Do You Have the Spirit of God in You?

[00:00:00] All right, let's get our Bible out and turn to the Book of Acts, chapter number 19. [00:00:08] Acts, chapter 19. [00:00:16] We'll begin reading in verse number one, just a little bit of background on this passage. We want to read down through verse number ten. [00:00:25] It Paul is at this point coming to the city of Ephesus. Now, there are several major in the book of Acts and the narrative and the history of acts. There are several major cities. Thessalonica is a major point. Athens is a major point. But there are a number of places in Listra and Derby and Lyconia and various places we've already studied where they're kind of high points in the book of Acts. And it certainly doesn't give the whole story of everywhere that Paul went as a missionary. But Ephesus is one of those high points. [00:01:01] And many great things happened in Ephesus. And this church actually persisted all long after Paul's life. It's mentioned in revelation, chapter number two, in which it's a church that is commended for its adherence to sound doctrine, although even within, as they say, probably 30 or 40 years of Paul's death, the church had already started to slip in a major way. Would anybody know what way that was not in doctrine, but in what? [00:01:34] Somebody help me. Revelation two, the love. Exactly. Their love had slipped. Their love had slipped. But this is the beginning. This is the origin story of the book of the church at Ephesus. [00:01:51] Verse one says this, and it came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper coasts, came to Ephesus, and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, have ye received the Holy Ghost, since she believed? And they said unto him, we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. [00:02:14] And he said unto them, unto what then were ye baptized? And they said unto John's baptism. [00:02:21] Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. [00:02:35] When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [00:02:40] And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them. And they spake with tongues and prophesied, and all the men were about twelve, verse eight. And he went into the synagogue and spake boldly by the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened and believed not but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them and separated the disciples disputing daily in the school of one tyrannus. [00:03:20] And this continued by the space of two years. So that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus. Both Jews and Greeks. Let's pray together. [00:03:34] Father, thank you that you love us. Thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ and for the presence of your spirit in us. Lord, this is not a figment of our imagination. [00:03:48] It is not a mere doctrinal point. [00:03:52] But Lord, your presence with us and in us is an indisputable and highly influential and effectual factor in our life. Lord, it has totally transformed us. Thank you, Lord, that you have promised to be with us, Lord, to the very moment that we leave this world and go to be with you personally. [00:04:17] Lord, thank you for the church here. Thank you for those that have come to listen to the word. And Lord, would you please teach your people and teach all that are here the truth of your word. And I pray that each person would be strengthened and helped by your word. And Lord, please help me to say what it is you would have me to say. And to refrain from that which you would not want me to say. [00:04:40] And I pray that you would just control everything that's done. And you would work in the heart of each and every person according as you know, their needs are. So, Lord, we commit this time to you in Jesus name. Amen. [00:04:56] Now you notice in verse one, Apollos is mentioned. And you probably picked up on the beginning, verses one through seven of this chapter. How similar this group of twelve Jews and their situation was to Apollos. Like Apollos, they. And it might have been directly as a result of Apollos, who we saw, he only knew the baptism of John. Now, John, just for those that weren't here last week or just to get caught up, John was the forerunner of Christ. And he came and he came to Israel. And he was of course, related to the Lord Jesus in his family. But he came and before Christ ever revealed who he was, John was baptizing people with the baptism of repentance. To prepare them by repentance for the coming of the Lord Jesus. Because their heart preparation really affected, would really affect whether they would receive Christ. And you know what you found? The very people who submitted by repentance to the baptism of John. Were the very people who were open to Christ. And those that refused, I. E. The Pharisees, the religious folk, the proud folk in Israel, those were the very people who also persecuted Christ and did not receive him. So in that way, the John's ministry was effective. And it did exactly what he came to do, which is prepare the way for the Lord Jesus. But here we find, like Apollos, after long after Christ has already died for our sins and gone back to heaven, here we have, there are still people, there are still Jews in this time, years later, that only know of John. They haven't yet heard the gospel. [00:06:37] And these Jews, what's interesting is this story, this account of Paul meeting these twelve Jews. It says in verse seven, all the men were about twelve. You think of all that Paul did and how many thousands and thousands of people came to Christ as a result of Paul's ministry. And yet the Holy Spirit tells us about one small, rather insignificant instance of twelve people who were all of this is actually not normative. This is not the normal process. And