Navigating the Spirit-Filled Life: Surrender and Faith

And now I got two lights shining right there.

Hallelujah.

Your friends and guests had come.

Thank you for being with us.

We're looking forward to what I'm going to do tonight.

I don't know.

During these series, I'm like, Sunday night I did some stuff on

the testimony, but so there's four times I spoke to you.

Generally, I would speak week five or so, but I don't know which

one's my favorite.

I don't know which one has the most weight for.

My personal testimony tonight is the one that has the most weight

for me and some lights that God turned on for me.

And so I'm looking forward to trying to get that across.

But I am very, very thankful for your prayers for Nancy.

I'm glad that she's here tonight.

She is truly the best part.

When I travel the country, I tell churches and folks, I said,

now, if Nancy goes with me to go to a church for the first time,

they've always invited me back.

So, you know, the other half of that.

But anyway, when she goes, I go, there's something special about

that man because that woman's with him.

So, you know, anyway, it's awesome.

So I'm looking forward to what we're going to do.

If you got a ribbon, a marker.

Galatians.

Galatians, chapter five.

And then we're going to.

I told you, we're going to go to John, but we're not going to go

to John right now.

My sermon does not start till we get to John.

Okay, so I'll explain it.

Turn to the book of romance, chapter eight.

Now, Brother Ware's.

I was going to call you Brother Wiersbe.

Brother Weatherby, he.

He's not been with me before, and some of you been with me before.

So he has no idea why I say the book of romance.

And so Brother Weatherby.

Mike.

People ask me occasionally, why do you do that?

And I just look at them and I go, how come you don't.

Well, there you go.

So anyway, Romans, chapter eight.

Here's the deal.

Toward the.

I thought.

Okay, sorry, it was already on.

I turned it off.

Standing down there, You could turn it.

Okay, there.

Thank you for turning it back on.

Okay.

Anyway.

Oh, at the conclusion, toward the end of the message tonight, I'm

going to.

I'm going to quote Romans 8, this verse here, but I'm not going

to explain it.

I'm just going to quote it because I'm going to.

I'm reading it from someone else's testimony that they talk about

this Verse.

And they give their testimony that I'm going to quote someone else's

testimony.

I'm not going to explain it.

So I thought it'd be valuable if I do it now.

So the sermon's not starting.

Okay, we're just going to explain.

Look at Romans 8.

One is hallelujah.

There's therefore now no condemnation to them, which are what's

those three words?

In Christ Jesus, who walked not of the flesh, but after the spirit.

But here's the verse that's going to be quoted.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me

free from the law of sin and death.

I've had the joy.

I try to memorize passages and so on.

And years ago, I tried to memorize Romans 6, 7, and 8, and

it took me a long time.

And then I was in my mid-20s, late 20s, I guess.

I went back to it in my early 40s and tried to go over it again.

And now I'm not 40 anymore, and I probably can't quote three

or four verses.

But the only reason I'm telling you that is when I memorize

something, I have to say it a hundred times or more.

I have to just say it over and over and over.

Sometimes when you're memorizing Scripture, saying it that

many times, ooh, a light comes on.

While you're memorizing saying it, you go, yes.

That is so awesome.

And so I want to tell you, the light did not come on for me for

what that man's testimony is.

So I'm going to tell you how I always viewed it, and then we'll

talk about the light for a moment.

Anyway, first of all, let's do this.

Let's talk about the law of sin and death.

Here's the deal.

When it's a law and God's word, it means it happens the same

way every time.

Like a law in science, it's a law that happens the same way all

the time.

Law of gravity.

Is everybody with me?

This says the law of sin and death.

It's actually referring to the first five books of the Bible, the

Torah, the.

If you want to boil it down, the Ten Commandments, that the reason

you and I know what sin is is because of God's law.

So it's not like the scientific thing.

But God's law never changes.

It's the same.

Our legal system is supposed to be the same.

She wears a blindfold so she doesn't care who's in front of her.

That's how it's Supposed to be.

Well, God's law, it never changes.

It doesn't bend.

It doesn't matter who's in front of it.

So it's called the law of sin and death.

All right?

So since we're talking about it, God's law points its finger at

every breathing human and says, guilty.

Guilty.

Nobody is exempt outside the Lord Jesus, other than the Lord Jesus,

because he, his father was God.

It wasn't Adam has to be a virgin birth.

So every one of us, every human, guilty.

Guilty.

The law of sin tells us we are all sinners.

Okay, I'll give you a chance to say something out loud in church.

