Developing Spiritual Disciplines - Part 1 - Eli Lopez - May 12, 2021

[Music] [Music] good evening clc we're so glad that you're here joining us tonight online for another wonderful worship service before we go to the lord and exaltation and song and praise we invite you to right now block everything else out shut everything else off that's going on right now wherever you are unless of course you're driving so maybe you can get home real quick and then join your family and we're going to have a time in the holy ghost and so we invite you right now to sit stand however you are and let's invite the presence of the lord to be felt wherever you are we know god's an omnipresent god he's right here in this sanctuary he's right there where you are right now but there's something special that happens when we invite him to be felt jesus we go before you right now we thank you let your love we thank you for your mercy we thank you for your grace jesus we ask right now that your presence be felt in this sanctuary and that your presence go from this place to every living room to every bedroom to every home right now in jesus name that's watching this service right now at this moment and whoever watches this service later let them feel your holy ghost coming right now jesus we know that you are everywhere at all times but jesus we invite your presence to be filled jesus that holy ghost that is with thy inside of us we ask right now that it will be revived and that it will be strengthened and that that hope that we have for you will be once again jesus renewed in our spirit jesus right now we place our faith and our trust in you jesus we thank you lord for our church and our pastor and the word of the lord that comes forth but jesus we thank you for the hope that we have in you and we glorify and exalt your name for jesus you are the one and only true living god we thank you lord for your strength we thank you for your peace and your mercy god [Music] touch every musician touch every singer jesus today may your will be done in us and through us prepare our hearts and minds for the word that goes forth jesus we submit this time unto you lord [Music] all together let's worship the lord let's shout to god with the voice of triumph hallelujah we worship you jesus we worship you we worship you let's worship the lord in song [Music] thank you tonight [Music] reigns forever no other names that's stronger no other day forever so precious [Music] hallelujah [Music] praise the the one who waits forever forever [Music] [Music] [Music] so precious there is no [Music] nation we will play [Music] [Applause] [Music] we [Music] every day [Applause] [Music] [Music] she [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus [Music] forever [Music] so precious that's higher no other name that's stronger [Music] forever precious worship you god there's none like you lord thank you jesus [Music] know [Music] what a beautiful name it is what a beautiful name it is the name of jesus christ my kingdom what a beautiful name it is nothing compares to this what a beautiful name it is the name of jesus [Music] you were the word at the beginning one [Applause] [Music] everything what a wonderful what a wonderful name nothing compared to this what a wonderful name what a wonderful day [Music] there is no one [Applause] that could [Music] the heavens [Music] you have no [Music] [Music] forever [Music] [Applause] from [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] say [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] a is day [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] what a powerful name it is why don't you speak that name right now wherever you are jesus ah jesus jesus jesus whatever circumstance it is that you're dealing with right now jesus is here for you whatever life may throw at you the lord never leaves us nor forsakes us and if you have a situation right now call the number on your screen there are ministers available right now to pray with you we want to join you and bind together as the body of christ and as we go before the lord for our community for our state for our city as you're at your home right now if you know your neighbor's name why don't you call that name out why don't you point to the north the east the south and the west as we pray for those directions that the lord will send angels around about your home and protect it but the angels will also be witnesses for those around your home and that the lord will bring your neighbor into your home and in front of you and the lord will give you wisdom and guidance on what to say to that person to share the gospel with them let's go before the lord right now jesus we ask that you'll touch every individual in this church and every individual that's watching right now for those that need a healing in their body we ask right now that you'll heal them your word says that by your stripes we are healed and we place our faith and trust in you jesus and we asked your healing miraculous power will be upon them those that need a miraculous provision right now we ask that you'll provide for the need as they trust you in it jesus and lord we ask that you'll speak to the north the south the east and the west that it must give up the souls that belong to you lord not only from this building but from every individual that's under the sound of my voice every home of every individual in this church let your holy ghost spread throughout this city throughout this valley jesus and throughout this state let your holy ghost reign let your will be done in stockton as it is in heaven may your will be done in this state as it is in heaven may your will be done in this country and in this world jesus pour out your spirit upon all flesh in these last days right now we asked oh that you'll put a hedge of protection around every home and around this church let your healing miraculous power be upon every individual jesus we give you glory for we thank you for hearing our prayers we thank you lord for our holy ghost-filled mayor we ask that you'll continue to guide him and lead him jesus uh that your spirit will be with him lord in every decision that he makes for this community and jesus we ask that you'll touch the president that you'll touch the vice president that your spirit be upon this nation for jesus we need you right now we ask that you'll touch the supreme court we ask that you'll touch congress we ask that you'll touch the police department and the fire department let your spirit be upon them jesus protect them and be with them lord right now [Music] we ask that you heal this land jesus heal this land jesus christ thank you jesus let's worship the lord and thank him for hearing our prayer thank you jesus thank you jesus [Music] thank you jesus amen the lord is good he hears our prayer and acts upon them and if you have a need right now again call the number and we're going to pray with you today it's now time for our wednesday evening tithe and offering god bless you as you give tonight [Music] so [Music] well praise the lord and good evening to everyone and we're going to continue our journey we have been last week we started this series on spiritual formation and we're going to continue that journey today and in our conversation or in this journey that we will be on yet last week i said yesterday excuse me last week we started this series and we discussed the call and the call that is on every believer and how there is uh an individual call that is on your life what god wants to do in you and through you and we talked about answering that call responding to that call recognizing that