I'll show that to you in just a minute. By which people came to the Lord. That wasn't common. That's why it's mentioned with Apollos. It's mentioned here as well. And so he comes to these people, verse two says, and he said unto them, notice in verse one, so I don't skip this, he found certain disciples. Now notice that word disciples. Note that in your mind, if you would. He found certain disciples. Verse two says this. And he said unto them, have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. Now, what's interesting is these people knew about the baptism of John. And what did John say? Again, we're repeating a little bit from last week. But what did John say? He said, there cometh one after me. [00:08:01] Speaking of Jesus, there cometh one after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. [00:08:10] He said, I baptize with water unto repentance. But he shall baptize with what? Two things, the Holy Ghost and with fire, which is a reference to judgment. Right. He says, he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. So if these people were disciples of John and they had received that baptism from John, why is it that they act like they don't know what the Holy Ghost is? [00:08:36] It's a curious question. It could be that they knew what the Holy Ghost was, but they didn't know whether he had come. [00:08:44] They were stuck kind of in a time warp, just like Apollos was. Now, what I want to point out, to start with, before I get to the main point of what I want to say this morning, is this. In verse number two. Sometimes people take verse two and they lift it right off the page, as if that's the only thing in the chapter. And it goes like this. [00:09:05] So you might have a person who believes this idea, and they might come to you, and you say, you're a Christian, you're a believer, right? Oh, I'm a believer. And they say, well, have you received the Holy Ghost since you've believed? They quote Paul, but the problem is when you do that, like, if I was to say that to Sister Mark as an example, Sister Mark, you believed in Christ, but have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? It's a question that it's going somewhere. It has a motive, right? [00:09:34] And it's a question that's often asked by people that have various views, different views, wrong views about the Holy Spirit and how he works in people. [00:09:46] So I want to address that very quickly before we move on. You can't make this stand alone because these people were in a very specific and unique situation. [00:09:59] They're a very specific and unique situation. Number one, these men had not even heard of Christ. Look at verse four. [00:10:07] John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him, which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. So if they were disciples of John, then they would have believed on Jesus, because that's what John said to do if they had known him. So these men had not heard of Christ. In that way. They're different than us. These men had only been baptized with the baptism of John. They had not received christian baptism. All right? That's the key distinction. We call it believers baptism, which is the same as christian baptism. Verse number three. [00:10:42] They had not heard of Christ. They had not been baptized except with the baptism of John. They had not believed in Christ because they hadn't heard of Christ yet. And even though verse one calls them disciples, they were not disciples in a christian way, but they were disciples of John the Baptist, because John the Baptist also had disciples while he was yet alive. [00:11:02] So here's why I say all that. I'm not trying to bore you, but I just want to address one issue. [00:11:09] For these reasons, these people are not Christians. Okay, that's what I want you to get to. These people are not Christians. They had not heard of Christ up to this point. [00:11:20] So the idea that someone would take this verse and they would look at Sister Judy and say, so, yeah, I know you believe in Jesus, but have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? And to lift it out of its context because people do it. People do it is a wrong way to use the Bible. [00:11:39] And here's the idea that's put forth that there is something else. [00:11:45] So you have put your faith in Christ. You have trusted in him for your eternal life. Your faith is resting squarely on Jesus'blood and his righteousness, his blood shed in your place for your sins, right? His resurrection. This is the gospel, right? This is the gospel. You would put your faith in Christ, and yet some people will say to you, but there's something else. [00:12:08] It's not done. [00:12:10] Do you have the Holy Ghost? And a lot of times it's connected with the idea of tongues, right? Unknown tongues, as if there is some additional blessing that is called a second blessing. There's some additional thing yet that you still do not have, that you lack, and that you should therefore pray to receive the Holy Ghost. [00:12:32] And I'm just quoting here with evidence of speaking in tongues. That's the terminology that's used. [00:12:39] Here's what I want you to understand, is that you can't use this verse for that. [00:12:44] You can't use this verse for that, because this verse, in fact, hold your place here. And look back at acts, chapter eight, acts, chapter eight and verse number 14. Because almost the exact same thing, a very similar event happens with, not with Paul, but with Peter in acts, chapter eight and verse 14. And we've already studied this, so I'm not going to spend a long time on it. Acts eight, verse 14. The Bible says this. Now, when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost, for as yet he was fallen upon none of