We must remember what happened at Pentecost.  It changed His disciples, giving them power, purpose and direction.  From that point on they were completely different people. Have we had a similar experience and if not, have we wondered why?

I have noticed a difference between someone who has had a very sinful background vs. a person having been a Christian most of their life.  Most often in the one there is a tremendous change and in the other, hardly any change at all.  Then there are some, having had a very sinful background, which has made little, if any, change at all.  They seem to fail the test of obedience.  It may be possible that once becoming Christians they just cannot give up and surrender their self-centered nature.  They are unwilling to yield control to anyone, including the Holy Spirit.  Do you think that the Apostle Paul who considered himself the worst of sinners could have made the drastic change, on his own, without surrendering to the Holy Spirit?  Therefore, is there any reason for not having a complete change by allowing our self-centered nature surrendered to the control of the Holy Spirit so we can become obedient to God’s will?

In Chapter Two of Acts it tells what happened at Pentecost.  A number gathered to see what was happening because the apostles were speaking in languages that foreigners could understand.  Peter stood and told them in Acts 2:17 – 18 – “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.   Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.”  When the Holy Spirit was poured out on you did you prophesize, see visions or have dreams and were able to foresee the future?  Most of us didn’t!

What is it that God wants from each one of us as Christians?  He is looking for a body of believers that will live with Him through eternity.  What are two requirements to enter that final destiny?  The answer is love and obedience through our relationship with Christ.  He wants our unconditional love toward Him and the same love to others.  Can you visualize living in an eternity where everyone had that kind of love for God and for others?  How do we obtain that kind of love?  It will only come through the Holy Spirit’s help.  He also wants those of us willing to be obedient.  The reason we are living in a cursed world today is because Adam and Eve were disobedient and ate from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil.

The Bible repeatedly says God is not interested in our works but He cares about what is in our hearts.  Is His love really in our hearts?  If so, we have learned there can be no hate or a lack of forgiveness.  What God requires can only be obtained by allowing the Holy Spirit to change who we are.  This is why we cannot allow the Holy Spirit to be ignored.  We must let the Holy Spirit become very active in our daily lives.  If we are not seeing supernatural occurrences from time to time we probably have not made the Holy Spirit our partner.  So shouldn’t we expect the Holy Spirit to be manifest in everything we do?  He will if we pray and ask for His help. He will not force Himself onto us.

I heard a story that a lady was driving up a mountain and an inner spirit told her to pull over and stop.  She did and a car came around the curve ahead going rapidly in her lane.  Had she not pulled over she could have been killed.  I asked others if they ever had a time when an inner voice told them to do something that may have saved their lives.  One told me that he was going 70 mph on the interstate and a car came across the road into his lane and hit him.  It caused him to hit six cars.  It totally demolished his car.  When he was being hit he said something pushed him into his seat as if he had a special seat belt on.  This was before seatbelts were common in cars.  He came to a stop and shortly a policeman came to his car and couldn’t believe he was still alive.  Yet, he had no injuries or bruises.  In both instances they believed it was Divine intervention that they are alive today.

I met with my small group and shared these two stories with them.  I then told them of a time I pulled up to a red light and waited for it to change.  I started to pull out when it turned green and that inner voice said stop.  About that time a red pickup traveling at least 50 mph went through the red light.  I thanked God and it made me more careful and now I look both ways before moving.

I then asked the men in my Bible group if they ever had a Divine intervention and was surprised at the stories I heard.  One told about his struggle with the devil who was refusing to let him ask Christ for salvation.  Another told of a time he had his gun pointed at a person ready to pull the trigger when he felt a strong urge to stop.  He told of many experiences with evil.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, he turned his life around and he went on to become a Christian attorney.

I have heard hundreds of such stories over the years.  The most unusual came from missionaries returning from foreign countries.  Isn’t it possible God allows situations to occur so that we can realize His Spirit is within us to make changes and Divine intervention confirms that He is with us?  We must continually realize that the Holy Spirit is with us to change us to having the mind of Christ.  Our job is to allow Him to do so.  He will not do it without our permission and help.