The wages of sin is.

So that's what God told Adam.

The day thou eatest thereof, you're going to die.

You're going to die spiritually.

No more relationship with me.

All right?

So that's the law of sin and death.

And because of that, we are all humans are guilty.

And we all are carriers of the Adamic nature.

The first half of the verse says the law of the spirit of life

in Christ Jesus.

Here we go again.

It's a law.

It's the same way every time.

So why is it called the Spirit of life?

Some of you might remember back and some of you have no clue.

I over said it, but in the messages I talked about out of 1

Corinthians 15 that it says that the first Adam was made a living

soul.

The last Adam was made a quickening spirit, and we found out

that the last Adam is Jesus.

And so the law of the spirit of life in Christ, it is a law that

if there's going to be spiritual life, it comes from Jesus.

There's no other way to get spiritual life other than through

Jesus.

And I know much of humanity has no idea.

They need a spiritual life.

Someone needs to tell them.

But us that have finally got to the place and God got our attention

and we realize we're sinners.

We need a Savior.

We ask Jesus to save us.

We got spiritual life.

Listen, listen.

The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

It's a law that you can get spiritual life through Jesus.

That's the only way.

Watch this.

Hath made me free.

I'm liberated.

Free from the law of sin and death.

Honey, I am no longer in bondage to sin and death.

I didn't write it.

We're liberated.

So when I memorized this several times, it came up to me.

The only way I ever, ever looked at it was that, well, hallelujah.

When I got saved, I got delivered from the penalty of sin,

the consequences of sin.

And that is true.

But it does have more weight to it than that.

It's a law that the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, if I have his

life, I am no longer enchained.

I'm no longer in bondage.

I have been liberated.

I am delivered from the law of sin and death.

It hath no more reign over me.

Ladies and gentlemen, you and I are liberated.

We are no longer attached to that.

We do not have to.

To walk and live in sin, not because of me, it's because of Jesus.

It's a law.

Glory to God.

Okay, I'm not preaching yet.

The sermon's getting ready to start, so let's turn to John, chapter

John 15 · chapter mention

15.

John, chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

It's a glory to God.

So I don't get to preach that later on when we get there, but I

just wanted to tell you about it now.

John 15, if you're able, would you please stand with me?

So if you're counting time, we're just now starting.

Okay, John 15.

Oh, I just want to do this.

Tonight is, for me personally, is humongous, but tomorrow night

is so special.

I hope that you won't go.

Well, tonight, was it?

No, please come tomorrow.

I appreciate your attendance.

It's been precious to me.

It's a blessing.

But tomorrow is so helpful, I encourage you to come.

So, John 15.

Jesus says, I am the true vine, My Father is the husbandman.

Verse 4.

Abide in me, and I in you.

As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide

in the vine.

Well, no more can ye, except you abide in me.

I'm divine, you're the branches.

He that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much

fruit.

For without me you can do nothing.

Made a couple comments last night about, without me, you can

do nothing.

Tonight.

I just want to throw this out for a bit.

In verse four, when he says, abide in me, In my entire Christian

life up to two and a half years ago, when he said, abide in

me, in my brain, I'm a Christian and I can't help it, I

was thinking, okay, I know my job.

I need to abide in Jesus.

I'm going to do whatever I can do so I can abide in him because

he told me to abide in him.

There are several verses in the New Testament, especially that

when you hear them, it makes it sound like, okay, this is what

you gotta do.

This is what you gotta do.

For instance, here's one out of Galatians Stand fast therefore,

in the liberty wherewith he hath made.

See what I gotta do?

I gotta stand fast now.

I gotta do it.

Is everybody with me?

And in my little brain, that's how I've always looked at these admonitions.

Abide in me, be filled.

Okay, I gotta do the best I can.

I want to be filled.

And I felt like that it was.

I have the responsibility to do this.

And I ignore the last few words of verse 5.

Without me, you can do nothing.

And most of of my Christian life has been Dave McGracken trying.

I'm trying harder.

I'll try harder.

I want to do, I want to make it.

I need some more.

I need more self discipline.

And all of this was weight on me.

And tonight, by God's grace, I'll get to at least tell you my

testimony of how God's delivered me from that weight.

So if you'll go to Galatians where your marker is, and then turn

three pages to Ephesians 5, I'll just remind you about what we

said last night.

We'll move on.

Ephesians 5.

Now last, just quickly.

Romans 8:1.

Romans 8:1

See Philippians 1, Colossians 1:1 and, or 1, 2 and 27.