call so on and so forth today we're going to get into lesson number two which is developing spiritual disciplines and this series one lesson builds upon the other and so if you come in a little bit late and maybe miss the previous week just know that one lesson does build upon another so i highly recommend that you go back watch the the previous week's lesson and it'll all come together i think the pieces will fit and then after this lesson we have five additional lessons we'll talk about spiritual gifts the fruit of the spirit the path to perfection the journey of holiness and then we'll conclude our series with the path of humility and so uh i mentioned this last week uh that if you want to purchase the course workbook to go along with the lesson material you can actually purchase the spiritual formation course workbook from our christian life college bookstore you can actually buy that online or you can go into the physical store we have a brick and mortar store you can just go in there walk in and we have these for sale uh sister riddell can guide you to where they're at if you go and you to the website just clc.edu forward slash bookstore and there's a little button that says shop now and you select college textbooks and then you'll find where it says spiritual formation workbook uh they were i was communicated with at a number did pick those up last week and so if you do have your workbook we're on module number two so we have three modules we're on module number two which is in the middle of the workbook and now we're on lesson number two so module two lesson two and that's where we're gonna be at starting tonight last week we already did lesson one of that second module of that workbook which was like i already said dealing with the call all right so let's pray and let's ask god to have his way lord we love you and we cannot say thank you enough for all of your blessings for all of your goodness we honor you tonight and have your way as we turn to your word as we give our attention focus on your word as we give god our our hearts to what your word would have to say please open up our hearts to receive your word let it be as good soil that the seed could penetrate and produce a great harvest in all of our lives we love you and we need you god in jesus name amen so as i've already mentioned today we're going to discuss developing spiritual disciplines developing spiritual disciplines and a verse that we began looking at last week and i just quoted it but i knew that this week we were going to get into it is ephesians 4 1. and ephesians 4 1 says i therefore the prisoner of the lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called and so this ties perfectly into last week's lesson about the calling that is upon the life of every believer and paul said you need to look at your calling as a believer you need to look at what your life what you are called to be what you are called to do and then you need to have a lifestyle that matches that right and so i get young men and young women who come into my office knock on my door and they say brother lopez i feel called to this i feel called to that uh i'll get young men super lopez i feel called to be a pastor i feel call and then i will stop and ask them i said well okay tell me what are all the things that a pastor does well a pastor preaches i said okay yeah that's publicly but what about privately well a pastor studies and a pastor prays and a pastor teaches bible study and a pastor works with people and i say okay that you understand the background i said now are you doing those things and many times there there will be kind of a silent response and i said if you want to be a pastor someday you need to start doing those things today right if there's a calling on your life to be that then you need to start living the life that matches your calling you don't wait until you become a pastor to develop a prayer life you don't wait until you become a pastor to learn how to teach bible studies you got to get out there and start doing the things that match your calling and that's true for all of us you there's a call on your life to be a a teacher a small group leader it goes calling your life to to drive the sunday school bus there's a call on your life to be an usher there's a call on your life to to be a leader in in worship and in the part of the music team if there's a call on your life you can just go through the list of things that we're called to do and to give ourselves to the kingdom of god if there's a call your lifestyle has to match your calling you cannot be up here leading people in worship if you don't have your own walk with god and your own connection with god you have no right to stand in this pulpit if you haven't spent time with god in his word and then you're supposed to get up and try to open this bible and and speak for god it doesn't work that way you have to live a lifestyle that matches your calling and paul said to here he said i i i beseech you which i strongly urge you to even say i beg you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called so we all understood last week that we are called now our lifestyle has to match our calling so this is what i have on this next slide because we are commanded to live a lifestyle that matches our calling we must develop proper patterns of conduct right so think about that we are commanded to live a lifestyle that matches our calling and because we are commanded to do that we must develop proper patterns of conduct so i can do what paul said to do that i could walk worthy that my lifestyle would be what it should be to match the calling that's on my life romans chapter 8 verse 7. paul here he says because the carnal mind is enmity it means to be in an adversary relationship the carnal mind is enmity against god for it is not subject to the law of god nor indeed can be verse 8 so then those who are in the flesh cannot please god why because this carnal mind fights against god it's not subject to the law of god in fact it even it can't be subject to god the carnal mind is in rebellion against god the unregenerated mind is in rebellion against god and paul said those who are in the flesh they cannot please god it is impossible if you're unregenerated to live a life that fully pleases god so here's the point that we're making the natural pattern of our human nature does not naturally lead us to spiritual behavior that's what paul said he said the carnal mind is enmity against god it's enmity against the ways of god so the natural pattern of our human nature does not naturally lead us to spiritual behavior why because the flesh produces ungodly desires and actions that's what the flesh produces and paul said if you are unregenerated if you are in the flesh you cannot please god because you are trapped using a carnal mind the word carnal there he's referring to the fact that it's an unregenerated mind it's a mind that hasn't been born again and because you are trapped using that unregenerate generated mindset you it is impossible for you to align with god it's impossible for you to live a life that's in perfect alignment with the will of god yes you can do some things that are good yes you can do some things that are positive but your life will not please god because you are still in the flesh you are still trapped in that carnal unregenerated mindset that's going to live out the ways of the flesh paul says it's impossible for your life to fully please god you can't please god in that condition and so we see what's happening the the natural pattern my human nature does not produce good spiritual