Philippians 2:5 – 8 – “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.   Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.   Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.  When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

Is it harder to be a Christian today than 100 years ago? People lived 1000s of years but only 100 plus years ago things started to really change. In 1903 the Wright Brothers flew the first airplane, for 12 seconds. In 1908 Ford built the Model T car. My grandparents moved from North Carolina to Oklahoma for a few years and then to Oregon by covered wagon. As a child I lived on a small farm with no indoor plumbing or electricity. In the world, at that time, there were still some people living in caves, tents, tepees, huts and lento houses.

When I was a child it was unusual for anyone to live past 70. Most died in their early 60s. Telephones and radios were rare and there were few TVs prior to 1950. Families, during my grandparent’s time, had many times up to ten children. Many lived and worked on farms. Probably not more than ten percent had a high school education. With the exception of teachers, doctors and a few others very few had a college education. Most families had a religious background and had respect for each other and their neighbors. Most leaders were respected and held in high esteem. Businesses had few regulations and anyone could start a business with hardly any red tape. Democrats were a little left of center and Republicans were a little right of center. It wasn’t too difficult to reach agreements. Politics did their thing and they had little apparent effect on the general public. Schools taught morality and there were times when Scripture was used in teaching. There were no public unions or teacher unions. There was no such thing as political correctness.

There is no need to point out the differences today because we are well aware of the many changes. For example, there are 5.6 billion cell phones in use. The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell and it was invented in March 1876. There were not too many phones in use 100 years ago.

With all of the changes and distractions is it any easier or harder to live a Christian life now? What would it be like living a Christian life if everything we have today was discovered 2000 years ago? What would people’s morality and spirituality be like? Do you think the world would still exist or would we have destroyed ourselves? Can you see what all of the recent changes and distractions have done to people’s religious beliefs?

We have a God that foresaw everything that would happen. There have always been distractions causing man to rebel against God. The Old Testament history tells of the Israelites worshipping false gods and denying God. Man’s self-centered nature is such that we are selfish and concerned more about what is most pleasurable to us. We see God wanting to restrict what we think and what we do. We do not want anyone watching or supervising, telling us what to do. We do not like, as a whole, restrictions.

But God knew, in His infinite wisdom, that man could not live like he was created, to be on his own. He would need help. Therefore, He sent His Son to be crucified for our sins and our salvation. His ultimate plan was to provide us with His Spirit, the Holy Spirit. To receive His Spirit, man was required to accept Christ as his Savior and be committed to worshipping God. That meant repenting and changing the way man was living.

John 14:16 – 17 – “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

John 16:5 – 7 – “but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”

Unless Jesus died there would be no gospel or Holy Spirit available. Thus, the Spirit of God was available to reside within the heart of every believer because of Christ’s actions. The Holy Spirit is to convict us of our sins; reveal God’s standards and requirements and to be our councilor and give us guidance throughout our lives.

The Holy Spirit is with us to help us navigate all the changes and distractions that hinder us from living the life Christ exemplified. He is with us to change our nature from being self-centered to Christ-centered. He is with us that we might receive the fruits of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22 – 23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” He is with us giving us confirmation that we have been sealed and guaranteed to become a child of God.

A problem too many Christians have is they are either unaware of the Holy Spirit in their lives or they ignore Him. If that is you, this is what you are missing:

• Ephesians 1:13 – The Holy Spirit will mark you with a seal to guarantee your redemption and salvation.
• Hebrews 2:4 – The Holy Spirit will give us signs, wonders, various miracles and gifts. If we have seriously surrendered our lives to Christ the Holy Spirit will make us aware that He is with us.
• II Timothy 1:13 & 14 – The Holy Spirit will help you live a holy life by giving you faith and love in Christ Jesus.
• Luke 12:12 – The Holy Spirit will tell us what to say.
• Acts 1:8 – We shall receive power from the Holy Spirit.
• John 14:26 – The counselor, the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and will remind us of what Jesus taught.
• Acts 13:12 – The Holy Spirit will speak to our spirit and give us directions and where to go.
• Acts 20:23 – The Holy Spirit will warn us of potential problems.

If you truly have the Holy Spirit in your life and you allow Him to guide you, He will get you through every change and distraction that comes. God wants what is best for you and that is what the Holy Spirit will allow you to have if you are surrendered and submissive.

