being sanctified. So this morning, I praise the Lord for His Holy Spirit. How He speaks to us. How He brings conviction. How he wants us to grow. How he wants us to submit ourselves to him. Day after day after day after day. Not a once a year thing. Let's pray. [00:34:22] Lord, thank you for who you are. Thank you, Lord, for loving us. For loving us first. Lord, I know that each one of us here wants to love you more. Lord, I pray that you would draw us to you. That you would speak clearly. That you would give us power as we seek you, as we seek your face, as we seek your truths. [00:35:03] Help us to be honest. Help us not to listen to the devil and how he twists truth. Help us not to justify ourselves by some for excuse. But help us to be open and honest And thank you Lord for the freedom that you give us By coming clean Thank you for making us pure time after time Help us to live uprightly in your righteousness [00:35:35] In Jesus name, Amen