Colossians 1:1

All of them talk about being in Christ Jesus.

And then the Last 1 in 27 is, Christ is in us.

Well, here we go.

In verse 18, be not drunk with wine, wherein its excess, but be

filled with the Spirit.

Then he gives the three.

These are not the only illustrations or examples.

When you're full, when you're under his control, Remember, full

means control.

When you're under his control.

To have a happy heart, a thankful heart, a submissive heart.

That's just three of the pictures.

There's many others.

When you're controlled by the Holy Spirit.

And so we are in Christ Jesus.

A Christian is a person who's in Christ.

Let me pray with you.

Our great God surely love you.

Thank you that you saved me.

Thank you that you touched my life to be one of your preachers.

And I'm overwhelmed with your mercy and grace that I. I get to

do this.

I'm overwhelmed with all that you've taught me and that you're

teaching me.

And I'm surrendering to how easily I give back into my flesh.

Mr. Konkarni, it's so.

It's just so disappointing and heartbreaking to me.

But God, I do know that there's a bit of victory in surrender

to you.

Humbled, obedient, surrender by faith.

I know that's true.

And I pray as we look at this tonight that you'll give me unction

and utterance to get this across.

I pray we're all willing, willing hearers tonight, and hopefully

not hearers only.

If someone's not born again tonight, you know that and you truly

want this individual to know they are not ready for eternity.

I pray you'd bring true, deep, real conviction in their soul.

They'd say yes to you.

And I pray us, your children will say yes to you.

So thank you for what you've already done.

Thank you for what you're about to do.

And it's in your mighty and holy name we pray, Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

You may be seated.

We're not going to turn there, but I'm going to quote it to you.

In John, chapter seven, Jesus speaks of a river.

Listen to how Jesus said these words.

Jesus says, he that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said,

out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

That's what Jesus says in red letters.

If you believe on him, as the scripture said, out of your belly

shall flow rivers of living water.

Mercy.

The next verse says, this spake he of the Holy Spirit, of the

Holy Ghost.

So he's saying that us that believe on him, out of our bellies,

this river called the Holy Spirit should flow out of us.

And it's plural.

It's rivers.

That's fascinating, and it just be embarrassing.

I'm not going to do it, and I don't know that I ever will do it.

But I'm going to give us the thought that we're not going to do

publicly.

Here's the thought.

Do you know anybody.

Do you know anybody that you.

The first thing you think of when you hear their name, you think,

whoa, they got Jesus flowing out of them, man, like a river.

How many?

Don't say it.

If you know one or two people, you're blessed.

How many people in your family got that in your church?

How many preachers do I know that truly their life, their testimony,

I'm going to.

If anybody's got Jesus flowing out of them, it's.

And then the Holy Bible says it's rivers.

Most of us would be thankful and be a hallelujah if someone looked

at us and said, well, they don't have a river, but they got.

Every once in a while, Jesus comes out.

It's like a squirt gun, but they don't go nuts about it.

I don't even know how that really works.

Jesus is flowing out of us.

The truth is I think if we're walking around going, hey, if you

want to see it, baby, here it is.

Well, you ain't that person.

You don't even know what's actually happened.

You just know you're doing right.

You're right with God.

You've surrendered to Him.

He's in charge of your life.

And Jesus says people will see rivers.

They'll see that you have connection to God, the Holy Spirit,

Jesus.

Amen.

Wow.

So how do we get there?

I want to remind you, I said it last night in humbled, surrendered

obedience by faith.

We're under the control of the Holy Spirit.

Do you know what happens in humble surrender and obedience by

faith?

I'm under his control.

You know what begins to happen.

You know what happens?

Wow.

I begin to talk like Jesus.

You can't help it.

You begin to walk like Jesus.

That is the flow, friend.

If he's in control, you can't act like Dave McCracken.

You need to act like Jesus.

This is not something that has worked for.

It's not something that we can accomplish on our own.

It's part.

It's part of the gift of salvation.

Old things are passed away.

Behold, all things are become new.

And it's not dependent upon me.

Remember last night I asked you, I said, michael Wells said,

imagine the door is above your heart, and when you get saved, the

door is wide open.

When you first get saved, ladies and gentlemen, the only way

you can get saved is humble surrender and obedience by faith.

When you get saved, the door is open.

He has you.

If you made an agreement with him, like, say, okay, if you'll save

me, I'll do this.

Well, that's not how he saves you.

He saves you.

That you're completely, 100% dependent on him and him alone.

If you think you're gonna start living for him because you

got saved, you're gonna prove it to Him.

