February 11, 2018 - Carter Conlon - Do Not Grieve The Holy Spirit

seasons chapter 4 and the title my messages do not grieve the Holy Spirit do not grieve the Holy Spirit and father I thank you God I thank you Lord for your love I thank you Lord Lord Jesus Christ I'm asking you that not one person not one not one you prayed that you prayed to the Father that you would not lose any and I pray God not one that the sound of my voice today would be lost not one would go down into darkness not one would have something left in his or her heart that would cause them harm even to do themselves harm in the future I ask you Lord as a skilled surgeon that you would go deep into the heart and extricate anything in any of our hearts that is causing us to a future Lord that we would deeply regret I pray for the grace Lord to receive this the understanding that you love us you love us with an unquenchable love and so father I thank you for this I thank you for this word today bless it O God and may it produce great fruit in my heart and the hearts of the people Jesus son of God when I get to the throne one day I don't want one person here today to be missing this is my request and I thank you in your precious name seasons chapter 4 beginning at verse 17 this I say therefore and testify in the Lord that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind I'm gonna stop in some of these verses as we go in other words Paul says don't walk as those outside of the kingdom of God walk with an empty mind an empty future or just a forming thoughts that lead to nothing of God that leads to no eternal conclusion it brings no life it's empty its vain its void it's powerless it's purposeless it leaves people at the end of their days with a wagonload of if onlys at the end of their lifetime don't walk that way paul says to the church of ephesus having their understanding darkened being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart their understanding is dark in other words they are apart from this incredible life that God would have given to them freely they're not partakers of it there's a spiritual ignorance inside their hearts and they are blind to what they could be to what they could have and they're actually blind to where they're going who being past feeling this incredible thought in other words past the moment where your conscience can be moved Oh God may there never be anybody here like that maybe we never get to the point where God can't speak to us anymore where we feel we put our reasonings above the Word of God we've pushed away the leading the leadership of God and we get to the point it old-time Saints used to call it gospel hardened we've heard the truth but we've we've let the sin nature our fallen sin nature circumvent the truth and we say well I I can be as God is and I know what is good and I know what is evil and that can happen I've met I've known about seven people like that in my lifetime who I believe were past feeling it couldn't be reached any more with the gospel even though they had sad for years in some cases in the house of God they've given themselves over to lewdness that means in morality without conscience they can live all kinds of immoral lifestyles and somehow feel that heaven is still gonna be their home at the end of their journey to work all uncleanness with greediness but you have not so learned Christ if indeed you have heard him and have been taught by him as truth is in Jesus and Paul saying Ephesus but this is not you this ought not to be you there should be nobody within the sound of my voice that whose life qualifies to be included in these previous verses in these previous conditions that you verse 22 put off concerning your former conduct the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts in other words the old nature the old mind the old ways of doing things is actually increasing in corruption it deceives itself into thinking it's moving forward but it's actually going backwards the whole time it's going deeper and farther into darkness it's impossible to really grow into what we're designed by God to be without God at the center core of our thoughts in our actions and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new man which was created according to God and true righteousness and holiness therefore putting away lying let every one of you speak truth with his neighbor for we are members of one another be angry and do not sin do not let the Sun go down upon your wrath nor give place to the devil let him who stole steal no longer but rather let him labor working with his hands what is good that he may have something to give to him who has need let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good and necessary for edification that it may impart grace to the hearers and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption let all bitterness wrath anger clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you verse 30 and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God second Corinthians 5:17 tells us that when you open your heart to receiving Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord you became a new creation the Spirit of God came to dwell inside this earthly temple you were born again by the Spirit of God the Bible tells us that the old things the old reasonings the old patterns the old thoughts died they in other words they lost their power to govern your present and to determine your future the old things passed away and all things became new when you open your heart to Christ you were born again by the Spirit of God born into a new life born into a new pattern a new way of thinking born into a new future the future that God alone had destined for your life when you give your life to Christ we're not adding God in a sense to our pattern that we think our life should be we are literally abandoning what we thought our life should be and being born again by the Spirit of God we are allowing God to begin to lead us John chapter 3 there was a man of the pharisees named nicodemus that came to christ and he couldn't understand these things how can a man be born again what do you mean be born again you see Nicodemus his religion was regimented his religion could offer him a 10-year plan may I put it that way his religion allowed him to plan his life what I'm