If you have enough faith, Scripture says we can move mountains.  Too often I see Christians unwilling to take any risks whatsoever.  Having been a member and on the board of a church that has grown from 450 to over 40,000 on special occasions and can be heard around the world on the Internet, it didn’t happen because of a lack of faith.  How can Christians be convinced that God wants them to be successful and prosperous as examples and to help spread His gospel to everyone?  It’s not done by winning the lottery.  It takes using Biblical principles and trusting God to help you make the right decisions most of the time.  The willingness to take risks that are well thought out in advance and if the necessary preparations are made, you will have a great chance to succeed.  God doesn’t always bless us for just showing up!  It takes commitment, tenaciousness and hard work, but faith and trusting are most necessary.   We have the advantage of God being with us through the Holy Spirit wanting to help us do our best.  Here’s my story:

Years ago before children had the toys that are available today there were soap box derbies.  Dads and sons would build racing carts and enter them in the soap box races.  They may be made out of orange crates on short two by fours with axles and wheels.  They had a steering mechanism and brakes.  That was the total racer.

Most of the contestants were eager youngsters who leaned forward or hunkered down in their carts hoping to decrease wind resistance thereby increasing speed.  One youngster was visibly frightened at the prospect of going too fast down a long hill and compensated by riding the brake to keep his speed under control.  He finished last.

In my younger days some of our relatives would go to the Pacific Ocean for a weekend and would dig clams and have clam chowder.  To this day it is my favorite soup.  I remember wading out into waist deep water, standing mesmerized as a huge wave approached, broke and knocked me flat in a swirl of sand, saltwater and tangled arms and legs.  My next try resulted in a repeat of my first humiliation.

I use these two illustrations to describe the Christian’s frame of mind when the first few steps of faith are taken.  A fully committed Christian is like a youngster who takes his foot off the brake and goes full tilt down the steepest of hills.  The committed Christian is also like a person who wades into the surf, dives headlong into the first wave and swims into the vast Pacific Ocean.

The problem that exists is once the initial wave of enthusiasm passes, and it will, there is an inclination to settle into a kind of treadmill mentality.  Once the excitement has passed, life returns to dealing with the day to day pressures that surround us.  So before any more steps are taken we need to learn how to maintain momentum and stay charged.

If you have been reading my blogs, almost each one will tell you that you must develop a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit and be tuned into His presence.  I use the word “tuned in” because it is not always a conscious awareness.  But when something noteworthy happens, whether it is considered a good thing or a not-so-good thing, the presence of the Holy Spirit comes to mind and is cause for celebration.  He is your inner partner when someone aims a six-shooter between your eyes; He is present when the roof caved in or the stock market crashed as we have just seen or He is with you when oil is discovered in your backyard.

It is His partnership that is energizing.  It’s the difference between sitting in a foxhole alone and scared or sitting in a foxhole with the Joint Chief of Staff right there with you.  It has been my experience that many Christians, when it comes to stepping out in faith, ride the brakes or only put their toe in the water.  If they only knew what God has in store for them and what they may be missing, they will only know when they get to heaven.  But what an exciting life we could have if we just put our faith into action.

We as Christians have a tremendous advantage.  We have been assured that we can always enjoy beneficial circumstances and it enables us to transform the most hopeless looking position into a favorable position.  However, it is all based on the condition of our spiritual heart which determines the kinds of decisions we make.

Every one of us has a worldly nature and a spiritual nature.  The two natures are in conflict with each other because the worldly nature is self-serving and the spiritual nature is God-serving.  Therefore, the condition of our spiritual heart determines the kinds of decisions we make.  Business decisions, job decisions, family decisions and personal decisions are all affected by our true nature or heart.  We also are repeatedly influenced by satanic forces with which we must deal.

Countless Scriptures make the point that spiritual health is a direct outgrowth of our spiritual natures winning the conflict taking place within us.  Galatians 5:17 – “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.”

Which nature are we allowing to win?  Is our worldly nature saying “Keep your foot on the brake; you may risk losing everything”?  Or are we willing as committed Christians to hunker down, with our foot off the brake saying I am willing to let it all hang out that I might fulfill God’s will in my life.  And that might require taking a risk! It may even require swimming with the sharks.