things in me my human nature produces ungodly desires my human nature produces ungodly actions you leave me to myself i'll get in trouble lead me to myself i'll fall into sin leave me to myself i'm going to start doing things that are contrary to god contrary to his nature contrary to his will contrary to his word just leave me to myself that's why we need to be born again that's why being born again is so powerful because there's a change that happens my my desires change my thinking changes my wants change things that i used to do things that i used to crave things that i used to die desire my appetites change and now i desire differently i long for for things of the spirit i long for the presence of god i have a longing for for things that are holy and right and good what happened i was saved i was born again i was regenerated so i was delivered from the ways of the flesh and now i have been brought in and i'm able to live out the ways of the spirit but without the working of the spirit i'm trapped i'm stuck i'm going to keep living out ungodly desires i'm going to keep exhibiting ungodly behavior because i'm trapped in the flesh so what's the solution to overcoming the flesh galatians 5 16 i say then walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh so if you have the holy ghost you have access to power to overcome the natural ways of the flesh walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh verse 17 for the flesh lust against the spirit the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you would wish so paul is telling believers you've got the holy ghost if you will walk in the spirit this old nasty flesh that wants to control you this old nasty flesh that just wants to take you into sin take you back into the world take you back into carnality you can overcome that by walking in the spirit if you walk in the spirit you will not fulfill the desires of your flesh then paul went on in verse 17 and he said there's a fight inside of every believer the flesh and the spirit are in conflict with one another and so he said some of you are wondering why you're not living in overcoming life because you're feeding the wrong thing you're feeding the flesh and not feeding the spirit but if you've got the holy ghost and if you will feed that spirit man inside of you you can live a life that is victorious over the ways of the flesh so consider this the only way to overcome natural ungodly desires and behavior is to walk in the spirit it's the only way to overcome natural ungodly desires and behavior it's to walk in the spirit i don't have enough willpower to overcome the ways of the flesh i i can be disciplined i can get myself in a good place and i i i can avoid some some catastrophic or some really really maybe bad things but through the power of human will but i will not truly live a victorious overcoming life until i allow the holy ghost to work so if you have the holy ghost you have got to allow the holy ghost you've got to walk in the spirit the only way to overcome natural ungodly desires and behavior is to walk in the spirit because there's this conflict there's this battle but if i will walk in the spirit then i overcome the ways of the flesh romans 8 9 so we were just romans 8 let's continue he said but you are not in the flesh but in the spirit if indeed the spirit of god dwells in you so that that's the difference right in verse 7 and verse 8 of romans 8 the verses we read a few moments ago it's talking about the carnal mind being enmity against god and and being impossible to please god it's because these people don't have the spirit but if you have the holy ghost like we say in verse 16 and verse 9 but you are not in the flesh but in the spirit if indeed the spirit of god dwells in you so when the holy ghost comes it changes you it changes your status if there's an empowerment that comes to your life you are now able to conquer the ways of the flesh because now you are filled with the spirit let's continue now if anyone does not have the spirit of christ he is not his let's go to verse 12. therefore brethren we are debtors talking about born-again believers we are debtors we have a debt i hate being in debt right but i have a debt you have a debt and this is a good debt but look at what the debt is to and what the debt is not to therefore brethren we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh okay the debt i have is to god the debt i have is to what god has done for me the debt i have is to god for his mercy and his grace i owe god everything for what he's done for me i owe god everything for calvary and for the shed blood that washes me clean i do have a debt that i want to i want to spend my life trying to repe repay this debt in gratitude for all that god has done for me yes i am a debtor but my debt is to god it's not to the flesh paul said we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh why is my debt not to the flesh what good has the flesh ever done you think about it the flesh has only ever gotten you in trouble the flesh has only ever taken you down roads that you later wish you never traveled those roads and went down those paths you don't owe your flesh anything because your flesh will only take you into sin your flesh will take you away from god your flesh will take you into things that are contrary to the will and the word of god you don't owe your flesh anything because all your flesh all that carnal nature has ever done for you is tried to lead you away from god so if i don't owe my flesh anything why am i living a life that gives in to all the whims and desires that my flesh has why am i living a life that anytime my flesh has some little appetite i have to satisfy it no no that's not the will of god we are debtors but not to the flesh live according to the flesh verse 13 for if you look excuse me if you live according to the flesh you will die i had a young lady in bible college she was talking to uh a relative and this relative was trying to tell her that you can't lose your salvation friend romans 8 13 paul said he's talking to spirit-filled believers he's talking to people who are born again people who have the holy ghost people that are in church like you and i are in church and this is what he says to them in verse 13 if you live according to the flesh you will die you will lose your soul if you give in to the ways of your flesh but you want to have eternal life you want to make heaven your home then you need to do what's next in this verse but if by the spirit remember that's where the change came verse 7 verse 8 of this chapter we're trapped in the ways of the flesh we cannot please god but then we get to verse 9 we're filled with the spirit and we're transformed now now we can live a life that pleases god and here we get to verse 13 we see that this is how you and i are going to make it to heaven if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live so here's the point that i verse 14 excuse me where we one more verse then i'll make the point for as many as are led by the spirit of god these are sons of god wow that's stop and think about that just stop and think about that to be led by god is to be directed by god maybe i can use a little stronger terminology to be led by god is to be controlled by god am i being controlled by my flesh and the ways of the flesh or am i being controlled by god and paul said if through the spirit this holy ghost that you have this holy ghost that gives you the power to overcome the ways of the flesh if through the spirit you crucify you mortify the deeds of the flesh paul said that's when you're going to