gonna do Monday what I'm gonna do to x' day what I'm gonna do Wednesday and Jesus know what I'm gonna do next year what I'm going to do the next the year after how my life is going to look here that's what religion without the Spirit actually quite often does but Jesus counters this whole thing by telling Nicodemus no you have to be born of the Spirit and this is what it looks like he tells him in John chapter 3 says as the wind comes from one place and goes to another and you don't know where it's come from and you're not quite sure where it's going that's what it's like that's what it means to be born of the Spirit everyone who's born of the Spirit is like that we're not planning our own life we're not planning our own future that's why proverbs 3:5 says don't lean on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths I thank God folks if I would after my elected to Jesus Christ there's no way I could ever figured out that I would one day preach the gospel one day establish the church one day travel the country as a revivalist and one day end up in New York City and heaven knows where I'll be five years from now I don't know I don't know because that's what it means to be born of the Spirit it's not my plan it says it's not why well it's the will of God you don't Philip the Evangelist had a wonderful ministry going in Samaria Devils are fleeing miracles are happening it seemingly the whole city and society is turning to God then suddenly the Spirit of God speaks to him and says arise and just going to the desert doesn't even tell him why or where he's going just just head out into this dry air in place and there's something I have for you because you're a man a person that can hear my voice and you're willing to be led of the Spirit not led of the old way don't let it the old nature the old mind that has to know and understand and plan isn't that laborious it is laborious it's awful it's awful because your mind is so limited you have a tent somebody here's probably got a ten-year plan because it keeps coming into my mind this day but your 10-year plan is so dismal compared to God's plan for your life you might even be dead before 10 years is up so maybe you should give up the 10 year plan and let God begin to live and lead your life Paul says it's Christ in you that's the hope of glory it's God inside of us bringing us to where his heart longs for us to be and you and I in agreement yielding to his power to take us there quite often what God speaks about we're not capable of performing that's what makes this it's an incredible life God speaks this is where I'm going to take you this is what I'm going to do the response that we have quite often is the same that every saint has ever had all through the ages are you sure you have the right person the Lord is not bound by our abilities or lack thereof or any of that he just needs a willing heart that says Lord yes where you lead me I will all of you whatever door you open I will go through it and I thank God the Christian life should be exciting if it gets anything less than something is wrong with it jesus said when the Spirit of God has come the Holy Spirit the comforter of God he will speak to you and he will show you what is mine and will show you things to come everything the father has Christ said is mine this you find this in John chapter 16 if you want to read it later he says everything that the father has his mind and the Holy Spirit will take it and he will show you things to come he will show you the victory he will show you the plan he will show you the power he will show you the will of God he will show you things to come in the future giftings callings trips journeys that you never imagined you would ever do you find yourself in places that you're not qualified to be and you don't have to be qualified to be there because it's Christ in you that's the hope of glory you're a vessel that has surrendered to God you're not there trying to figure it out you're now standing there saying Lord what would you have me to say what would you have me to do I thank God for that he will walk with us the Holy Spirit will it will walk in us he will walk through our struggles through our trials through our failures and even through our lack of understanding I am awestruck at the humility of God because when you open your heart to Christ assuming you are a genuine believer in Jesus Christ assuming that your reason for being here is a beyond just religion you really do want to be saved by trusting in Christ for your salvation you want God's Holy Spirit to abide in your physical temple he will come you will take up residence and that's where the the fuel source of the new life comes from it's God inside of you do you understand you have God in your earthen vessel God not a fuzzy concept about God not thoughts about God do you actually have God living beside this earthen vessel now let that settle down deep the Holy Spirit is the third person of the triune God equally one with God inseparable from God and in fact is God God so everywhere you go he goes I want you to think about that the Holy Spirit in us in the heart of a genuine believer I'm not talking about religious game-players but in a genuine believer the Holy Spirit will not depart though we carry him to places and make him witness our failures in thought indeed do you ever think that when you go on the internet and you're pleased to be clicking and you're looking at stuff that you're making the Spirit of God watch that with you or maybe at best making him close his eyes everywhere you go he goes you're not leaving God behind anywhere you go you're not leaving God behind in any conversation that's why you'll see in Ephesians 4 it's all about conversation at the end of this chapter you're not leaving it behind you're forcing him to listen to what you're saying that's the incredible humility of God now in the book of Romans in chapter 8 listen to what the Paul the Apostle says verse 26 and 27 likewise the spirit also helps in our weaknesses I stopped it just from oh don't you love God this morning for the fact that he doesn't leave when we struggle that he's willing to take up residence in these earthly bodies and walk with us through our mess our frustrations our failings wouldn't it turn when we turn the lights out and think nobody's