them. Only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. You see this? So these Samaritans had believed in Christ, but yet they had not received the spirit of God. And so Peter and the apostles come down, they pray for them, they lay their hands on them, and at that moment, after they had been saved, after they had trusted in Christ, they received the spirit of God. Okay, same thing's happening in Acts 19. Same thing. But instead of Peter, it's Paul, which shows us that Peter and Paul are equal as far as their apostolic ministry. Okay, now go to acts, chapter ten. Again, this is review for those that have been here for our study in acts, acts, chapter ten, and verse number 43. Now, in the account of Cornelius, something different happens. Okay, so with the Jews in the book of Acts, with the Jews, the people did not get the spirit of God until they had an apostle had laid his hands on them and prayed for them. And at that point, after they had believed in Christ, at that point, sometime after they received the spirit of God, that's a biblical truth from acts. That is what happened. Okay. [00:14:48] But then you get to Cornelius and the Lord does something totally different and you think, which one's right, which one is the way it is. Now I'm going somewhere with this, so don't let me lose you. Okay. Acts chapter ten and verse number 43. [00:15:03] Peter, finishing his sermon to Cornelius, says this to him, give all the prophets, witness Jesus, that through his name, Jesus'name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. Now we know that Cornelius and the group with him are not jewish, they're not samaritan, they're just regular gentiles like us. Okay? Unless you're a Jew. [00:15:27] Verse 44. [00:15:29] While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished as many as came with Peter, because that on the gentiles was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. [00:15:48] Peter did not pray. Peter did not lay hands on anybody. [00:15:53] These people had not been baptized. None of that happened. And yet while Peter is actually speaking, the spirit of God comes upon them. Okay. [00:16:04] For they heard verse 46. How did they know that? For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Now, how we've again, I'm reviewing a little bit, but how did Peter and them know that they were magnifying God when these people spoke in tongues, except that they understood what they were saying, right? So the tongues here is not unintelligible. It is a language understood by the hearers. [00:16:32] Then answered Peter, can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized? Which indicates that they had believed, because there's only one kind of baptism, believers baptism as well as we, and which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we. And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, then prayed they him to Terry certain days. So with Cornelius, all I'm trying to point out is there is a difference in methodology going on here. In acts 19, these twelve Jews have just heard about Jesus and have been baptized, but they did not get the spirit of God until Paul laid his hands on them. Same thing in acts eight. But now in acts ten, non Jews, when they're just hearing the word and all of a sudden faith spontaneously comes up in their heart and they trust in Jesus in their heart, like nobody knows that but God. And at that moment they receive the spirit of God. [00:17:28] What is going on here? You see, that's why I say this is not a normal occurrence. And I'll show you why in just a minute that what's happening in Acts chapter 19 is not what we would call normative. It's a transition. That's why you see different things happening to different groups of people. Now, the reason I brought this up is because I want it to be kind of a segue into the main thing I want to say. [00:17:59] So he lays his hands, Peter, verse in acts 19, Peter lays his hands on these people. [00:18:06] Verse six says, and when Paul. I'm sorry, it was Paul. And when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied, which indicated that they had the spirit of God. Right? [00:18:22] From this point on, this is the last time this thing happens, okay? From this moment on, actually going back to Cornelius, all through chapter ten, all throughout all of christian history, now, there's only one way it happens, that when a person puts their faith in Christ, at that moment, that faith is in their heart, they receive the spirit of God, okay? That's what you see in acts ten. You see an exception to that which matches what was previous dealing with the jewish people. But that's transitioning away, and a lot of things are changing in acts at this point. [00:19:04] Now, here's the reason I brought that up. [00:19:07] That means if you have put your faith in Christ, you have the spirit of God. [00:19:15] That's New Testament doctrine. Okay? Now, the question I want to ask you is this. [00:19:23] Do you have the spirit of God in you? [00:19:28] And I asked that question, well, first of all, because Paul asked it in verse two, have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? Now, I know there are differences. My question is a little bit different than Paul's questions, but it was an important question to Paul. That's the thing I want you to see. It was an important question. Do you have the spirit of God? [00:19:49] Having the spirit of God or not having the spirit of God was an indicator, a marker to Paul, which is why he's asking it verse two. And so I ask you that same question, each one of you. Do you have the spirit of God in you? [00:20:02] And me asking this question is not. I'm not asking you about a doctrinal position that you might have. It's not like a dry doctrinal question that maybe theologians would debate. [00:20:14] I'm