live that's when you're going to walk in life through the spirit you got to put to death the deeds of the body and then we get to verse 14 for as many as are led by the spirit of god and i have to ask the question to myself what what's leading me today am i being led by my flesh and my appetites and and carnality or am i being led by the spirit well being led by the spirit that's that's for the preacher you know that's for pastor haney when he gets up to preach he's got to be led by the spirit of god no this is for every believer in your daily life you are to be led by the spirit of god god wants to guide your steps in his will every single day i'm not talking about you know some spooky thing where you can't take one step without asking god you know god can i take a step forward i'm not talking about some weird thing where you you can't you're paralyzed until you hear a voice from heaven that tells you what to do that's not what i'm talking about i'm talking about the daily living that you and i live out as christians we are to be led by the spirit of god and it is so simple it is so simple it's living your life and just allowing god to be god in your life in very real ways how does this work well sometimes i would just feel i need to call that person i need to encourage that person sometimes i feel like i i need i need to go there sometimes i feel like you know what i need to go and pray right now god needs me to pray and it's just it's just that sensitivity saying okay god i'm gonna let you guide my life today it's being in conversation with someone and all of a sudden you you realize that i'm supposed to tell this to this person i'm talking to right now god wants me to share this with him it's it's simple it's not something complicated it's just it's it's aligning your life with god so that god has permission and and i know that sounds like a weird way to say it but you give god permission just to order your steps in his will and it just becomes a daily habit a daily practice as many as are led by the spirit of god god just guide my life just leave my i don't want to be led by the ways of the flesh i don't want to be led by by by carnality i if there's things you don't want me to read i'm getting that little that little check or that little nudge inside of me says don't read that or don't look at that or don't join that conversation or don't don't don't partake of that or don't go there or don't you know it's just it's just allowing god to be in your life in a real way and this is what we want as spirit-filled believers we want to be led by god in the way that we live out our lives and the way that we live out our christian witness in the way that we live out our christian commitment on a daily basis and paul said you want to know who the sons of god are they're the ones not being led by the flesh but they're the ones being led by the spirit this is how you know someone is a child of god and that that's that's something that's challenging to me can i really say that god i'm being led by the spirit on a daily basis in the life that i live because paul said that's the criteria that's how you know as many as are led by the spirit of god these are the children of god this is how it's supposed to be for all of us that our lives are led by god in very real ways as we allow the spirit to be in control not the ways of the flesh but the ways of the spirit so two truths that i want to share with you number one regeneration empowers a believer to live a spiritually focused life regeneration empowers until regeneration comes you you don't have the power to live a spiritually focused life paul said the carnal mind is enmity against god it is not subject to the law of god nor indeed can be so regeneration is what makes the difference being born again being saved regeneration empowers a believer to live a spiritually focused life without regeneration i am trapped to living out the ways of the flesh but when regeneration when salvation comes i now can be empowered to live a spiritually focused life because i'm born again i'm a new creature in christ that's the first truth but here's the second truth regeneration does not guarantee that a believer will live a spiritually focused life i'm empowered to do it but there's no guarantee that i will do it right just because i have the holy ghost doesn't mean i'm going to walk in the spirit just because i have the holy ghost doesn't mean i'm going to be led by the spirit of god god may want to lead me god may want to guide me god may want to be in absolute control of my life but i could hinder that by allowing the flesh to have more control than it's supposed to have so just because i'm born again just because i'm regenerated it doesn't guarantee that i will live a spiritually focused life i'm empowered to i have the opportunity to do so but it doesn't guarantee that i will do so just because you get saved doesn't mean that man all of a sudden you're the most mature christian and you've got it all figured out paul said the flesh and the spirit are in conflict just because i have the holy ghost does not mean that i'm going to make sure that the spirit overcomes if i'm not careful i'll allow the flesh to have its way in my life even as a spirit-filled believer and that's why paul said in verse 13 if you live out the ways of the flesh you will die but he said but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body then you can have life and so just because i have the holy ghost doesn't guarantee that i'm going to live an overcoming life there are some things i need to do with this empowerment with this regeneration with this born-again experience with being a new creature in christ there are some things that i need to do that will allow me that will help me that will cause me to live a spiritually focused life and so here's what my next slide says that believers must choose to put to death the deeds of the body we must choose to put to death the natural behavior of their human natures and allow themselves to be directed by the spirit of god you and i have to make that choice just because i'm born again doesn't mean that it is going to automatically happen i have to make a choice as a spirit-filled born-again heaven-bound believer i have to make a choice you know what i am going to put to death the natural behavior the natural ways of eli lopez i'm going to crucify my flesh i'm going to crucify these things in me that are contrary to god and i'm going to do what i can to be led by the spirit of god i have to make that choice just because i'm saved doesn't mean that it automatically happens what salvation does is it enables me to make that choice it empowers me to live that overcoming life it gives me access to the overcoming power i need to put down my flesh but again i have to make the choice to access that power and access that life and actually do it and actually put down the ways of my flesh so how do we do that brother lopez how how do you do that then okay paul said the flesh to us against the spirit spirit against flesh these are contrary to one another well how do i do it how do i make sure that the spirit wins if i've got this conflict inside of me how do i do what paul said where paul said that that through the spirit i put to death the deeds of the body how do i do that how how do i put to death the deeds of the body through the spirit how do i do what the bible is telling me to do to live this spiritually focused life i recognize i have the power now i recognize i'm born again i recognize that that because i'm regenerated i'm not trapped in the old ways of the flesh but how do