there is there there's no hiding from God he lives inside you how do you hide from him where do you go to hide from his presence as David once said if I make my bed in hell even there likewise the spirit also helps in our weaknesses for we don't know what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered now he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because he that'sa spirit makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God in other words if you are not living right according to the truth of God the Holy Spirit is groaning for you inside of you right now groaning for you groaning for you just as Jesus stood one day before the tomb of Lazarus knowing he was going to raise him from the dead but the scripture says he groaned and it was an audible loud groan in the heart of the Son of God and the groan came with tears and it wasn't for Lazarus he knew he could raise him from the dead it was for the people around who didn't believe he could and I believe he saw right through time all those that would be brought to the proximity of where the power of God is but not able to be brought to a place of faith and this groaning in the heart of God if you only knew how much I loved you if you only knew why I came to a cross to get you if you only fully understood the plans that I have for you if you fully understood that when I lost Adam in the Garden of Eden I had a plan already in my heart to go and get you back because I've loved you with an everlasting love and that's why I engraved you on the palms of my hands not willing a nursing mother could forget her child but I can't forget you the Lord said there's something in the heart of God this I want you to understand if you're doing what you shouldn't be doing it you're in places you shouldn't be and you're thinking things you shouldn't think and you've embraced concepts of God even that are wrong there's a groaning inside of you for you it's God's Holy Spirit groaning praying interceding Oh father that he would understand that she would understand the power the pathway the purpose that I have for their life that she or he would understand that life is not meant to be lived like this that in Christ there's something a million times better for them that he or she could have eyes to see that a walk with God is not just about time it's about forever groaning groaning groaning groaning not angry not with folded arms not with tapping impatient foot with groaning oh God if you've never known that groaning then you've never had a child that's gone astray if you have a child that goes astray one day you'll understand what that groaning is you'll understand what it's like to get on your knees and pray to the only one that can bring back right thinking in a heart and in a mind it's assumed that if you're a genuine believer you want to do what is right now you may find yourself like the Apostle Paul I know what I is right he wrote about it in Romans six seven and eight he says I I know what's right and I actually inwardly delight in it but the things that I don't want to do I find myself always doing who will deliver me from the body of this death he said there's a law at work inside of me that fly it's against the law of Christ that's now in me you know unless do you think the battle is unique to you it's common to all people and God knew that when he came to indwell you he didn't come in to dwell you or not because we had it all together he came to indwell us because we were a mess and we needed a savior and he came with a willingness in his heart to walk with us through our mess through our trials through our difficulties knowing that we are little by little line by line moment by moment hour by hour year by year we are changing into the image of what God in us has created us to be as Paul the Apostle said I've not arrived but I'm leaving behind yesterday by God's grace and I'm moving forward to that which God has called me to be it is assumed that if you're a believer you want to do right John chapter 3 Jesus says in verses 20 and 21 whoever does truth comes to the light is not afraid of the light let's God examine the heart is not afraid of reproof isn't afraid of a moment like this it's not trying to draw back and hide in darkness it's not the type of person who hates the light but says God if I'm yours bring me to the light I don't want anything in me that's going to hurt me or others I don't want anything in my life that's going to cause me to fall short of of what my life should be I don't want to finish in defeat I want to finish in victory I don't want to be a non-player in the kingdom of God I want to have an effect I want to as Derek as pastor Derek and Vicky are doing I want to be able to bring somebody to the house of God for surrendered their life to Jesus Christ God helped me God helped me I'm not afraid of the light I'm not afraid of reproof I'm not afraid to open my Bible and have it examine me god forbid that I should ever try to redefine the word of God to fit my lifestyle or fit my way of thinking which many people in our generation are attempting to do there's a huge difference between light and darkness everyone who does truth comes to the light that it may be proven that their deeds have been birthed in God and so I'm hoping today with all my heart that you're not afraid of the light I hope it says if your eye is good your whole body will be full of light this is in Matthew chapter 6 verses 22 and 23 if you have a singleness of the eye I'll listen I've struggled just like you do I've had days where I just I wanted to throw in the towel I've had situations where I couldn't forgive in my own strength in this I've gone through all the stuff that you go through you know you only get to see me at my suit on Sunday in my Bible and the message says well you you probably have an impression that we can't go to bed like this and just fold our hands get up in the morning you don't see us coming up the stairs never jammas looking for a coffee wondering sometimes how am I gonna get through another day but if your eye is good your whole body will be full of light and the goodness of the eye is simply this Jesus I want you I want you remember Paul said beholding him we have changed beholding that means more than just looking at like a manufactured vision of Christ on the