WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:14.820 I'm coming to you from North Central Ohio, we share with you the voice of the Nazarene. A WEEK BY WEEK venture into the Word of God sponsored by the Bucyrus, Ohio Church of the Nazarene. We join our Pastor Reverend Ray Lasalle and the voice of the Nazarene. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:01:10.430 Several months ago, maybe four or five months ago, two couples had met down at Marysville they hadn't seen each other in years and one said to the other said, Have you ever watched the live stream that comes from the Bucyrus Church? They said no, and said Well, we'd like for you to catch the little preacher that's up there and let us know what you think. And so they tuned into our live stream on the following Sunday. They drove from Marysville all the way up here, I think it's at least 70 some miles and began to attend. 00:01:06.028 --> 00:01:14.688 And I got acquainted found out that he at around 60-61 had taking a retirement from Honda. 00:01:14.760 --> 00:03:00.250 And had also pastored a Nazarene church out in the country for 20 years, and had resigned the church and in catching us on livestream he thought to move this way, build a new home and attend our church and just pitch themselves in and get involved in ministry here. And Jan and I were on our way to my brother's graveside service. We stopped at Marysville and met him for a bite to eat, begin to visit. And later I said to my wife, I think that guy's got a good five or six years of preaching left in him. And next time we saw each other I said, Would you consider a one of our campuses? He said, Well, really to be honest with you, we really like what's going on here at the main campus. And we like the music and the preaching and the services and what we feel and we haven't sensed that for a good while and this is where we want to be. But we'll think about it. And I got a text back from him and said, I want to talk to you about that campus. And so two Sundays ago, or last Sunday, I had him filling up at Carey. And they accepted our campus to be the campus pastors over here at Upper Sandusky and started this morning. And so that's what the little video clip was that you saw. That's a little bit of history. And so I don't know all the future, whether there'll be moving, or selling and rebuilding. But let's be praying for our folks at Upper that this thing will catch fire. And we want to blaze a trail and have a great ministry going on at Upper Sandusky. Will you do that? 00:03:00.320 --> 00:04:31.755 Their name is Steve and Laurie Annsteen. I want to talk to you about the spirit filled life just for a few minutes. I think it's a wonderful thing we come along in life and God catches us somewhere out on the trail. And he says to us why don't you let me have your sins? And so we confess our sins to God and He forgives us and Christ comes into our life. But somewhere on down the trail, he comes again and said you know you give me your sins. I'd like for you to give me yourself. And it's the surrender of self and we allow the Holy Spirit to fill our lives when we begin to walk and live in the Spirit. What is the Evidence That Demands a Verdict of whether or not we're filled with the Spirit and living the spirit filled life? And Paul is dealing with the church at Corinth, at the very closing out of the 12 chapter, verse 31. He says to these young converts, I want to show you a more excellent way there's something that God has that is better for you. And he said I'm looking in and I'm hearing all kinds of reports. He writes in chapter one verse 11, that there's contentions among you there's divisiveness going on, and I want to deal with that. He said, I understand that some of you can't get over the last pastor and some of you haven't been able to accept the new pastor. 00:04:31.826 --> 00:04:52.769 Some of you say well I'm of Apollos I like a fluid oratorical flow of preacher that just as flowery and and amazing with his wordiness. Another says, Well, I like Cephes, he's my kind of a preacher and he's deep and studious, and I don't like all that flowery stuff. I just like deep preaching. 00:04:52.839 --> 00:05:30.819 Somebody else that I like Apostle Paul and someone else said, Well, I'm Jesus only I only follow Jesus. And so you got the Jesus crowd and the Paul crowd and the Cephes crowd, in fact, the matter, they're all divided. Let me tell you something, if Paul leaves, are we going to leave or if Apollos leaves do we? No, we follow Jesus Christ. And so he writes in Chapter Three Verse One, Brothern I could not speak unto you as under spiritual, for you're not spiritual. But he said, I'm writing unto you as carnal, even as babes in Christ. 00:05:30.889 --> 00:05:47.927 I fed you with milk, and not with meat for hitherto you're not able to bear it. Neither yet are you able, for you are yet carnal? Boy, that's a strong letter. For whereas there is among you envying, strife, and division, are you not carnal? 