You're wrong.

If you made a deal with him.

If you do this, no, it's totally humble, unbelievable humility.

Surrender totally and only to Him.

The door is wide open.

He's in control, man.

If you go, well, I'll do it, but I don't want to be a missionary.

Well, then you just made a deal with God.

You don't make deals.

Is everybody hearing me?

No, no.

The door is wide open.

When you get saved, he's in charge.

He's in control.

Bless his name.

After we're saved, we're supposed to be filled.

Let's talk about that just a bit.

I. I may.

I didn't I thought about not trying.

I thought about not.

I thought about trying not to preach very long.

But I'm changing my mind.

So here we go.

We need to work on this.

It says be filled.

That's a verb.

Be filled.

I went to grade school in Kentucky, and they do learn how to

read and stuff there, too.

And so we did that.

Got some math in us and goes intos and so on.

But they told me that there are three tenses.

There's the past tense, the present tense, and the future tense.

And in my little head, I thought, that's plenty of tenses.

We don't need no more.

Well, then I got older, and I became a student of the Bible and

so on, and I found out they got more tenses.

The verb tense for be filled is present, passive, imperative.

That's like too many present passive, imperative tense.

Well, the first one is pretty easy.

When are you supposed to be filled?

Present tense.

Do you know you can never.

You can never get out a present tense.

It's impossible.

It don't matter how quick you are, you're still in present tense.

You can't get away from it.

So when am I supposed to be filled?

Now, across the country, when I talk about this, I. I tell them,

I said, my wife's from Texas, and what she says is, right now,

right now.

Be filled.

Be filled.

Right now.

Now be filled.

Right now.

Now, right now.

Now.

Be filled.

Right now, right now.

Rat.

Now.

Moment by moment.

Rat.

Now, right now.

Be filled.

Amen.

What does be filled mean?

Be under his control Right now.

It's also passive tense.

Okay, what is that?

Well, if you've got a older brother who picks on you, you want

to fight back, but you don't, because you're being passive.

It doesn't mean that you can't hurt him.

It doesn't mean you can't win, but you'd rather him be asleep.

But anyway, passive means you don't fight back.

You don't get in the fray.

Passive tense here means you cannot fill yourself.

You surrender to him to be in control.

You can't do anything to get him to control you.

You just surrender to him.

Amen.

So when do I surrender to him?

Right now.

Amen.

I thought it was neat that the word filled has some verb use to

it, that it means to be filled, but it also means to be being

filled.

When are you supposed to be being filled?

Say it out loud.

Come on, everybody.

Y' all from Texas.

Right now.

When are you supposed to be filled?

Absolutely be being filled Right now, right now, then, it includes

this.

It's be filled, be being filled.

And watch.

Be being kept filled right now, right now.

Be filled right now.

Be filled, be filled right now.

Be filled right now.

Be being filled, be being filled right now, right now.

Be being filled.

Be being filled right now, right now.

Be filled right now.

Be filled right now.

Come on.

Right now.

Be filled right now.

Come on, boy.

And you can't fill yourself.

You surrender to it.

Then.

It's imperative tense.

And it's as if the sergeant or the captain of the platoon gives

the order and you have to do it.

This is imperative you.

It's an order.

We're supposed to be being kept filled right now.

God gave the order.

It wasn't the preacher.

The Holy Bible, God's word says, hey, McCracken, be being kept

filled right now.

This is the order.

And I'm going, I can't do that.

I got to go mow the yard.

I got stuff to do.

Would God ever ask us to do something that's impossible to do?

Never.

So it's possible, moment by moment, to be being kept filled right

now.

Wow.

So here's the deal.

Since he says, hey, McCracken, be being kept filled right now.

I mentioned it last night.

That means, evidently, I have the potential not to be being kept

filled right now.

Because that's why he says, this is imperative.

You got to keep doing it, or you're just going to keep being a

mess.

I'm not in charge.

Mr. Con Garni's in charge.

So here's what I want to work on for.

For a bit right now.

Is that what would.

Here it is.

What would shut the door.

That I'm no longer under his control.

Here's how I wrote it in my notes.

Any behavior or attitude contrary to his holiness.

Grieves and quenches the Holy Spirit of God.

Wow.

Those are two fascinating words.

When I first tried to imagine in my tiny brain.

About how can Dave McCracken grieve God?

Grieve has a connotation of sorrow, disappointment, hurt.

Can deeper cracking hurt disappoint God?

A little bitty pipsqueak down here.