i live out this christian life and crucify and put to death the deeds of the body how do i do this how do i make sure that the spirit wins and the flesh that i i put to death those actions that that defy god and run counter to the ways of god how do i do this here's the next slide it is through the development of spiritual disciplines that a believer can lead a spiritually focused life you want to live a spiritually focused life with all this holy ghost power that's surging through you you want to live a spiritually focused life then you need to develop some spiritual disciplines and this is true for every single believer none of us are exempt if i want to live a spiritually focused life i have access to the power right i am born again i'm a new creature in christ so how do i access that power to overcome how do i live the life that god wants me to live how do i do what paul said in ephesians 4 1 and live a life that's worthy of the calling with which i'm called how do i do this it is through the development of spiritual disciplines that a believer can lead a spiritually focused life and at this point i'm going to ask a question and here's the question does it really matter does it really matter in other words is there a difference between those who live consecrated lives and those who don't it is there a difference between those who live consecrated lives and those who don't uh many of you know that you know i teach here at christian life college and i teach a lot of the first year courses uh one of the courses i teach to first-year students is a course called spiritual formation this this very subject matter that we're dealing with uh is part of that course and we talk about developing you know prayer life and and the purposes of prayer and and having that spiritual focus and and we talk about things like fasting and we talk about you know intercessory prayer and and we you know we talk about uh matters that deal with consecration and dedication and all this and and i tell these students i introduce it to them while i have them as these first-year college students it's a statement that i make it matters how you live it absolutely matters how you live because they're living in a world they're living even among quote-unquote christians out there that are sending a message that says it doesn't matter how you live right we live in a relativistic society we live in a post-modern society that says truth is whatever it is to you and and everything is relative and whatever is moral to you that's moral and if you don't think it's immoral then it's not immoral you decide what's right and what's wrong and that's that's the the age and the hour that these young ministers are endeavoring to answer their call in this day and this hour so there's a society that's telling them it really doesn't matter you decide for yourself the life you want to live that's that's the the voice of secular society but then in the church there are those and when i say the church i'm talking about christianity as a whole and and it's making its way in into the oneness movement and that's why i i'm very adamant and i'm trying to to push against it but there's this thought that says well you know it's just all about god's grace and it's all about god's grace and it's all about god's grace and so it doesn't matter how you live it doesn't matter what you do or don't do because it's all about god's grace and it's all about god's grace and and there is a perversion of the biblical concept of grace and and what is presented to these students in in the modern christianity is grace that excuses bad behavior grace that excuses sin grace that that overlooks a carnality and well it doesn't matter if you're really consequent it doesn't matter because god's gonna use you and it's all based on his grace and so it's all about grace if you just rest in grace then everything's gonna be okay and and the bible is all about we are saved by grace however the biblical presentation of grace is this grace empowers you and i to live the life that god wants us to live grace is not an excuse to live a life that's contrary to god grace empowers me to live the life that god wants me to live and so there's this perversion of grace and if we're not careful it'll creep its way into the hearts of these young people and they'll start believing something that's true that's not true and they'll start believing it and so i tell them no you need to understand it absolutely matters how you live don't you believe this lie that says by secular society that it doesn't matter what's right or wrong you decide don't believe that and don't believe what's creeping into christianity that says well it doesn't matter how you live it's all going to be covered by grace anyways that's a perversion of the biblical message because what did we read already what do we read that if you live according to the flesh you will die i thought it was all about grace paul said probably the preeminent teacher of grace in the new testament paul said if you live according to the flesh you will die that's in your new testament that's in the bible you're holding and so i tell these students there's an absolute perversion of the biblical message of grace grace does not excuse bad behavior what grace does is it allows you to live the life so if you make a mistake if you fall short if you sin you can come to an altar and there's grace and there's mercy and there's blood not to stay in your sin but there's blood to wash away those sins there's mercy to pick you up there's grace to help get you on the right path again grace does not excuse sin grace helps you overcome sin i'm saying brother lopez you're getting kind of passionate because i see what some of these young people fight with this perversion of grace and so i begin telling them very early it matters how you live and then i have them as seniors for a class called theology of ministry it's one of their last classes before they graduate they have to do a big capstone project and that class they hear it over and over again and i talk about if you've learned anything in four years of hearing eli lopez teach or preach or do whatever i hope you've learned this from me you've learned great lessons from other teachers i hope you've learned this from me it matters how you live how do you know brother lopez because the principle of sowing and reaping is a principle established by god that is in effect as long as this world is in existence the principle of sowing and reaping and if you sow to the flesh you're going to reap corruption reap corruption but if you sow to the spirit you will reap life that is the message of the bible it's all about sowing and reaping and if you will practice spiritual disciplines then you will sow to the spirit you will sow to the ways of god you will sow to the things of god and you will reap life and blessing and anointing and god's favor but if you sow to the flesh you're going to reap destruction and corruption and brokenness and heartache because that's where the flesh and the ways of the flesh take you so it matters how you live so i guess one reason this is so personal to me when i was in bible college and i usually don't like to tell these stories uh over the pulpit but i will share this tonight there were some voices that were prevalent in bible college when i was in school i went to school with some great great peers loved god in fact one of my spiritual mentors as as when i was a young man was one grade above me in bible college and i we him and i would pray together we would fast together we would go soul winning together i mean we did