throne in your mind it means the whole thing beholding him he's the Word of God beholding him we are changed by the Spirit of God from the image to image and glory to glory in other words we have changed we have changed supernaturally from what we are into that person that God has destined us to be by the Holy Spirit this it makes Christianity is a miraculous it's a miraculous life it's it's it's a wondrous life how else can I explain it it never gets old and we've never gone beyond in age of strength where God is not able to do something new or even more powerful than he did before that's why I believe the glory of the latter believes greater than the former the lamp of the body is the eye if your eyes good your whole body will be full of light but if your eye is bad your whole body will be full of darkness if therefore the light that is in you is darkness how great is that darkness Paul the Apostle said in the last days 2nd Timothy chapter 3 and verse 6 it will be characterized by a love of pleasure and will be characterized by a form of godliness that denies the power of God a form of God that means there'd be a lot of people go to church but they're not willing to go with God where God is leading them and Paul even says from such turn away if you're not interested in living in the truth that you're hearing then the truth that you do know but refused to obey strengthens the darkness in you until the darkness eventually overpowers the light if the light that being you be darkness has no deeper darkness than a religious darkness you say pastor is that possible can it happen who killed Jesus religious people would formed thoughts and theories about God they didn't have a purity of heart in many cases to to really study because it was all there it was all about him and was about his his victory was about what he was going to do for them I have known in my lifetime about seven people that terrified me seven people who were not novices in the kingdom of God seven people who had studied truth but had made the choice because of a lack of willingness to walk in the truth to succumb to the Fallen nature which wants to be as God remember the Fallen nature of man wants to be as God and determine in itself what is right and what is wrong that is the danger that we face if if true if you come to the house of God and pretend to love truth but truth is not finding an inroad into your heart and beginning to change you by the power of the Holy Spirit the natural result is you will redefine the truth and come up with another truth that is a religious darkness at one time with a couple that were going astray seriously going astray and I opened my Bible a husband and wife and I said I didn't say anything I just opened my Bible and I told him I said I've serious concerns about the direction you're heading in and I've read a scripture and he said to me well pastor that's your opinion but we believe I didn't offer an opinion then I turned to another passage of this of the scripture and I read it I just read it and then again he said well that that's what you think but we believe then I turned with 3rd passage of Scripture I read it and then again he said well that's just your opinion pastor but we believe then the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said close the Bible the light in them has turned to darkness I dare say no one should ever pray for this now you say to me today how do I know that I've not crossed the line how do I know that I've not come to that place where I can't be spoken to my heart is hard where I've substituted a lie for truth and believe now that it is truth oh I've I've excused away a sinful lifestyle and it's I'm in danger now because I've gotten away with it so long I've I've kept coming to the house of the Lord and I can kind of feel his presence and you had to go out and I keep practicing the same willful sin in my life how do I know that I'm not at the place where I've so grieved the Spirit of God that he can't speak to me anymore well it's simple you can still hear his voice you can still hear him you're not sitting here angry at me this morning because I'm challenging something in your life I'm being used of God it's not me I'm being used to the spirit to challenge something in your life the book of Hebrews that chapter three verses 7 to 13 you can read it later if you want but the writer of Hebrews says today if you can hear his voice don't harden your hearts as the people once did in the wilderness and because of it they became a grief to the very heart of God and he said they will not enter into my rest I had a place for them I had somewhere I was going to take them but they wouldn't listen and they hardened their hearts to the voice of God they became obstinate they said well if you're not going to bless my journey if you're not going to bless my thought process if you're not going to tell me I'm good and fine and everything is right then I'm just simply gonna shut my ears I'm not going to listen it either comes my way or no way but if you can still hear if conviction is still in your heart if you are listening to the sound of my voice right now and you're troubled because there's something in you that you know ought not to be there something you are doing somewhere you've gone something you're becoming and you know you shouldn't be going there then you better thank God that's the Holy Spirit groaning inside of you groaning for you groaning for you do you understand groaning for you groaning that you would know groaning that you would understand that you don't belong to yourself you belong to God there is a pathway for your life that God has orchestrated for your life and is leading you on and the whole Christian walk is God is leading you out of darkness the scripture says into his marvelous light by the power of the Spirit and by the promises of God you are daily changing from what you used to be into what God has destined you to be and you have become a testimony to this lost and dying world that there is a God he does save he does change does do what only God can do inside of every heart inside of every life that's why the Apostle Paul says and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed to the day of redemption don't grieve the Holy Spirit they're not sadden the heart of God I beg you in Christ's