But the Holy Bible says we grieve Him.

The other one that I think is much easier to picture in my head

is quench, not the spirit.

What does quench mean?

I love it.

It's a simple one.

I love the.

This is.

I can see it so easy.

Every one of us outside our home.

Somewhere on the outside of the house, there's a water spigot.

You hook the hose up to it.

Turn the spigot on, come down here to the end.

You got Wawa coming out.

It's awesome.

And if you've never done this, you go home and do it.

There's some children have never held a water hose.

That's wrong.

They should have a water hose in their hand.

They need to learn the joy of that.

It's awesome.

But us that have been outside, and the water's coming out, you can

take the water hose and you can bend it, and you quench the water.

There's none.

No Wawa coming out.

You quenched it.

It's all still in there.

All the power.

All of it's still in there.

But you quenched it.

None's coming out.

Since we're talking about it, some kids cannot believe that their

parents actually drank water out of one of them nasty rubber hoses

in the yard.

I can't believe.

Why would anybody ever drink water out of there?

Because our parents wouldn't let us go back inside.

Quench the Holy Spirit.

He's still there, but you have quenched him.

He can't.

He cannot operate.

He cannot flow through you.

Here's another way to say it.

The door is shut.

You've quenched the Holy Spirit.

I ask you to put a marker in Galatians.

Just let's look at it.

Galatians 5.

We talked about.

The battle automatically begins in verse 17.

They lust against each other.

Verse 19, though.

Look at this now.

The works of the flesh.

Here's another word.

The works of Mr. Konkarni are manifest, which are these?

Let's stop right there, and I want to make a couple comments.

The works of the flesh is when Dave McCracken, Mr. Konkarni, is

in charge of my life.

Works, activities, show up.

What's inside me comes out.

It gives us a list.

And I already know that some of you go, well, I never did that.

I didn't ever murder anybody.

I'm not committed adultery.

I don't have any little gods in my house, in my yard.

Well, let's just stop and take a breath and admit if you put anything

between you and God, that's a little God, if anything interrupts,

he's no longer first, something else is first.

Well, he's not.

You've got your little God.

Adultery.

If you've looked on a man and lust after him, you've committed

adultery already in your heart.

If you've looked on a woman.

Everybody here.

I didn't write it.

Jesus told us that if you look at a person with hate, you've already

committed murder.

So don't act like you've not done any of these.

I'm gonna read the list.

Let's look at it.

You can read it with me.

Here.

Verse 19.

Now, the works of the flesh are manifest.

You can see them.

Which are these?

Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,

witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions,

heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings.

And I love how the Bible says and such.

Like anything, like any of those things.

Those two are works of Mr. Con Carney.

Listen to it.

We're not going to turn there.

Ephesians continues.

Bitterness, anger, clamor, evil.

Speaking, malice, romance.

Adds these words.

Unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, debate,

deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, despiteful, proud boasters.

Inventor of evil things.

Disobedient to parents.

James says it like this.

This descendeth not from above, but is earthly.

It's sensual, it's devilish.

Any works of the flesh is not from heaven.

It's from God's enemy, the world.

The flesh, the devil.

Come on, friend.

I don't.

Maybe I'm going too fast for you anything.

When Mr. McCracken.

When Mr. Con Carney's in charge.

All of these.

None of these come from heaven.

They're devilish.

When I was a kid, my dad was one of those preachers.

That preached against Hollywood or hellywood and all that

business.

And he preaching against the old time.

And he's wailing away about this wickedness is coming out of

Hollywood.

I said, I think it's coming out of our tv.

Dad, God is from the pits of hell.

Like, I don't think it's from the pits of hell.

I think it's coming from Hollywood.

But God's word just said anything that's works of the flesh

is devilish.

So I finally swallowed the idea that it's true.

When some preacher comes up and says it's straight from hell,

folks, it's not from God.

See, we want it both ways.

Well, it ain't that bad.

Well, if it's not.

If it's works of the flesh, God does not.

He will not.

He cannot accept it.

Mercy.

Any of these.

This list I just read.

And any of these shut the door.

And we're no longer under the Holy Spirit's control.

So you and I are inundated nearly every waking hour with invitations

to fulfill every carnal desire we have.

I deserve me time.

Come on.

I can get what I Want we gossip and judge others.

Why?

Well, we're better than they are.

Facebook, X, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram are all places that welcome

gossip, judging, self love, self glory.

Our society continues to cram their ideas and their instructions

for happiness and peace which do not include humble, surrendered

obedience by faith to God and his word.