00:05:47.999 --> 00:06:35.845 For a while one saying I'm a Paul and another I'm of Apollo's Are you not carnal? Who then is Paul? Who is Apollos, that just ministers by whom he believed. I have planted in the Apollos water, but he said, his God that gave us the increase. And then he goes on to say in verse nine, for we are laborers together with God, we're in this together. There's a movement that came from over in Europe and a great denomination that came to America and they call themselves the united so and so church. Okay, I'm not going to be naming out churches. And they use that word united. But you turn two letters around in the word united and spells untied. 00:06:31.514 --> 00:06:35.845 And that's what just happened. 00:06:35.915 --> 00:08:13.740 They've had the largest split of any Protestant denomination in the world. And we're to be together, not divided. And by chapter five, verse one, he said, it's reported, there's fornication among you. And it said, it appears you're not even ashamed about it, you just kind of swept it under the rug. It was a guy that got involved with his mother in law, you haven't dealt with it, you haven't called him out on it, and is spreading through the town all about what's going on down there and your church. And by chapter six, he said, evidently, some of you're suing each other in court. You've taken your church problems out of the privacy of the church, and you've taken it out into the public, into the public courthouse, ought not to be. And then he's desperately warning them in chapter six to flee fornication, that you need to quit desecrating your body with immorality. By chapter nine, they were fussing over where the ministry ought to receive any remuneration, that means paychecks, okay. They didn't think the preacher was worthy of any. And you know, something, let me give you a great statement, I put it in your notes, because I didn't want you to miss it. The church is a great place to expose carnality and to test your Christ likeness, I don't know of a better place to expose carnality or to test Christ's likeness than in the church. 00:08:09.836 --> 00:09:01.658 Now, chapter 12 begins now concerning spiritual gifts. He said, I would not have you ignorant, and they were ignorant about him. And he's writing and Paul is saying to this church at Corinth, he lets them know they're babes in Christ. And finally in chapter 12, verse 31, but I want to show you a more excellent way. Now what is a more excellent way? I want to do better. You want to do better. I don't want to always be a baby Christian. I don't want to always have this bib on and sucking on a pacifier and always hanging a bottle out of my mouth. And I don't want to always be in the little crib and I don't want to always be in the baby buggy. I'd like to grow up, don't you? Have you seen babies? 00:09:01.729 --> 00:09:11.100 They get burped? Have you ever seen big babies about 60 years old and their wives got a burp them because they're upset just a baby? 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:57.927 Boy, this is a quiet crowd. And it's so dark I can't see anybody's face. Give me a shotgun I can't miss. And have you seen big baby girls that are 50 or 60. And there's the one of fit at home and storming around trying to wear the pants in the family and acting like a little kid. Well, he goes on to say in chapter 13 verse 11, when I was a child, I speak like a child. I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man or a woman, I put away childish things. And so he's saying there is a work of grace that has to do with maturity, where we grow up and we quit our bickering and we quit playing with toys. We quit saying mama, they won't play with me anymore. 00:09:57.995 --> 00:10:44.168 Give me my toy back because I'm not playing you got my toy. He said, There's a better way, a more excellent way, a higher road. A spirit filled life is what he's saying. You've been forgiven of your sins and now it's time that you'd be filled with a spirit. And so he told him in Galatians chapter five, verse 16, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh for the lust of the flesh, it lust against the spirit of the Spirit against the flesh, and they're fighting one another contrary one another. But if you're a lead of the spirit, and that's what you need to be for, he said, the works of the flesh are manifest. 00:10:39.839 --> 00:11:46.279 There are these he gives us. I think there's 19, adultery and fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, invece, murders, drunkenness, revellings and such like. And he goes on to say, I told you in time pass, that they which do such thing shall not inherit the kingdom of God. If you're doing those things, you're not going to inherit the kingdom. Now, I don't know what preachers stood in the pulpit, lied to you and told you that, once you've been to the altar, you're gonna go to heaven, whether you want to or not, and you can do anything you want to and still get by. It says, if you do these things, you're not going to inherit the kingdom. Now, I didn't write the Bible, but I was called to preach it. My responsibility is to preach it and be honorable, and not tiptoe through the tulips. You don't do those things, and inherit the kingdom. 