not asking that. I'm saying, do you as an individual, have God's spirit in you evidently, apparently. And honestly, this is not so much, although it has doctrinal parts to it. This is a practical question. [00:20:37] This is a practical question and it has real life and eternal implications. [00:20:44] So I'm not asking you, do you believe that Christians have the spirit of God? I'm not asking you that. I'm asking if you, as an individual in your heart and life, actually do have the spirit of God dwelling in you. [00:21:01] Now, why am I asking that? Besides Paul asking, look at Ephesians, chapter one. [00:21:06] Ephesians, chapter one, verse number 13. [00:21:25] Well, actually, we need to go back a little bit. [00:21:28] Verse number eleven. [00:21:32] A lot of people go to this verse, go to this passage because of what's the second word in verse number five. And they build a whole edifice of doctrine on predestination. And we're not going to spend a lot of time in that. But just jump into verse eleven because it informs us, as the word predestined in this verse as well. Verse eleven says, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. In this verse, the predestination is a predestination to an inheritance. [00:22:08] In other words, the Lord has so ordered and determined in his mind and heart that those who trust in Christ will receive an inheritance and be joint heirs with Christ. He didn't have to do that. He could have just saved us and let us go to heaven and that would be it. But we have way more than that, right? I mean, if someone breaks into your house and you don't shoot them and you let them go out, you let them leave, you've kind of pardoned them, if you will. But the Lord could have done that. Well, I'm not going to send you to hell. I'm just going to forgive you. That's great, right? That's great. He didn't just do that. [00:22:47] The predestined was not only that, but the guy who breaks into your house and you don't shoot him and you pardon him, now you've let him come live with you and now you've even written him in your will. [00:22:56] That's quite a different thing, is it not? [00:22:59] That's what the predestination is about. [00:23:03] But notice verse twelve, that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. Notice the first trusted. People don't like to discuss that on predestination, but this is the beginning point. [00:23:17] In whom ye also trusted. After that, ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed ye were sealed with that holy spirit of promise. Now, you think of. We've covered this already, so again, I'm going to hurry. Say you have a letter that's addressed. A person has addressed a letter to another person, but the writer of that letter, of course, their salutation is at the bottom from so and so. And they fold the letter up, and then they seal it. So I'm using the biblical method. You could still get wax seals to this day. So they melt wax on the seam of the letter, and then they take a seal which is unique to them. [00:24:05] And while the wax is hot, they press it into the wax, and when the wax cools enough to solidify, they lift the seal. And not only is the letter sealed, so you can tell if anybody has opened it or altered it, but it is also verified that the person who wrote it and sealed it, it is authentic to them. So we would say in verse number 13, after that, ye believed you were sealed with that holy spirit of promise. So, again, to have the spirit of God in you is a seal. [00:24:46] That you are a genuine child of God. That you're not just a Christian in name or by profession, but you are a true child of God. You might say, not that you have received Christ, but that Christ has received you. That's a different. That's a different thing. [00:25:07] Everybody in Greenville believes in know by profession, right? Almost everybody in Greenville believes in Jesus. [00:25:15] But, you know, not all people have been received by God. [00:25:18] So it's not that we know Christ, but that he knows us. You see, because when you put your faith in Christ sincerely turning from your sin and trusting in Jesus, you know what he does? He seals you. [00:25:35] He seals you to demonstrate that you are the genuine thing, that he knows you, that you have a special relationship with him. It's not just what you say, but what he says. You see what I'm saying? [00:25:52] The seal is the presence of the spirit of God in you. So here's what I say. This question of whether you or whether I have the spirit of God has many implications. Here's the thing. [00:26:05] If you or I do not have the spirit of God in us, we are not going to heaven when we die. [00:26:13] That's the implications of this. We are still in our sins. [00:26:17] We're still on our way to the lake of fire. [00:26:21] This is not just a doctrinal question. It's a practical question. It's a practical question that you can use to examine yourself on this day. What is it? March 3, 2024. To see whether you're in Christ or not because you have a seal. He is the spirit of God in you. Do you have the spirit of God in you? [00:26:45] That is the question. If you would look at first John real quick. Chapter number three. [00:26:52] First John, chapter three. [00:26:55] And then we'll go to Romans chapter eight. After that, first John, chapter three, verse number 24. [00:27:18] 1st John three, verse 24, says this, and he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him. Now, we'll get to Romans eight in just a minute, and it'll shed light on that. Lest anyone misunderstand that God is saying that you're saved by keeping the commandments because you're not. Jesus kept them in commandments in our place, and he in him. And hereby, we know that he abideth in us by the spirit which he hath given us. The purpose of the