Deuteronomy 28:1 – 9 – “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world.   You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:  Your towns and your fields will be blessed.  Your children and your crops will be blessed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed.  Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed.   Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed.   The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!  The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.  If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways, the Lord will establish you as his holy people as he swore he would do.”  NLT

I believe this applies also to the United States and Christians who are obedient and walk in the ways of Christ.

I have heard preachers and teachers state that if you have enough faith you can move mountains. Just because Scripture says it, does not mean that it is a promise that God must keep.  Apparently, no one has that kind of faith or if they do, they haven’t asked God to move a mountain lately.  We all know He can, but that is not an unconditional promise.  Otherwise, we wouldn’t need huge earth movers just people with a lot of faith.

Most of God’s promises in the Bible are conditional but a few are unconditional.  For example, John 3:16 is unconditional and applies to everyone.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  Or, Acts 2:38 – “Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  Regardless who you are or what you have done this is an unconditional promise.

A conditional promise is found in Philippians 4:19 – “ And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”  Matthew 7:21 – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”  You can see these are conditional promises.  If you are not doing God’s Will, you may not enter heaven.

God is under no obligation to answer any prayer of a non-believer except those like the unconditional ones above.  God does not guarantee He will answer the prayers of a believer if they don’t meet certain qualifications.  He requires our obedience, faith, living a holy life according to His Will, and patience to trust that He will answer.

What is needed to receive what Psalms 37:4 says?  “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  This is a conditional promise requiring that we have a close personal relationship with Him.  Knowing Him well will give us comfort, pleasure and satisfaction.  It suggests that we are willing to trust God with everything we have.  It is believing He can care for us more than we can care for ourselves.

If you accepted Christ a few years ago and have failed to grow spiritually, chances many of your prayers may not be answered. I believe the Bible is very clear that most of God’s promises are conditional and His only obligation is to believers who are putting Him first in their lives. That does not mean He will not answer your prayer, it is just not a guarantee.  Many teach if you have enough faith your prayer will be answered.  It takes more than faith.

Have you heard preachers on TV say if you will send them seed money, God will increase your wealth?  If you refuse to take responsibility and be accountable for how you live, if you fail to study His Word and become knowledgeable or ignore Biblical facts, what do you think God’s answer might be?  Is He going to make you prosperous because you sent someone money?   God is not obligated as His promise is conditional?

God requires that we learn His Word.  How else would we know whether we are living a holy life?  Have you been redeemed and are you righteous?  You may have received the Holy Spirit but have you been filled with the Holy Spirit?  Are you aware of a power received from the Holy Spirit?  Do you have supernatural experiences or unexplainable occurrences from time to time?  It may not be luck or a coincidence but God intervening.

Do you realize all of the many promises God gives to those who have a deep personal relationship with Him?   Are you willing to make the effort to improve your spiritual standard of living?  God does not want us to remain baby Christians throughout our adult life.  He does not want us to fail to mature and be unproductive children.  How do most parents feel about their children who intentionally fail to get an education and are unwilling to get a job?  If they are physically and mentally able, they are that way because we gave them more than we should have or we lacked adequate discipline.  We were enablers and made them unwilling to develop, mature and become independent.  Isn’t God smarter than we?  He is not going to hurt us by answering prayers that will make us overly dependent to a fault.  But He will answer the prayers of those doing their best and continually progressing to spiritual maturity.

Scripture says to examine yourself.  Are you consistently striving to become more spiritual and enhance your relationship with Him?  Should God be answering your prayers?

There is a different aspect to prayer.  Sometimes God will answer prayers in order to build our faith and bring us closer to Him.  I have found the more times I have seen prayers answered the greater my relationship with Him grew and the more spiritually mature I became.

Sometimes we may feel so unworthy that it is difficult to believe that God really loves us enough to answer our prayers. There can be times when we may least expect God’s to answer our prayer and He does.  The more we see the Holy Spirit working in our lives, the greater we can be motivated to study His Word and pray.  God knows what it takes to encourage us.  So never give up and pray with the faith to believe your prayer will be answered.  God doesn’t want us to fail.  But sometimes we are so tempted by the world that we chose worldly pleasures over God.  This does not please God.  So if we want our prayers constantly answered, we must do as Scripture says.