00:11:46.349 --> 00:12:11.153 And then he goes on to say, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. And in verse 25, if we live in the spirit, hey, it's about time we walk in the Spirit. So chapter 13, is written by Paul to explain to these babes in Christ with all of these childish ways. 00:12:06.893 --> 00:12:23.589 He shares with them about the spirit filled life. And he gives them evidence that demands a verdict. Preacher, how can I know that I am filled with the Spirit? What is the evidence? 00:12:19.604 --> 00:12:39.735 Great question. He begins by mentioning six things that are not the evidence of a Holy Ghost filled life, that are not the proof. People may have told you that but we've got a Bible. I don't care if entire denominations teach them things. 00:12:35.818 --> 00:13:27.144 We've got a Bible. We're responsible for God's word, not a manual. Isn't that true? Yes, sir. It is. Thank you. I'll Amen myself. So he begins number one, he talks about tongues, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not loved this evidence that I'm like a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And here's large denominations have said, here's our stance, you receive the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues. It's just not true. We've got a Bible here. And he said, You can speak with the tongues of all the men in languages up around 2000 and all the dialects and even if you have the language of angels, but if you don't have the evidence. 00:13:22.746 --> 00:14:17.301 What is that evidence? It wasn't tongues, because he just mentioned that there. You see the mark of a spirit filled life is not speaking in an unknown tongue. It's controlling the tongue that you have. And then we talk about the miracle at Pentecost. And he said in Acts Chapter Two Verse One, when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all in one place, in one accord, not discord, but one accord. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a mighty rushing wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Now, both in the Hebrew and the Greek language, even in the Latin language, the word for spirit is the same word for breath or wind. Remember, Jesus breathed on them, now I'm talking about breath, he breathed on them the Holy Ghost. 00:14:17.370 --> 00:15:10.344 And so it was like a mighty rushing wind and it said, and cloven tongues of fire set up on each of them never happened before never happened since. And then it said, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost to begin to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout me and out of every nation under heaven. Now, when this was noise abroad, the multitude came together and were confounded because of every man heard them speak in his own language. You hear that every man heard them speak, and they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another behold, are not all these which speak Galileans. In other words, the uneducated they'd never graduated any university. They haven't been to high schools. 00:15:10.413 --> 00:15:14.673 They're not schooled. They're backwoods and they're fishermen. 00:15:14.740 --> 00:15:18.932 And how do we understand and here's the miracle of Pentecost. 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:39.339 And how hear every man in his own tongue, we were able to hear, there's the miracle of Pentecost. Seventeen different nations from around the world had gathered in on this Passover time. And suddenly ever man heard the miracle of hearing in the language in which they were born. Now what is that? 00:15:39.408 --> 00:16:07.166 Pentecost is the reverse or reversal of Babel. Back in Genesis Chapter 11, the first nine verses man thought we'll build us a tower that will go right into heaven, and we're gonna bring God down to us, and we're gonna raise ourselves up as gods. And God, the Bible said, confounded their languages. Up to that time, everybody spoke the same language. But when people can't communicate, you got confusion. 00:16:07.235 --> 00:16:31.763 And no longer could they communicate with one another, and they were confounded. And so now in another brief moment of time, the nations of the world needed God and God bridged the language barrier and let every man hear in his own language, what a miracle. And look at verse 12. And they were all amazed or in doubt, saying to one another, whats this mean? 00:16:31.831 --> 00:17:01.582 And Simon Peter, in verse 14, jumped up with the 11 lifted his voice and said unto them, verse 16, this was what was spoken by the prophet Joel, And it shall come to pass, that in the last day, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Now what was that prophesy? Look down to verse 31, it was preaching that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. 