Change by the Spirit – How to Embrace Spiritual Disciplines audio video notes. Is there at least one thing you would like to change about the person sitting next to you? If you are sitting next to someone, then there may be something about you the person beside you might like to see change.
THE SPIRIT FILLED LIFE
By Pastor Delbert Young
Change by the Spirit
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Change by the Spirit
Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 3:18, John 14:12, Luke 4:18-21, Hebrews 4:14-15, Acts 10:38, 1 Samuel 16:13, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
CHANGE IS PRIMARY
We are beginning a new series today. It’s ‘The Spirit Filled Life’. Before we read our scriptures today, I want to ask a question. Is there at least one thing you would like to change about the person sitting next to you? If you are sitting next to someone, then there may be something about you the person beside you might like to see change. Believers should change. The truth of the matter is if we are believers and if we are not constantly changing then there is a problem. Changing is a primary aspect of enjoying a ‘Spirit filled life.’ The first aspect we want to discuss about a spirit filled life is allowing change.
I want to ask another question. What’s the potential of a human life lived under full submission to the change of the Holy Spirit? Have you ever thought about that? We have an answer and a picture of this potential. The picture is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the picture of the potential of a changed life filled and led by the Spirit. He is the picture of what every believer should desire to become through change. Some may say, “That’s impossible. No one can be like Jesus. He is the son of God. I am only human.”
Change by the Spirit
So, I ask a third question. If it were impossible to be like Jesus, then why does the Bible tell us that we are to change into the same image as Jesus? Let’s read our scriptures for today.
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Luke 4:18-21
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Change by the Spirit
In the previous passage from Luke, Jesus quoted from Isaiah chapter 61. This was a Messianic prophecy given seven hundred years before the then-coming anointed one. Jesus said on that day, ‘I’m da man.’
The believer is to be changed (conformed) to the image of Jesus. We not only do what he did, but we do “greater works” than he did.
SUPERMAN
The problem we have is we have been convinced and convinced ourselves that it is impossible to be like Jesus. The reason is we don’t really believe Jesus was a human person like you and me. If he were a real person, then there would be no problem, right? We don’t think he was actually human. He seemed human. He looked human, but he really wasn’t human, and He was just pretending. I’ll give us a twentieth-century version of this. I’ll show you the picture, and you tell me who it is.
Superman. He is “Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s Superman!” Superman pretended to be human. Superman disguised himself as a human named Clark Kent. He looked like a human, but he was a strange creature from another planet with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Sort of how we often view Jesus.
Change by the Spirit
When I was a kid, I loved Superman. I remember my mom pinning a towel to the shoulders of my shirt so I could have Superman’s cape. I pretended to fly, and I pretended that I had x-ray vision. Bullets would bounce off my chest. I could bend steel. I could leap tall buildings in a single bound. Superman was my hero, but I could never be like Superman because Superman was not human and more than that. He was not real.
Most people view Jesus like they view Superman.
We often see Jesus with a big ‘J’ on his chest. For some reason, we think his humanity was only a disguise. That is totally contradictory to what the scriptures teach. Beyond that, it would also be totally unfair of God to tease us about changing into an image that we could never achieve.
The truth is that Jesus is real and is a real human being.
Hebrews 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Change by the Spirit
The Bible says Jesus has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet without sin. Every human is tempted. Jesus knows about temptation. Also, Jesus changed. Jesus was a boy and grew (Luk 2:52). He grew in wisdom. Jesus had to learn things. Unlike Superman, Jesus really got tired, really got hungry, really got thirsty. Bullets and spears did not bounce off him. He bled, and he cried, and he knew loneliness and anguish and rejection. He died. Jesus was a real person.
The question is, “How did he do all he did if he were like me?” The answer is a spirit filled life.
Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
The purpose of a Spirit filled life, and the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, is so we can do what Jesus did and even do more. Jesus was baptized, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him. Isn’t it interesting that it was after the Holy Ghost descended upon Jesus that the Father said, “Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased?”
The secret to Jesus’ power in his life and ministry is that he lived in partnership with the Holy Spirit. Jesus allowed the Holy Spirit to change him. Jesus was conceived by the Spirit, baptized by the Spirit, and anointed by the Spirit. He was led by the Spirit. He ministered by the Spirit. Matthew 12:28 says that Jesus drove out evil spirits by the Spirit. He was resurrected by the Spirit. Jesus was a real human that was experienced a Spirit filled life. Jesus was ‘da man. ‘The success of Christ’s ministry and life was that he was changed by the Spirit.
Change by the Spirit
David
Let’s look at someone else who was anointed but wasn’t “without sin” like Jesus. Can God use people who are not perfect? I hope he can. Can they be anointed? I hope they can. In the Old Testament, when a person was to be set apart to serve God, somebody who was representing God would take a container, which was often an animal’s horn filled with oil, and pour the oil on the person’s forehead.
This was saying, “This person has a mission from God. They’ve been set apart and equipped by God.” God is saying, “I’m going to change you so I can use you.” There was nothing magic about the oil. In fact, no one put oil on Jesus. The oil was simply a picture that God gave for future reference. The anointing was always for a purpose. The priests were anointed to minister to God’s people. Kings were anointed to lead God’s people.