some some some pretty crazy stuff together just park services and street preaching and and and locking ourselves in the church and praying and he was one great above me so i in bible college had some great friends some great peers that really helped me in in getting a hold of god and learning the ways of god had some some wonderful teachers that taught me apostolic truth and apostolic doctrine and and the dispensational uh approach to scripture i i got all that bible college bible college was a great experience for me but there were some voices that were trying to speak into my life saying it really doesn't matter one voice that says you know fasting really doesn't matter all of this this prayer that you guys do it really doesn't matter you really don't need to do all that if you want god to use you and so i did something maybe this is a little too practical but this is what i did i i listened to those voices i heard what they were saying and i took a step back and i just started thinking and i started considering and i started judging okay i started judging and you say what do you mean brother lopez i started judging the lives and the ministries it was like i had a scale and i put the lives and the ministries of people that i knew prayed people that i knew fasted people that i knew were consecrated people that i knew were dedicated people that i knew were soul winners i put their lives and their ministries on one side of the scale i stood back as a young man and i judged the fruit of their ministry i judged what they had and then i put on the other side of the scale i did this in bible college i looked at the lives of all the people that were telling me that prayer wasn't important that fasting wasn't important that i didn't need to be so zealous that i didn't need to be so sold out that i was becoming unbalanced that was their great word you're becoming unbalanced you're becoming so so so heavenly minded you're you're no earthly good no i'm nowhere near close to that but but they were using all these carnal excuses and the big one i remember is you're becoming unbalanced you're not balanced anymore and but i i began to compare their ministries and their call and their lifestyle and what they had and i just weighed them out and i asked myself which one do i want do i want their ministries do i want the results and the fruit that they have or do i want what these guys have i won't tell you his name but i'll never forget when one man stood before us it's hard to believe that this actually happened but did it and he said i don't get it i don't get it he said brother stone king shows up and he steps to the pulpit and he says jesus he's here tonight and the place goes crazy and it's the end of service and people are are running and dancing and shouting and getting the holy ghost and getting healed he said i don't get it he said when i say it nothing happens and i had my answer i had my answer i looked at the lives and the ministries and the fruit of people who prayed and fasted and i saw what they had was so real i saw that when they preached the holy ghost moved i saw that when they ministered people people would be filled with the spirit and healings would take place in deliverance and the word lord would go forth and there'd be so much authority when they spoke from god and tremendous things would happen and there would be miracles and there were there would be just incredible demonstrations of god then i looked at over here and all these carnal people that were saying prayer isn't important and fasting is important and they had some cute sermons they had some well-crafted sermons they had some good ideas to share but it was dead it was dry they would preach and nothing would happen they would sing and there was no move of god they had the performance they had the act they had it all figured out the mechanics of ministry but there was no anointing to back it up and as a young minister it dawned on me that these people that were telling me that prayer and fasting wasn't important they didn't have the goods to back up their argument but when i looked at men and women that prayed and fasted and consecrated and dedicated i saw what they had and i said i want that i want god to be in my life i want god to be in my ministry when i speak for god i want god to back up the words that i'm saying i want there to be a move of god when i stand in the pulpit and i looked at the lives of those who prayed and fasted and i realized it absolutely does matter how you live it absolutely does matter if you're consecrated and dedicated to god and as a young man i shut out those voices i have no patience for them i have no tolerance for them it's just carnality trying to excuse itself i have no patience for that if you're going to be a man of god if you're going to be a woman of god it matters how you live so is there a difference you better believe there is there's a story i'll probably tell later in this series but i watched a devil being cast out i was a young man i watched the devil being cast out and i saw two preachers two preachers trying to cast out the same devil and i saw one man yelling screaming just going beside himself and the devil paid him no mind and i watched another man stand right next to him and speak calmly and the devil that was in that girl obeyed everything that man of god said in fact that devil looked around and made this statement why did you call him here in that guttural voice why did you call him here didn't say that about the first preacher that was yelling and ranting and but said it about this other minister and see this other minister i knew his lifestyle prayer and fasting and consecration and dedication i'm talking zealous for god and it dawned on me you can you can fool me you you can get it by me but you ain't getting it by the devil he know who's real he know who has the goods he know who's really has an anointing and when that first preacher yelled and ranted the devil paid him no it was shocking as a young minister to see that the devil paid him no mind because this man didn't have a prayer life this man was inconsistent and undisciplined but that other man of god when he spoke that devil stood up at attention and obeyed everything he said to the point the devil said why did you call him here that's what i want i when i show up i want the devil to pay attention and when i speak i want the devil to obey and jesus said this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting so yes it absolutely does matter how you live and i'll i'll probably tell that full story uh later in this series and uh because i think it'll tie in perfectly and i will uh i will share with you some more details it was a just a wonderful moment of spiritual insight and deliverance that i was able to be a part of so we'll continue that so if we are going to say and i've passionately been making this case that it does matter then the second question is well what are spiritual disciplines then if it matters how you live then what are spiritual disciplines what are they what are they and that's what we're going to endeavor to answer throughout the rest of this particular lesson i'm going to give you five spiritual disciplines five okay and in giving you these spiritual disciplines i'm going to um just kind of show you how we are to put these into practice in in very just real life ways okay in matthew chapter 6 verses 1 through 18 we're not going to read through the entire passage but in matthew chapter 6 verses 1 through 18 there are three disciplines that jesus gives for all believers in verses 1 through 4 he gives the discipline