00:16:57.528 --> 00:17:05.980 Now if we have anything to preach, we need to preach this. 00:17:01.652 --> 00:17:05.980 Don't just preach that he died. 00:17:06.048 --> 00:17:22.402 You see every leader, and ever so called Messiah that ever lived, died. But none of them resurrected. Only Jesus was resurrected. That's what we preach that he was dead, and he was buried, but he rose on the third day, that's our message. 00:17:22.470 --> 00:18:15.170 And the Bible said, they were gladly received this word. And the same were added unto them about 3000. They continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and ended in verse 47. The Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Now. Let's go right back to the tongues issue just for a moment, I'm not gonna hang around here, I'm not building a tent, not building a building. But does everybody received the same gift? To teach that it would be to say, everybody's got to have this as their evidence, you got to have that one gift. And if you look in Chapter 12, the whole chapter of 12 is that we're many members, but only one body. Not everybody can be the eye and not everybody can be the nose. Not everybody can be the mouth or the tongue. 00:18:17.700 --> 00:18:57.299 Not everyone's gonna have the same gift. There's many members and since he moved on from that he mentions in the 30th verse of that 12th Chapter. Have all the gifts of healing? Absolutely not. So he says, Do all speak with tongues? Absolutely not. Do all interpret? No. So don't be picking out one of the many gifts and state that as the evidence, and here's one of my main reasons why I am what I am as a preacher and where I stand on this issue. It's Jesus. I don't know of anyone that I want to emulate any more than Jesus. 00:18:52.950 --> 00:19:43.680 Okay, is that all right with you? Now you can emulate anybody you want to but I want to emulate Jesus. And there in Luke Chapter Three, Verse 21, Jesus, when he was baptized, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost to send it in a bodily form, like a dove up on him and a voice came from heaven which said, Thou art my beloved Son, and the I'm well pleased. You say, well preacher, he wasn't filled with a Spirit, the Spirit came upon him. You move to Chapter Four, Verse One, and Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit. Now you have three gospels that talk about that baptism of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus, in which he was filled, and not one of them says that he spoke in tongues. 00:19:39.750 --> 00:19:48.480 It's not the evidence. Don't let anybody distract you from that. 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:57.150 And so he said, prophecies, they will fail, knowledge will vanish away, and tongues will what, will cease? And this ministry does not promote tongues. Now. 00:19:57.150 --> 00:21:54.299 Let me tell you why. We already have more tongue than we control. We can't handle the tongue we got. We got to get it under control. James warned about it being set on fire of hell, and man is perfect when he can control his tongue. And he goes on to say, What is this profiting at us? Over here in Chapter 14, he said preaching now that edifies but he said, when we talk in tongues, we're not talking to one another. So it doesn't help the church's confusion. And I've watched this through the years. And that's only one. Here's another thing that the evidence is not. And that's prophecy though I have the gift of prophecy understand all mysteries. You might be able to recite the whole book of Revelation and Daniel, you have all the ages in chronological order. But it's still not the evidence that you have the Holy Spirit. What about knowledge, it says to have all knowledge. But you can have the wisdom of the ages, you can have enough degrees that you are something like a thermometer. You may have so many letters behind your name, it looks like the alphabet soup. But that still is not the evidence that's needed. Well, you say well, preacher, what about faith, though? I have all faith so that I can remove mountains? And may I ask what good is it to have faith to remove a mountain if you can't even get rid of the malice in your heart? So he's talking about mountain moving faith, laternal earthmoving belief system. But it's still not the evidence. Then he jumps over on philanthropy. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, given to charitable organizations and I'm a huge giver. I'm generous, and I'm always donating and trying to feed the poor and clothe the naked. No. And so Paul sums it up tongues without evidence, is a sounding brass, prophecy, knowledge and faith without the evidence, I'm nothing. 00:21:50.490 --> 00:22:02.339 Philanthropy and martyrdom without the evidence, profit me nothing. And so the Lord warns us here we can preach like an angel. Think like a scholar. 