They're constantly, they're constantly pulling, pulling us away

from that which is holy.

So I ask, what are the buttons?

What are the buttons that provoke you?

No, no, no, really.

What stirs you to jealousy?

What moves you to hate?

What pulls on you to lust to covet?

What causes you to disregard modesty?

What causes you to depart from hospitality?

What yanks on your chain to anger?

What tugs on you to give up?

What tiptoes all around you trying to get your attention, saying,

hey, hey, hey, you deserve this, you deserve this.

These are all works of the flesh and they do not bring glory

to God.

We're not going to turn there.

But in numbers 13, it gives the the account of the children of

Israel being in the.

In the wilderness.

So brother Michael Wells says this.

He says the children of Israel in the wilderness is a teaching model

for today's believers.

What did.

Do you remember why the children of Israel, do you remember

why they're in the wilderness?

Do you remember, do you remember when they were in Egypt

that God did the 10 gmongous miracles and then they left Israel

and then he did the humongous big miracle and he opened the Red

Sea and then he shut the Red Sea another miracle and wiped out

a whole bunch of them there Egyptians.

And do you remember they're singing, the Lord cast his horse

on the rider into the sea.

They're doing high fives and chest bumps and glory to gods.

If they had some fireworks, I'm sure they shot him.

It was awesome.

Four days later, four days after this humongous event, they

don't have any Wawa and they're mad at Moses and they're

bellyaching and complaining and moaning.

They say, well, I got some water here, but no one can drink

it.

It's not fit to drink.

And God did the miracle of making the waters at Marah sweet.

That's a huge miracle to take care of over 2 million people.

Wow.

It's not long that Moses says, okay, it's time for us to go to the

promised land.

God promised Abraham, our father, that Canaan is our land.

I want to send.

I'm going to send some of you spies.

I'm going to send you spies.

Well, let's Just go ahead and send you guys over there and you

check out the land they were on.

40 days, they came back.

There's 12 of them.

I don't know the words to the song.

Some of you in here might know the words to the song.

But here's what the song says.

10 were bad, 2 were good.

The 10 bad ones said, no, we can't do it.

They got giants over there.

They got chariots of iron.

We ain't got a chance.

There ain't no just trying.

And two of them go, yeah, we can do it.

God take care of us.

And because of their unbelief, God said, you'll be in the wilderness

40 years.

One year for each day.

You bozos were over there and you did not listen.

Here, God, the wilderness is to teach us.

We must learn how to trust God.

Trust him.

That's the whole purpose of 40 years.

Stop trusting yourself and trust me.

God says, mercy sakes.

Trusting God affects everything.

When we start walking by sight and not by faith, he's no longer

in control.

We're in control.

Brother Weatherby said it last night.

My friend Jerry Locke wrote it down in his book.

It should be apparent to us the Christian life is not hard.

It's not difficult.

It's impossible.

Unless you're born again and he's in you and you're in him.

That is the only way we can live the Christian life is by his

power.

To live the spirit controlled life.

It's intentional, on purpose, moment by moment.

You don't accidentally get filled.

You don't actually get.

You don't accidentally get.

You don't accidentally surrender.

You make the choice.

I know there's a whole bunch of crybabies in here, and sorry to

say it to your face, but there's a whole bunch of crybabies.

Oh, this is so hard, Christine.

It's so hard.

Well, it is hard when you're trying to do it yourself.

It's impossible.

You can't.

Well, I'm saved.

You cannot do it on your own.

When your flesh is in charge, you can't live it.

You have to make the decision.

Well, Brother Dave, I got other stuff to do.

I don't know.

I think it might be a Miss Judy.

I'm not sure, but she's talking about when she mows the yard.

She's talking to the Lord and rejoicing.

Mowing the yard.

Was that you, Judy?

It was.

And then she said she weedy.

So I said, you're the kind of woman we're all looking for.

She's Rejoicing.

You can still rejoice in God when you're in the midst of work.

I know this is a good place to stop the sermon.

Sorry, I'm done with the part that I wrote.

But now I'm going to read to you.

I'll just tell you to your face if I read it.

Just read it to you.

Just read it.

It takes eight minutes.

I practice it several times.

It takes eight minutes.

If I add commentary, it's a little longer.

So we don't.

We just have a little longer than eight minutes before I read

it.

I want to say this to you.

In the midst of this, one of the authors is going to use the personal

pronoun.

He's going to mistakenly, as I did.

Well, the words are from another author, but they are my words

too.