name consider what I say the love of God is powerful for you the love of God sent Christ to a cross to get you the love of God caused the Holy Spirit to come and dwell within you knowing that God himself would have to walk through your dirt in your struggles and argue with you and plead every day there's a better way I've got something for you freedom can be more than a song we sing on Sunday morning it can be a life experience if you will yield and let them take you here so much for you it will soon be the joy and rejoicing of your heart oh god oh god I dread speaking to you this morning and one day being at the throne of God and you're not there I urge you to get up today and choose to walk with Jesus Christ agree with God in spite of my struggles Lord I am and will be a new creation in Christ Oh God thank you I want you to just think about for a moment wherever you've been whatever you've done for the last month let's say for the last year if you can still hear his voice that means he's still with you that means it didn't abandon you even though you made him walk through a pig he didn't abandon you incredible humility of God I'm awestruck by the humility of God I'm awestruck by I mean awestruck God your holy you're absolutely other than what I am yet you take up but your abode you you you the holy God that the Angels can't say anything but holy holy holy took up residence in this garbage can and you you let me take you through all of my struggles and my trials and my difficulties and the whole time you're not what you could walk away but you don't you plead you groan that I might understand who you are that I might understand what you have for me the plan not just for time but forever forever is a long long time walking with Christ as a choice he chose to walk with you will you choose to walk with him if he lets you take him through your places of struggle would you let him take you to where he dwells now place of life virtue blessing and strength hope giftings the things that God alone could give to you and I as his people the more I studied this the more I'm overwhelmed by it the thought Oh God even preparing this message I was thinking of some of the places that I've made him walk with me through but today today today Christ is coming soon folks sooner than we think today today if you can hear his voice if you can hear his voice agree with God see Laura de you live in me and you're gonna give me the power to be the person that you've desired that I should be open my ears to hear you my eyes to see would help me to realize God every day that everywhere I go you go let there never be a day when it comes to the point where you can't speak to me anymore man never go there man never ever go there father thank you Lord for this day I thank you for the solemn strong presence of your Holy Spirit in this sanctuary in North Jersey and the annex and online Lord you are calling a people now to yourself as you say in the book of Hebrews the day of this ignorance you have winked out but now you're calling all men everywhere back to yourself God give us the grace that we need now the strength to let you be God in us the courage to face our struggles and failures and the intelligence to know that you love us with the love that we don't fully understand but thank you Lord that we can still hear your voice my altar call is so simple this morning and it covers a broad spectrum of where we live and what we're doing and where we are and it's just really really simple I'm going with God I'm going with God and let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart now and you know what going with God means you know where you have to leave you know what you have to trust God to give you the power to stop doing you know in measure maybe what God has for you in the future but you know what getting up and going with God means it's an agreement with God I will let you lead me Lord I will ask you for an awareness of your presence in my life every day I will ask you for strength to avoid where I shouldn't go and to embrace where I need to go ask for the grace today to never grieve the Holy Spirit of God but you never plead for me in vain I can't even lead you in a prayer because this it has to be you has to come from your heart has to be a life decision not just a moment at an altar but a something in the heart that says God I'm gonna walk with you God I'm gonna walk with you God thank you for being merciful to me and my struggles and my trials in my dirt and thank you for not abandoning me if nothing else it just shows you and I the greatness of his love the greatness of his redemption that he didn't walk away from us we could still hear his voice he's still groaning for us inside father just thank you Lord for the numbers of people Lord that you've spoken to today God we have no way to count it you're the only one who knows for sure where the sincerity is in the heart but O God may you not ever cry over us in vain may our lives will truly be an offering to you may our message be as the prodigal son just all about mercy how merciful you are how wonderful you are how willing to run to us in our mess and run with us in our mess God thank you God thank you make you some holy people Lord make us of people that really do bring honor to your name father we thank you lord help us Lord there's so many new Christians here in this church lord I just pray for your help God your help Lord it has to be a supernatural thing has to be your power inside of us otherwise no one can do it Lord without you but in you all things are possible so I thank you lord I thank you God may our conversions be genuine in this house coordinate our praise be real our lives be a light everywhere we go gun God may we never be darkened vessels claiming to have the light can we thank you for this Lord with all of my heart God with all of my heart I ask you Jesus as you asked your father let none of these be lost or not even one not nor may I have the privilege of bringing them home and I thank you for it with all my heart in Jesus name Amen

Channel: Times Square Church

Views: 28,704

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Keywords: Carter Conlon, Sermon, Times Square Church

Id: 5wVMIpypGqc

Length: 39min 29sec (2369 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 13 2018