00:22:02.670 --> 00:22:57.089 Trust God with mountain moving faith, give away sums of money, offer our bodies as a sacrificial martyr. But if we don't do it from a motivation of biblical love, we've wasted our time. Possible to build great churches, preach powerful sermons, sign up for mission trips, volunteer time to charity, give generously of our means, and still do it for our own reason. And how easy it is to be motivated by pride and guilt and craving for significance. How easy to tackle superior projects with inferior motives. And they didn't recognize it. So here's the question this morning. What is the evidence that demands are verdect are verses four through eight tells us it's charity. 00:22:51.509 --> 00:23:12.210 Charity is divine love. Do you know that love is mentioned somewhere around 360 to 550 times according to which translation or version you're reading and you're digging into. 00:23:06.839 --> 00:23:29.309 But it's full of love. That's a lot of love. And in Galatians 5:22 says the fruit of the Spirit is love. Now, I bought an apple tree yesterday my wife bought two pine trees or something, cedar trees maybe. 00:23:31.890 --> 00:23:36.000 And I found out she was going to plant the two cedar trees and I was going to plant my apple tree. 00:23:37.109 --> 00:23:43.559 I said okay, this evening when she said we're doing it now. I said it's burning hot outside. 00:23:40.829 --> 00:23:43.559 She said we're doing it now. 00:23:43.000 --> 00:24:31.180 Now's not the time. I went out there and I tried to dig up an old dead tree. I used an axe on the roots. I shoveled, I got dirt from around it. I couldn't hardly get it. Finally the tree broke off. I had a stump. I'm still trying to get it out. But I finally got my apple tree planted hadn't produced in the apples yet. But the fruit of that tree and it happens to be a honeycrisp, is going to be apples. And if you're full of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit is love joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith, temperance, etc. It's all in that one great basket, the fruit, not fruits but the fruit of the Spirit. And so, if you receive the Holy Spirit, you'll bear the fruit of the Spirit. 00:24:31.630 --> 00:24:35.680 Had nothing to do with gifts. 00:24:31.630 --> 00:24:57.039 The evidence of whether or not your Holy Ghost filled individual is whether or not you've got the fruit of the spirit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith and temperance. So I want to look at it real quick. For verses four and five explain what love is. 00:24:52.329 --> 00:25:20.769 It provides the definition and quickly look at the spirit filled life. He said, Love sufferth long verse four. That's the patience, of love. I read down through this and got ready to come to church and, Man. I just felt like I got hit in the face as I read down through here. Looking into my own life. 00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:24.759 Is this a spirit filled life, the way I live, the patience of love? Hate can't kill it. 00:25:25.420 --> 00:25:29.680 Persecution can't destroy it. 00:25:25.420 --> 00:25:32.829 Envy can't stamp it out. Love is like Jacob in the Old Testament. 00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:59.740 That fell in love with a beautiful girl named Rachel and had to work seven years to get her. And at the end of that seven years, they handed him old ugly Leah, told him how to work seven more. But he loved her so much that he braved the disappointment. Love was like Nehemiah building a wall and people down below begin to sneer and tried to get him to come down and argue and fuss with them and he just kept building patiently getting the wall up. 00:26:00.309 --> 00:26:22.509 Love is like Joseph in the Old Testament. His brothers turned on him, a woman lied on him, he got locked up in prison. The years went by but patiently he waited for his calls to be vindicated. The patience of love. Do I have that evidence in my life? People's looking on to see if I'm patient or impatient? 00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:41.619 It says and his kind that's the practice of love. Not mean, not judgmental, not bitter. People are watching my practice and my kind. Then it says love envy not. That's the purity of love. 00:26:41.710 --> 00:26:44.410 Now it's going to a negative. 00:26:41.710 --> 00:26:44.410 You remember that little poem. 00:26:44.410 --> 00:27:04.569 She loves me, she loves me not, she loves me, this is one of the nots. Envies the mother division, the companion of jealousy, the child of the devil, and love has no irritating thorn in its hand. No jealous look in it's eye, no depreciating words on it's lips, no sore feelings in his heart. 00:27:05.230 --> 00:27:09.339 Love sees the best in others. 