There are thousands of supernatural experiences where lives were saved by angels or individuals were involved in accidents and came out of cars totally demolished and not having a scratch.  God works in many mysterious ways.  Most often these supernatural events change the lives of people.

This message is not about what God can or will do, but about: Is God obligated to keep a Biblical promise.  Not if it is a conditional promise.  But unconditional promises—yes.

Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  This is an unconditional promise that you can count on!

Often Christians will doubt whether they are living a good enough life to make it to Heaven.  It wasn’t until Adam and Eve sinned that man had ever witnessed fear.  Most times, fear is what Satan uses to control who we become and how we live.  Years ago I heard an illustration describing how fear can control.

Put a grasshopper in a jar and place a lid, with air holes, on the jar.  The grasshopper will try to jump out and hit its head on the lid.  After it jumps a few times and hits it head, it will soon stop jumping.  Take the lid off and it will never try to jump out again.  The fear of pain controls its movement.

The same is true with most people. We, having made a number of mistakes and failures, become afraid of making risky decisions because we fear  making another mistake or failing.  We as Christians must learn to overcome fear and be willing to make risky decisions. The powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil as described in Ephesians 6:12 – (“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”), have controlled people, especially Christians, through fear most of our lives.  Middle-Eastern nations and terrorists rule people by fear.  Politicians use fear to get votes.  This is Satan’s way of putting a lid on Christians by using fear to keep us from moving freely outside the jar.

The Bible has made it very clear what God expects of His children:

1.            Abel brought a sacrifice to God that was acceptable but his brother Cain did not.  Apparently God had told them what he expected of each.  One obeyed and one did not.  The illustration of Abel teaches us the importance of worshiping God as Christ teaches and giving Him our very best.  Tithing and sacrificing has been a part of worshiping God from the very beginning.

2.            Abraham left a very wealthy family who had status and at that time a home with walls and a ceiling.  He departed to live the rest of his life as a nomad in tents.  We learn from Abraham the importance of trusting in God and living by faith.  Abraham trusted the future promises of God. It was Abraham’s faith that made him righteous.

3.            Enoch walked with God for 300 years.  He had developed a relationship with God that was so close that God took him to heaven without Enoch having to die.  We learn from Enoch that God expects a relationship with Him from each of us and to worship Him through our daily walk.

4.            Noah was one of the most obedient of all God’s people.  For 120 years he diligently built an ark and preached to people to change their lives.  He had faith in the promise that God would do what He said He would do, destroy everyone with a flood.  Noah teaches us the importance of obedience and persistence.

5.            Christ brought a New Covenant that included teachings under the Old Covenant, but the New Covenant made the laws, regulations, ceremonies and sacrifices of the Old Covenant obsolete.  He did not make the Old Testament obsolete for it gives prophecies of the future, history, examples of Godly people and the character of God.  Under the New Covenant we are judged on our inner selves, our spirit and thoughts but not on our external actions.  Doing good works will not get us to heaven.  But if we have the right relationship with God and others, we will do good deeds with unconditional love. 

God wanted to eliminate any doubt in one’s mind as to what is required to live eternally with Him and Christ.  God tells us what He expects from each Christian and that each one thoroughly understands Christianity.

Christ came so we might get back to how God created man to live, which is a positive, meaningful life free from negative fears.   I Corinthians 15:55 – “Where, O death is your sting?” Hebrews 2:14 & 15 – Christ came that He might destroy Satan who holds the power of death and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.  In addition, Christ’s resurrection has taken the lid off the jar and we are free to become what God created each of us to be. I John 4:18 says, the love we receive from Christ will drive out fear.  However, our background of sin, feelings of unworthiness, lack of confidence and our failures keep us from freely living as God intends and getting outside the jar that has enslaved our thinking.  We must allow the Holy Spirit to help us overcome the negative fears of life.

God made a very perfect and positive Adam and Eve.  Christ came to forgive us of our sins that caused our fears and the control the devil had over us. Being controlled by Satan was not what God wanted for us.  Through our love of God and others we can take back control from the devil and we can overcome negative fears and be assured of our place in Heaven.