1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.
Samuel said, “David, you da man. You’re on a mission from God.” And, of course, all of David’s brothers thought, “He’s not da man.” But then, it says in 1 Samuel 16:13, “And from that day on, the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.” From that day, David’s life changed from glory to glory until he fulfilled the anointing. There will always be people who will do their best to damage our anointing. We must remember the moment when the anointing happened and remind ourselves that we are ‘da man.’
Change by the Spirit
Jesus said at the beginning of his ministry, “The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me.” Jesus was changed by the Spirit. David was anointed. David was successful because of the Spirit. The mission of the Spirit has not ended. The anointing of the Spirit has not ended.
2 Corinthians 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
2 Corinthians 1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
We are ‘da man’. We are born again by the Spirit, and we are baptized by the Spirit. Also, we are anointed by the Spirit. We are led by the Spirit. We minister by the Spirit. Paul said, “If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Rom 8:11).
Today, we are God’s anointed.
We are ‘da man.’ There is more to being a Christian than being forgiven of our sins. There is a changed life. That changed life will be a witness, minister to hurting people, and serve people.
Change by the Spirit
That’s our teaching time. I want to move into real-life applications. Tomorrow, we will all go into real life. How does a Spirit filled life work out into real time? Tomorrow, you and I will encounter a critical crossroads in life. We will come to key moments that will affect us or others in a major way. We must remember that we are the anointed. Each must remember that ‘You da man’ even if others don’t think ‘You da man.’
We must take a moment and say, “I’m anointed by God.” “The Spirit has given me wisdom. Holy Spirit, please guide me and empower me. Help me know what to do.” If we will just do that, we will always take the correct road.
We have some real people who are going to help us. They’re going to go through a couple of different scenarios. The first one has to do with evangelism. Jesus says, “The Spirit of the Lord has come upon me, for he has anointed me to proclaim good news.” Now, what happens when you’re in a conversation and the moment comes when you might be able to turn it in a spiritual direction? Do you remember, or not, that you are ‘da man’?
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor
The first drama skit was about evangelism. A person missed an opportunity to invite someone to church and help her children receive some positive influence. It was a critical crossroad missed. It was a divine appointment that we have all experienced but have blown. We must be changed by the Spirit so we can recognize these critical crossroads and divine appointments.
Change by the Spirit
The second drama skit was a rerun of the first, but this time, the moment was not missed. The Holy Spirit was included and the critical crossroad touched the life needing Christ. Everybody knows at least one person they want to see come to Christ. If we take the time to ask the Holy Spirit and wait on him, then we can’t go wrong. It requires a change in our ways.
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me . . . he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
The third and fourth drama skits are about helping hurting people. Jesus also talked about having been anointed by the Spirit so that he could help people who were hurting. He talked about those who are brokenhearted and in their individual bondage. There are opportunities for compassion. However, we must change from our regimented lifestyles and recognize the critical crossroads.
In the third skit, a divorced woman experiences her car breaking down. She has no money and is brokenhearted because things are going so badly for her. The person talking with her misses the critical crossroads and only shares how great things are for him. The hurting person goes away hurting more.
In the fourth skit, the same drama skit was done again, but this time, the critical crossroad was not missed.
We run into people who are hurting all the time. Somehow, we get into our own worlds and miss what the Spirit desires to do through us. I have learned a phrase that helps me in these moments. It’s just three words: Tell me more. So many times, when you’re with a hurting person, just that phrase could open a door. Maybe you’ll find that you don’t have a lot of wisdom or advice for somebody. If you just care, then you will help. There’s another little phrase: I’m so sorry. You just say to another person, “I’m so sorry. My heart feels for you. I care.” I promise that ministers to bruised people.
Change by the Spirit
Times of sharing with hurting people are divine appointments and critical crossroads that are set in motion by God. We can’t miss them. We must be changed by the Spirit to recognize them and minister to them. God will never send someone along our paths that we cannot help. Helping does not necessarily mean having all the answers the person may need. It does mean listening and having compassion.
The fifth and sixth drama skits are about serving. Opportunities to serve others are divine appointments that God will use. We must allow the Holy Spirit to change us so we will serve others. In the fifth skit, a husband totally blows serving his wife. Often, we miss opportunities to minister to those close to us. We don’t see the critical crossroad with someone close to us. In the sixth skit, the same crossroad was not missed. The husband served his wife.
The Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus and poured out by the Father so we could live as partners with him in life.
The Spirit has anointed us to be on a mission from God. We will run into all kinds of moments tomorrow. Maybe it will be about evangelism, showing compassion, or serving someone. The difference between spirituality and carnality is being changed by the Holy Spirit.
Let’s all pause and say the wisdom prayer: “Spirit, give me wisdom. Guide me and follow me.” We can do that. What is the potential of a human life lived in full submission to the power of the Holy Spirit? It is doing what Jesus did and even more.
Change by the Spirit
A primary job of the Holy Spirit is to change us.
Change by the Spirit audio video notes
Change by the Spirit audio video notes
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