00:27:05.230 --> 00:27:59.079 Love will get a towel and a basin and kneel down and wash somebody else's feet and feel honored to do so. Not always having to be waited on. It says it upon not itself. That's the peacefulness of love, not rash, even willing to take a back seat, doesn't always have to be in the limelight, don't have to be noticed, don't have to be patted on the back. Know the peacefulness and then it says in verse four is not puffed up. You don't mind me making up a word do you? The pufflessness of love. I'm trying to put this all down the same letters to start with so you remember. I can see it didn't impress you at all. 00:27:53.289 --> 00:29:30.640 The pufflessness the meaning of the word gentleman is a gentle man. He does things gently in love not crude, but gently. Love is the foul that removes the roughness of uncouthness, it's the oil that vanishes the squeakiness of uncourtesy. It's a knife that cuts out the cancer of inconsideration. It's the instrument that takes away the blight of rudeness, unseemly speech. uncommonly actions unkind words. They're not the educational code of love. The politeness, the politeness. Oh God, am I polite. And then it says seeketh of not her own, the preference of love, puts others first, saves others, takes the back seat themselves. And then it said is not provoked. The provokelessness of love. I don't know if you realize it, I happen to have a King James translation here. In the King James the translators came to that word says, in the original admit, is not provoked. But the king his name was James and he had these temper tantrums. He gets so mad and they knew they didn't dare put in there about that. So they said it's not easily provoked. 00:29:26.890 --> 00:31:23.799 That's not the way it says in the original. Just thought I'd mentioned that. And so I thought of Apostle Paul, there were two times who were was provoked, but not into sin. When he was among the Athenians down in Athens and all their idols. It said that he was stirred or provoked with what he saw. There's a time between he and Barnabas who were buddies. That contention arose between them over John Mark, the nephew of Barnabas, John Mark had been a quitter. They were getting ready to go on a journey and Barnabas and I want to bring my nephew and Paul said he's not ready. Later on, he said send for John Mark. He knew he was ready, but he thought he was not ready. And Barnabas said, Well, I'm taking him around just not going with you and Barnabas walked off from Paul. I wonder if maybe he was wrong. I know one thing. The name of Barnabas is never mentioned again in the Acts of the Apostles. What it's saying here is love is not provoked to sin. And then I move on rejoice with not in unrighteousness that's the propriety of love. Anything that is off the straight path love discards it. Anything that's just doesn't smell right. It just might be a business deal, but it leans towards a crooked business deal. It discards it. 00:31:14.740 --> 00:31:51.579 And then it says rejoices with the truth in verse six. That's the pleasure of love, for truth means fellowship. And then he brings up the paths of love four paths, mentions that love walk one bear with all things. In other words, love is never quick tempered. Believe of all things love is not suspicious. If you've been around people that just suspicious of everything and everybody? I am sorry I asked. You might want to answer. 00:31:47.410 --> 00:31:55.450 Says a hope of all things. Love is like an eagle that soars. 00:31:51.579 --> 00:31:58.539 Endures all things never gets tired or weary in well doing. 00:31:55.450 --> 00:33:16.420 And then you have in verse eight, the permanence of love, love never fails. A lot of things will, but if you're full of the love of Christ, with a spirit filled life, one thing will never fail you and that's love. You're gonna love people in spite of what they do. You're going to love God in spite of what happens in your life with even the reversals. And then you have the preeminence of love, for it's the greatest of all graces verse 13, and now by the faith, hope, and charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity or love. And then I love the first line of chapter 14, Follow after love the pursuit of love, if you're gonna follow after anything, follow divine love. And suddenly, in this text, that love is changed to a person and we're following him. And last of all, of course, is the power of love. The very God that so loved the world. He gave His Son and Jesus so loved us He died on a cross. And as I read that, I thought, I think I could stick his name in there with your permission. It's not my translation, so don't get upset. Jesus, suffereth long. 00:33:17.140 --> 00:33:59.769 Jesus, He's always kind. Jesus envyth not, he never thought of himself. He's not puffed up. He doesn't behave unseemly, never seeks his own, he's not provoked, think of the evil. He never rejoices in iniquity. He always rejoices in the truth. He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Jesus never fails. And I sat in my office and I thought, I don't think I dare put my name in all of the that. I feel a sense of conviction in my heart. Ray LaSalle sufferth long, probably not. Is Ray LaSalle always kind? 00:33:59.769 --> 00:34:13.989 I want to be. You ever envy? Do you flaunt yourself, get puffed up, behave unseemly? Do you seek your own? Get provoked? Do you think evil and on through the list? Put your name in there. 