book of first John is that we might know that we have eternal life. But, Darryl, how do you know that you, Brother Darryl Wallace, has eternal life? You know how? The spirit of God in you. Listen, you and I, we can say whatever we want about I have eternal life. I'm going to heaven, all mansion. You can say whatever you want. But it's not our own testimony of ourself that matters. It's God's heaven. Right. It's whether God testifies to that fact. Right. Look at chapter four. First John, verse number 13. [00:28:26] Chapter four, verse 13, says this. Hereby know we that we dwell in him and he in us because he hath given us of his spirit. [00:28:38] Are you in God? [00:28:40] Is God in you? Are you in Christ? Is Christ in you? How do you know? [00:28:47] Do you have the spirit of God? That is the only answer. There is no other way to tell. That is the only answer. So let's go now to Romans eight, verse one. [00:28:57] And we'll stay there for the rest of our time. [00:29:02] Romans eight, verse number one. [00:29:09] Now listen to this. Matthew Henry. He was alive in the 17 hundreds, right? In the 18th century. Matthew Henry. Here's what he said. [00:29:17] The Holy Ghost is promised to all believers. That's true, right? It's a seal. [00:29:25] The Holy Ghost is promised to all believers, to all petitioners. [00:29:30] But many are deceived in this matter, thinking they have received the Holy Ghost when really they have not. [00:29:41] That's true. [00:29:44] That's true. In other words, here's kind of the way I kind of interpret this. Or look at this, what he just said, which is true. And it's funny. That's 300 years ago. [00:29:56] And yet it's still true today in exactly the same way. [00:30:00] Many people say this. Listen now, many people say, I am a Christian, therefore I must have God's spirit in me. [00:30:11] That's the wrong way to view it, because you're assuming something. [00:30:17] I am a Christian. In other words, the basis when you say that I am a Christian, therefore I must have God's spirit. The basis of your statement is your own testimony of you being a Christian. [00:30:30] But listen, being a Christian is not whether, again, not your profession. It's whether you have been received by the Lord. [00:30:40] In other words, you can knock on the door, but it's only when the Lord lets you in that you're in. Do you understand what I'm saying? Jesus is the door. [00:30:50] In other words, you can say all day long, I'm inside. But unless you are inside, it doesn't matter what you say nor what I say. [00:31:00] You see, when God gives a person the spirit of God, which is for all true believers in Christ, all children of God, when he does that, he's setting his seal that they're in, that you are true blue inside, so we might say, I'm a Christian, therefore I must have the Holy Ghost. I mean, that's what the doctrine says, so it must be true. In reality, we should say it like this. It should be the reverse. [00:31:26] Because remember, the Holy Spirit is a seal, a mark of the genuine article. On the contrary, here's what we should say. [00:31:33] I have the spirit of God, therefore I know I am a Christian. That is the proper way to use this truth. [00:31:44] I have the spirit of God, therefore I know I am a Christian. That's how it's to be used. So I gask again. Do you have the spirit of God? Look at Romans eight, verse one. [00:31:56] There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. [00:32:06] For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Now notice that if you have the spirit of God, and if I have the spirit of God, we are under the law of the spirit of life. [00:32:21] We are no longer slaves to sin and its accompanying death. You see, that's what this verse is saying. Because we have the spirit of God, we have been made alive, and we are no longer servants to sin. Now we know a servant has no choice. That's what a servant is, right? A servant has no choice, so he must do what he is told. And a servant and a slave to sin sins because he is obligated to that sin, he is in bondage to it. But a person who is made free by the law, the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, is not a servant. So if a Christian, and we know that born again Christians, children of God, sometimes sin. But when we do that, we do so voluntarily, just like the servant who is free might go back and work for his master, even though he doesn't have to. And it's a terrible master and a terrible thing to do. But sometimes we do that voluntarily. But we have been made free from sin and death by how? The spirit of God, verse two. And this is where the. Listen, this is where the rubber meets the road. Please listen. This is where the rubber meets the road. [00:33:39] This is where our life, the way we live. Now listen. Living right, trying to avoid sin, trying to do righteousness, that doesn't save you. You trust in that, you'll go straight to the lake of fire. [00:33:56] But if you and I have the spirit of God, because we have trusted in Jesus, he will affect a change, a material, a real, true life change in the way we live. Not us. He will do it because we are under the law of the spirit of life, not the law of sin and death. We were slaves to sin. Now we're free. That must affect the way you live. It must affect the way you live. It's not just words. [00:34:31] Verse three. For what the law could not do, and that it was weak through the flesh. [00:34:37] God sending his own son, keeping laws and regulations and rules of any religion, can never take away your sin, can never make you righteous. [00:34:48] So God sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh. Verse three and four. Sin condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us. Notice the next couple of phrases