When I say those words, I'm saying I did the same thing.

I mistakenly thought this.

Here we go.

There are many Christians, sincere believers in the Lord Jesus

Christ as their personal Savior.

They're regenerated and born again.

But they are stuck with something like a spiritual paralysis

through their bondage to their sin.

The paralysis come from the stake of thinking that we ourselves

must share in the doing of what only God can do.

One way to understand this is that Jesus makes two offers to everyone.

He offers to set us free from the penalty of sin, and he offers

to set us free from the power of sin.

Both of these offers are made on exactly the same terms.

We can accept them only by letting him do it all.

See, every Christian has accepted the first offer, but many

Christians have not accepted the second offer.

They mistakenly think, as I did, that they must have some part

in the overcoming the power of their sin.

That their effort, their wills, their determination, oh yeah,

strengthened and helped by the power of Christ is the way to victory.

As long as they mistakenly believe this, they are doomed to

defeat, as they would be doomed to eternal death if their

salvation depended upon their working with Christ to pay for the

penalty of their sin.

And it's been said that while all true Christians know that they

can have their justification only by faith, most of us have been

brought up to believe that for sanctification or for the Spirit

controlled life, we must paddle our own canoe.

And that's why.

Listen carefully.

That's why so many of us justified Christians are so pathetically,

miserably disappointed when they try to attain a satisfying personal

experience of sanctification or the Spirit filled life or walking

in newness of life.

Dr. Scofield in his conversation was speaking of the

up and down experience that so many Christians have, winning one

day and failing miserably the next, confessing their sins and trying

again and so going on in their discouragement and defeat as their

common experience.

That said, he is not the Christian experience, but it is the

experience of most Christians.

He went on to say that the Christian experience is wholly, totally,

completely the result of the producer of the Christian experience,

the the Holy Spirit.

So when Christians attempt to share in the work of producing their

Christian experience, instead of letting the Holy Spirit do it

all, they have the discouraging experience of many Christians.

That's Dave McCracken.

Most of my life has been like this.

I was trying to help him.

I'm trying to do it.

I'm trying the best I can.

I prayed, I've cried lots of tears.

And I mean it with all my soul.

And I tell him, I love you, I want to serve you, I want to follow

you.

I want you to take over my life.

I want you to do it.

And I asked him, I told him I wanted him to.

And then I get up and I said, I will try.

I'll try the best I can.

How did you accept Christ's offer from the penalty of your sin?

You took it as an outright gift by faith.

You let him do it all.

Will you not accept his offer of immediate and complete freedom

from the power of your known sins on the same terms and do it

now?

My Christian life, all of it was saying, jesus, I want to live

for you and I'm going to try my best.

I promise this.

I want to be more.

I need more self discipline.

I need more.

Please, I'm begging you, please help me, help me.

I want to do it.

I meant it with all my soul.

And I never did by faith receive that.

He's in charge.

That was a light that came on for me.

When we get saved, we get saved one time by faith and it's

over.

We know it.

Hallelujah.

When you know that you know, you know, you know.

And nobody can take it from you.

Cause you know, people that don't know, they don't know.

And then we'll never know.

You cannot know until you know.

But when you know, oh yes, that one moment of salvation.

Well, because of that in my head so much, I thought, well, I

just need to ask him one time and say, okay, I surrender to you.

You're in charge.

And I'll do the best I can to do what I'm supposed to do.

Yeah, this is just as much a miracle as the miracle of regeneration,

of salvation.

And it's just as exclusively the Lord's work.

Charles Trumbull gives testimony of a missionary convention

he attended.

Each speaker brought up the question to the assembly.

Is your kind of Christianity worth sending to the non Christian

world?

Not is Christianity worth sending, there's no doubt about that.

But what about your kind?

The kind that showed up in your life this morning, yesterday,

last week, this last year?

Is that what the non Christian world is waiting for?

Is that what is needed to revolutionize their lives?

It's pretty pointed.

Trumbull continues.

A veteran missionary had told him that he had heard and he Understood

Finally Romans 8:2, that the law of the spirit of life in Christ

Romans 8:2

Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

And he said he'd taken God up on this moment by moment.

Kind of Christianity that Christ lived.

That's the only kind of Christianity worth living.

God made him a new man with a new life in Christ.

He began to give testimony of Christ's great work in him everywhere

he went.

Another testimony came out of his testimony of a young, high spirited,

high tempered young missionary woman to India and she that she trusted

God and was able.

Enabled to claim.

Enabled of God to claim Christ in his fullness and as her victory

by faith in the same way.