of giving and he says when thou doest thine alms or when you give in verses 5 through 8 he gives us the discipline of prayer when you pray he didn't say if he never said if you give he never said if you pray he said when thou doest and alms when you pray and then in verses 16 through 18 jesus said when you fast okay three disciplines and again i'm gonna stress this it's not if it's when these are supposed to be activities or practices that are in the lives of every single believer there to be in your life and in my life not if but when jesus has the expectation that you and i would engage in these practices i'm going to read to you verse four if you have your bibles you can turn there that last part of verse four says this and your father who sees in secret will himself reward you openly okay go down to verse six and the last part of verse six says in your father who sees in secret reward you openly and then go down to verse 18 and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly in all three of these cases he has taught them you don't do this for public approval you don't give and show off what you're giving for public approval you do it privately to god you don't pray for public affirmation oh look he's a he's a great man of prayer she's a great woman of prayer no you pray to god it's personal and it's private and then fasting you need to give some practical ways you know wash your face anoint your head you don't don't walk around oh i'm so hungry i'm fasting today and and you may make a big to-do out of a time of fasting and in the conclusion of each all three of these disciplines he said the father who sees in secret rewards you openly right there is the formula for a successful ministry right there you want to have a successful ministry in god there is the formula for a successful ministry private devotion becomes public anointing what you do in private what you live in private the lifestyle that you live when nobody is watching that's where god shows up in your life that's what god comes to inspect he doesn't come to expect what i am inspect what i am on the platform he comes to inspect what i am in the private places of my life and it says the god who sees in the secret place the god who looks in the secret places of your life what you live there what you do there when nobody's watching that's what god brings out and puts on public display and so i tell these college students if there is no private devotion you have no right to expect a public anointing and many of us we want the public anointing without paying the price in the private places in the hidden places of our lives your father who sees in secret rewards you openly it matters how you live because the life that you live that's what god looks at that's what he examines that's that's what he shows up to inspect and when you are living this life not for fanfare not for public affirmation but you're living this life unto god you are consecrating and you are practicing these disciplines of giving and of prayer and of fasting you are practicing these these disciplines god will take that consecration and when it comes time for your public ministry your private devotion has prepared the way for your public anointing have a question what are the spiritual benefits of these three disciplines what are the spiritual benefits think about that for a few moments what are the spiritual benefits of giving what do i get or what happens to me maybe that's a better way of saying it what what does it do for me when i give well i know this giving it kills greed giving kills covetousness it kills it because greed is all about getting covetousness is all about acquiring and when i give i i am killing something that could be so strong in my flesh i am killing it and say no you see money people this is not an exaggeration people literally kill each other for money people stab each other in the back people will step on each other people will betray each other for money family members will do dirty things to each other for money and yet you and i we take that human nature that that craves and wants and longs and desires and and the greed that could be so rampant so strong inside of our spirit when we give we are killing the ways of the flesh this world will do whatever it can to get and to acquire and just to have a little bit more of this thing called money yet you and i freely offer it to god as worship it's a discipline when i give i am killing things in my human nature that don't want to die but i'm killing them and i'm honoring god and i'm crucifying the ways of the flesh and i'm making sure that i don't live out the way that people in this world live but i live a different life i live a spiritually focused life giving does that what does prayer do oh my goodness all the benefits of having a prayer life let's just talk in very practical terms today i'll use this example i almost didn't want to go there but just being a little transparent tonight tired weary it's been a long journey the school year just ended i'm looking forward to a hopefully a little refreshing over this summer but i'm gonna be very transparent very very just tired and when i get tired my attitude isn't the best you can you can ask my wife you know it's just it's just that way you get on edge you get tired you get weary and and sometimes you have to be around people and do things in ministry and you're not always in the best mood you don't always feel the best you don't always have the best attitude and you're tired you're just tired right and that was me today just just tired and there are things i had to do there were things i had to address things i had to take care of but my attitude my mindset wasn't in a good place and i'm being transparent i hope i'm not being too honest with you but this this was eli lopez today today what is this may the 12th this was this was me today you know what i did i got alone with god in prayer and i got this presence and i started talking to my jesus and you know my circumstances didn't change my situation didn't change i changed i'd gotten his presence and that bad attitude it left the room that that that that mindset that wasn't in a good place got in the presence of god and i had such clarity not just for today but just for life and it was just it was just things just cleared up and there's so many that that are walking in confusion you're walking and you've got this voice and you've got that voice and you don't know what to do here i'm telling you get in the prayer room and it's going to clear some things up for you get along with i mean really get alone with god have a real conversation with god get get your heart open and and lay it bare before god get in the presence of god and see what will happen and i've learned it's not always about my circumstances changing most of the time it's about me changing i'm the one that needs a fixing and i had a good good time of prayer today and it changed everything for me and it was just a reminder you know this thing called prayer it is so beautiful something happened to me during this covid pandemic and this shutdown this sanctuary that we're in right now it you know it was it was mostly empty except for those that were cleaning it i i i just i just found excuses to drive over to this building knowing it was going to be mostly empty and i i just would spend i've learned just to spend hours in here and you don't watch the clock i tell people throw the phone somewhere that you can't see it so you don't see it blinking or buzzing or lighting up when you're all those texts and emails put it away somewhere and i i told