who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. You see that in verse number four, it says, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us. Now look, if you're a child of God and I'm a child of God, we have the spirit of God in us as the seal and the mark of that truth. Should our life fulfill the righteousness of the law? Is that not what the verse says? Right. [00:35:28] The spirit of God in us causes us to fulfill the righteousness of the law. It changes the way we live. [00:35:38] The Lord in us is urging us to do right, to stay away from sin, to go toward righteousness. [00:35:48] We must also contend with the flesh as long as we live in this flesh. Verse five. [00:35:53] And they that are of the flesh after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh. But they that are after the spirit, the things of the spirit. Listen, if you and I, if we don't have the spirit of God, we have no spirit. After which we can mind, we can obey. That doesn't happen. So we only have the flesh. So we just throw ourselves at it. [00:36:11] And this explains the difference that should be evident between a believer in Christ and child of God and someone who's not. [00:36:21] Somebody's alarm is going off, probably mine, outside. [00:36:29] Verse six says this, for to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God. Neither indeed can be. Look at verse eight. This is a striking verse. Look at verse eight. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. [00:36:54] That means, listen, people who in droves attach themselves to religion, they join religions and all those things they have list of liturgies and works and rules they must keep and all those things. [00:37:14] If that person does not have the spirit of God, that person has only the carnal mind. [00:37:21] He cannot please God. The only way that we can please God is by the spirit of God in us. Period. Verse, verse number eight says that, because, listen, without the spirit of God, there's no part of us that is spiritual. We're dead. See what I'm saying? We can't please God. So all those works we do, crawling up stairs on broken glass and all the rules and regulations we might keep, or whatever our religion might dictate, none of that is pleasing to God. That's what verse eight says. That is striking. You know what? It's offensive to the religious mind. [00:37:55] This is one of the reasons, one of the multitude of reasons why you cannot earn your way to heaven. It doesn't even please God to begin with verse nine. [00:38:05] Now, here's where it intersects with what we're talking about. But ye believers now, children of God, who have the spirit of God, but ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If so, be that the spirit of God dwell in you. Do you have the spirit of God? If you do, you're not in the flesh, you're in the spirit. You can please God. [00:38:26] You can live for God. You don't have to sin, you don't have to give yourself to that. It should affect your life. [00:38:34] Your life should be transformed. There should be evidence of that fact in all of our lives if we have the spirit of God. [00:38:46] Verse nine says this. Now, if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. [00:38:55] See that. [00:38:57] That's a clear statement. So here's why I'm just going to conclude here. Okay. [00:39:06] These disciples in acts 19 that we read about earlier, they were disciples. They're called disciples, right. [00:39:13] Paul said have you received the Holy Ghost? Since she believed. So he apparently thought they had believed these disciples had been baptized, right. They'd gone through the water but they did not have the spirit of God. [00:39:31] Now sometimes when religions and things, they don't have the true work of the power of God by the spirit in their lives. You know what they try to substitute? They try to substitute rules and regulations to conform the outside to make it look similar. [00:39:55] Listen, please. [00:39:57] And the Lord knows in our church, not under myself, not under Brother Stuart, not even under Pastor Craig, we don't give list of regulations about what you do and don't do. We tell you what the Bible says and that's right. But we don't give you lists of regulations. You know why? Because I trust that the spirit of God is in you and that he's teaching you and when you do wrong he's going to correct you and that he is going to work righteousness in you. You're not going to be without fault. You're going to mess up as do I. [00:40:37] But it's not like, listen, it's not like we're trying to just make you conform to this pattern and giving you these rules to promulgate and this is what you have to keep and we're going to check up on you. No, it's not like that at all. [00:40:51] You can keep the rules. Listen, you and I, we can keep the rules. We can look the part. We can follow the law and all those things and we can look just the part. You can look like a Christian from A to Z, top to bottom. [00:41:03] But if you don't have the spirit of God, it's vain because you cannot fake and mimic the sanctifying work of the spirit of the Lord within us. And that sanctifying work of his will always show and manifest itself outwardly. It's not just inside it will spill out. It must. [00:41:34] But primarily the change, the work and influence and power of the spirit of God is inside. [00:41:41] So when I ask this question, I ask you as an individual, do you have the spirit of God in you? I'm not asking about list of rules things you do. No. I'm asking if God is in you. [00:41:56] Do you have the mark and the seal that you are truly a child of God? [00:42:02] Every child of God should have that mark in their life, everyone. That's a biblical truth. But the question is, does that apply to you as an individual? [00:42:15] Let's pray together.