00:34:14.829 --> 00:34:28.210 See how you do. The man was wealthy. He was a businessman, they had acquired a mansion. His business bloomed and blossomed and then his wife died. She had given birth to a little child. 00:34:29.530 --> 00:35:12.940 Suddenly he had a little boy to raise. He's just an infant, no way to raise him. He saw it all over the community and finally found a little lady to be a housekeeper. And he was gone most of the time in which she lived in and take care of his little baby. She'd changed its diapers and gave it milk and held it to her own breast and that little child grew up almost like that was his mother. She loved the little guy and became a teenager and there was a special bond and then he got a sickness and a fever and died. 00:35:08.170 --> 00:36:34.780 That businessman so brokenhearted died of a heart attack. There was the mansion and all of his belongings and holdings and they couldn't find a will. They looked everywhere for a will. And they couldn't find that and it looked like all of his estate was going to the state. They put everything up for auction. The mansion was sold and the belongings were sold and finally, they came down to just pieces like a vase or so. And finally, a picture it's a picture of his boy, as a teenager, nobody was interested people were leaving the auction and driving away and that little housekeeper made a bid of a few dollars. Nobody bid against her and she got the picture of that boy that she had raised, took it home, got a cloth and cleaned the front of the picture and dusted it. Took the picture apart to clean the inside and out fell a piece of paper and she looked at it. And it was the will that the father had made out. And it stated that all his wealth should go to the one who loved his son enough to buy the picture. Aren't you glad you confessed your sins and fell in love with God's Son Jesus? 00:36:31.090 --> 00:37:00.099 Aren't you glad he came into your life? Aren't you glad for the time the Holy Spirit stepped in front of you and ask if he could have all of you. You decided I want to live in the spirit walk in the Spirit. I want to be filled with His Spirit. So I can live in the spirit. I want to read a translation. I think I'll close then First Corinthians 13 Paul said this is in the Philips. 00:37:01.239 --> 00:38:30.969 This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience. I'm talking about the evidence of whether or not you've got the Holy Spirit. This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience. It looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive. It is neither anxious to impress, nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance. Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy. It does not keep a count of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails. As I went through that list there in verse four through verse eight of love. What's the evidence of having the Holy Spirit in your life? It's not a gift. It's a fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit, he literally changes your nature till you begin to produce the fruit of the Spirit. 00:38:23.409 --> 00:38:51.219 That apple tree if it lives long enough it'll produce honeycrisp apples. That's the fruit of that tree and the fruit of the Spirit in your life. When everybody is looking on is that really a spirit filled person? There's someone that's not touchy. 00:38:45.280 --> 00:39:03.309 They're patient. They're full of love and joy. There's a gentleness about them and there's a goodness about them. 00:38:56.230 --> 00:39:29.409 They have temperance and self control. There's a meekness about them. They never tried to sell themselves. There not all the time talking. They know how to listen. And I'm saying, keep me filled with your Spirit. Just fill me with your Spirit. I don't think it hurts every time we get up in the morning and just say to the Lord, I don't want to be half empty today, I want to be full of your spirit. 00:39:30.130 --> 00:39:33.340 I want nothing but your spirit. 00:39:30.130 --> 00:39:36.309 You take it can you fill it full of honey, you poke a hole in it and what's going to come out? 00:39:37.840 --> 00:40:40.389 Honey, because that's what's in there. And when some people get poked in life, and crudeness, mean words, grouchiness and anger come out of them, you know they're not filled with the honey of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, the Word for our sanctified life means drained honey. And I believe when we're full of the Spirit, It's the goodness of God that comes out of our lives when we're under pressure. Tea, you never really get the flavor of tea till you put it in hot water. And you really find out what people are like when they're in the heat of the battle. And the battle is hot. And then you find out voice of the Nazarene visitors every Sunday at 9am with BNC's Pastor Ray LaSalle. For more information regarding BNC, visit Bucyrus nazarene.org.