Here's her letter.

I wanted to write to you at first, but I was scarcely dared to

for I was afraid it would not last.

But it has lasted and oh, it is so wonderful since she went on

just as an illustration of what I mean.

Do you know that not only for three months have I not once slammed

the door in the face of one of these stupid Indian servants that

used to get on my nerves so.

But I haven't even wanted to once in three months, Trumbull says,

and that was a miracle.

Oh, not keeping from slamming the door.

That's no miracle.

Any ordinary unsaved person who's halfway decent can keep from

slamming the door by setting their teeth or using their willpower,

putting their hands behind their back, determined not to do

what they really feel like doing.

No, there's no miracle in that.

But to go for three months without once wanting to, without

once feeling within yourself that angry surge of irritation of

temper that makes you want to show your anger in some outward uncontrolled

way.

Does not your heart tell you that indeed that would be a miracle

in your life?

See, whatever.

These sins that got a stranglehold on us and we keep going

back to it, keep going back to it.

We can't get victory over it.

We can't get victory over it.

Wouldn't it be a miracle if you could go three months and not

even once want to?

I don't know about you, but I've gone three months before.

Oh, I did it.

I've gone a year before, but that thing pokes his head up in the

most appropriate time for Mr. Konkarni to get his way.

Okay.

What are the conditions of this victorious life?

I'm almost done.

Brother Trumbull said there's two I use the word for.

He said there's only two conditions.

They're very simple.

Surrender and faith.

Some Christians have not surrendered unconditionally to the

mastery of Jesus Christ.

All they have, as Mr. McConkie says, they put.

He said they surrendered their sins to Christ, but not their wills.

See, every habit of your life, every ambition, every hope, every

loved one, every possession.

You, yourself, all of these must he have if he is to make himself

not only your savior, but your life?

You want the Christ life?

Surrender.

Does Mr. Konkarni want you to surrender?

No.

The adamic nature didn't want you to get saved.

And God's conviction came upon you.

And you realized you needed to be saved.

And you got saved.

And you thought, glory to God.

It's all victory now.

And then you didn't know that Mr. Konkarni lives with you now.

We got this battle going on all the time.

And when I try to live the Christian life, when I tell Jesus

I'm trying the best I can, he's going, McCracken, would you

just stop trying?

You can't do it, Bozo.

Stop it.

Trust me.

Ask me to forgive you and trust me and receive my life by faith.

I say I'm already saved.

I know he's there, but I want his life to be my life.

I'll do it tomorrow night, too.

But I'm going to conclude I am crucified with Christ.

No, no, no.

Nevertheless, I live.

No, no, no, no.

Yet not I. Christ liveth in me.

It's kind of like a river.

The life which I now live in the flesh, it's doable.

I live by the faith of the Son of God.

I'm not even dependent on Dave.

I'm dependent on him.

My faith is in his faith.

I, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself

for me.

Would you not.

Would you not surrender and take it as an outright gift?

How often?

Sometimes I make it 30 seconds.

Sometimes I make it three minutes.

Sometimes I make it a few hours and didn't even realize it

went by.

That's a hallelujah.

But moment by moment, on purpose, I want him.

I want him.

I desire so much.

I want him to be in control.

I'm so weary with this fellow over here being in control.

There's nothing, nothing eternal that comes out of him.

There's nothing good that brings glory to God that comes out

of him and satisfies Dave.

Oh, yeah, I'm a happy dude, but I know I'm not right with him.

I ask you to stand with me.

Thank you for listening.

Let me pray with you, please.

Our great God, I come to you.

I thank you for the truth.

Thank you for the help from others in my life that I needed to

turn on lights for me to see that the spirit filled life is a

reality.

The up and down experience is not the normal Christian life.

It's not supposed to be the Christian experience, as Brother

Scofield said.

I pray that as folks have heard this and you're stirring up

in their souls, I pray there'd be a revival of your people surrendering

by faith to let you be who you are in their life.

Thank you, Christ.

Thank you.

For those that are not saved.

I know you love them and you're bringing conviction on their

soul.

I pray they want to get saved tonight.

Our heads are bowed.

The music begins.

If you want to sing with Brother Donaldson, you're welcome

to.

But if you want to just come tonight and just spend some time

with Jesus, maybe you need to do like I did.

Say I'm sorry.

I've been trying to do this on my own.

I realize I can't.

I proved it a thousand times.

I can't do it.

I surrender to you by faith.

Thank you, Jesus.

You're in charge of my life now.