someone earlier and it was i i just i've during this kobe pandemic i've become addicted to prayer i've become addicted to the presence of god i come in here and i just feel such relief the moment i come in because there's nothing like prayer getting in the presence of god there's a cleansing that takes place there's a a purification of your motives of your thoughts of your desires there's so much good have you ever been around somebody and you pick up their habits like they have a particular word or phrase that they say and then you find yourself starting to say that right just because you're around them they there's a word that they use or phrase that they use and because you're around them you start using that word and in fact you start their opinions many times become your opinions and and they really begin to influence you not just the way you talk but the way you think and sometimes the way you act and and it's just like it's the influence they're having on you this this person in your life you know what i want jesus christ to be the greatest influence in my life and i want the words that i speak i've been in the presence of god so much i'm just i'm just going to be speaking words that that are spiritual words that are wholesome words that that lend to godliness and lend to holiness i want to think thoughts that are holy thoughts i want to have desires that align with god you know where that's going to come from when i allow the holy one when i allow god himself to be the main influence of my life well that means i need to spend time in his presence i need to be around him more if i'm going to be influenced by him if i'm going to start thinking like him and acting like him and talking like him then i've got to be around him more and that is that is a beautiful aspect of prayer as you get in the spirit as you get in prayer god just begins to to influence you and you are no longer acting or thinking or talking like the ways of the world that you've been in the presence of god and your attitude changes and your thoughts change and your desires change and before long your life changes prayer is so good it is such a they're such a benefit to spending time with god and i that doesn't even bring up the answered prayers right we pray for people to be healed and people to be blessed and and god to send revival and god to pour out his spirit we're praying all these prayers and god's going to answer those prayers and and but i'm not even referring to to the aspect of answered prayers i'm referring to the effect that prayer has on you as a spiritual discipline it realigns your desires to be in alignment with the ways of god what's the benefit of fasting what is the benefit of fasting i'm looking at the clock and i've gone longer than i wanted to i last week i went i didn't realize how long i went until i was wrapping things up and i don't want to don't want to do that i don't want to teach too long because uh sometimes you can be teaching about a good subject and get so passionate about it that you lose track of time and and i don't want the ministry of the word to become ineffective because i just keep rambling or keep talking i definitely don't want to do that so i'm going to right here hit a pause button and next week we're going to come back and so the question i'm asking in closing is what what are the spiritual benefits of fasting what good do we get when we fast and consecrate and i'm going to give you a little clue and then we'll pick this up next week everything that god ever asked me to give up is a want if there's ever something that god asked me to give up it's something that i really don't need probably want it but i really don't need it i'll give you an example if god asked me to put a dollar in the offering i may want that dollar but putting it in it's not going to kill me it's ultimately a want not a need and if i have to give up some activity or some object it's not really a need but when you give up food you're not giving up a want you're giving up a need because the human body was made that it needs sustenance to survive and when you give up a need that is an act of consecration that has incredible spiritual benefits when it's done right so we will pick up this lesson next week we're going to do a real quick recap of the first three disciplines that we've been talking about giving praying and then we're going to jump into fasting and then we're going to continue and finish out the rest of this lesson lesson number two uh we will finish it out next week i'm gonna invite the music team if they would make their way back to the platform and uh in closing tonight you know i was asking how how do you want to come to conclusion and it's really simply this it's all about dedicating ourselves to god dedicating ourselves to god i'm going to go back to what i said earlier in this lesson it matters how you live it matters how you live and jesus said your father who sees in secret when god looks in the secret place of my life will he find these spiritual disciplines will he find giving will he find a prayer life will he find consistent fasting will he find this consecration and this dedication because that's what he's looking for in the secret place of my life and the secret place of your life your father who sees in secret if he finds it there he will then reward you openly friend it matters how you live and i know so many of you we we've talked we've prayed we've just been in this journey together i know you you know me we want to be everything god wants us to be we want to have everything that god wants us to have we want to be the church here in stockton that god wants us to be we want to have the revival that god wants us to have we want to see the outpouring of the holy ghost that's in the heart of god for this city you want it and i want it we want it your father who sees in secret if we can develop these spiritual disciplines if we can be men and women whose lives are consecrated there's no telling what god will do here at christian life center lord jesus tonight god we have studied your word we have considered aspects of consecration of holy living we've talked about things like prayer and fasting we've talked about the ways of the flesh and how to put the flesh down now i'm asking you god to go beyond my words and touch hearts god where there needs to be conviction let there be conviction where there needs to be a drawing let there be a drawing where there needs to be restoration of spiritual hunger and spiritual desire let that let there be a rebirth tonight but i pray that we would be a people whose lives please you in every way god we love you and have your way oh god have your way in this church and in all of our hearts and in all of our homes in jesus name we pray god bless you tonight i'm already looking forward to continuing this journey next week god willing if the rapture happens i'll see you in heaven if not god willing will be here we'll continue this wonderful journey the lord bless you tonight we're going to sing and i invite you to not only sing but to consecrate with us in the closing of this service god bless you [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] in okay i do [Music] [Applause] [Music] walk with you [Music] everywhere and all i do [Music] walk with you [Music] me [Music] [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] dedicated everywhere every way [Music] for you [Music] [Music] me every way [Music] for you [Music] you

Channel: Christian Life Center

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Length: 107min 54sec (6474 seconds)

Published: Wed May 12 2021