Peter Tan-Chi - Who's In Control of Your Life?
«Holy Spirit, the Power to Change»! Question, who is the Holy Spirit? How does He change us? Are you ready? All right, let’s look at 1 Corinthians 2:12. He now begins by telling them the root problem, okay? The root problem is themselves. So how do you change it? You need the Holy Spirit. «Now…» Everybody, read. «Now, we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God». The apostle Paul introduces this important concept, this important truth, that the Holy Spirit is given to you and to me so that we will understand the things of God. You know why it is so important? Because he tells us in the next verse, the natural man does not receive the spirit of God.
Let’s read this together. «A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised». (1 Cor 2:14) Spiritually, they don’t understand. So a natural man cannot accept, does not accept the things of God because he does not have the Holy Spirit. Do you realize that in this room, there are three kinds of people? Number one, the natural man, the natural person. Number two, the Spirit-filled person, which you will learn. And number three, the carnal believers. They are Christians. They have the Holy Spirit, but they are not controlled by the Holy Spirit. And the common denominator that will transform their lives is the Holy Spirit. Now, question, who is the Holy Spirit? Can you answer your neighbor? You ask each other, «Who is the Holy Spirit»?
Kindly ask around. Who is the Holy Spirit? You have any idea? Holy Spirit. You know, I’m surprised that many people don’t fully understand the Holy Spirit. Years ago, they described the Holy Spirit as the Holy Ghost. Have you heard the word 'Holy Ghost'? Some thought He was a ghost. No. No. The Holy Spirit is not a force. Have you been watching Star Wars before? The force. The Holy Spirit is not a force. The Holy Spirit is a person. It’s called the tri-unity of God. Let me share with you this important chart. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the tri-unity of God. The word 'trinity' does not appear in the Bible, but the Bible teaches that there are three persons in one God. God, the Father. God is the Father. God is the Son. The Son is God. The Holy Spirit is God. Three-in-one. Humanly speaking, it is hard to comprehend. God the Father is not the Son. God the Son, Jesus, is not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the Father. They are distinct. Each one of them has a personality, but they are one. So what can we learn about the Holy Spirit? Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit. He’s a person.
In John 14:16–17, let’s read this together, everybody. «And I will ask the Father, and He’ll give you another Helper that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive…» Right now, let me explain to you. Jesus is now saying, «I will ask the Father (God the Father) and He will give you another Helper…» Two important words. The first word is 'another'. In the Greek language, you have different words for the word 'another'. One is called 'Allos', another of exactly the same kind. The other word for another is 'Heteros'. 'Heteros' is another of a different kind. The one used by the inspired writer of the Bible is the word 'Allos'. «I’ll give you another exactly of the same kind like Me».
So Jesus is saying, «God will give you another Helper exactly like Me». That’s the word used, 'another', 'allos'. The word 'helper' is an important word. The word 'helper' is the word 'paracletos'. 'Paracletos' means what? Somebody alongside you, not just to comfort you; He’s your lawyer; He’s your advocate; He’s going to be with you forever. That’s the word for 'helper'. Somebody to assist you, somebody to always be with you. Do you realize how much God loves you? God made sure that when Christ was on earth, He would accomplish His mission to die on the cross for your sins. When Jesus went to heaven, He made sure that God will send another exactly like Him to be with you forever. When you receive Jesus Christ into your life, who enters your life? The Holy Spirit.
So the Holy Spirit is exactly like Jesus, but He’s distinct. I will show you another verse. In John 16, let’s read this together, notice he’s a person, «but when He, the Spirit of truth (a person), He will guide you into all the truth». (John 16:13) That’s why, before Jesus, I don’t like to study the Bible. I’d fall asleep because I did not have the Holy Spirit. But once you have the Holy Spirit, (v.14) «He will guide you into all truth; He will not speak on His own initiative; but whatever He hears, He will speak; He will disclose to you what is to come», everybody, read, «He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you». The work of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus. You will never see the real Holy Spirit exalting Himself. He points people to Jesus. You know what else the Holy Spirit will do? The Holy Spirit, believe it or not, speaks to you. He guides you, but sometimes you grieve Him.
Look at Ephesians 4. The Bible commands us, everybody, read. «Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God whom you were sealed in the day of redemption». (Ephesians 4:30) The moment you come to Jesus, the Holy Spirit seals you. He enters your life. But the Bible says this is a command. «Do not grieve». (Ephesians 4:30) Do you know you grieve the Holy Spirit when He tells you something in your heart; to do something and you don’t do it, He tells you not to do it and you do it. The word 'grieve' is a language of love. You don’t grieve for people you do not love. Let’s continue reading. Back to 1 Corinthians 2:14, together, «A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God».
I will show you a picture of a natural man, all right? He’s driving a car. This is your life. A natural man does not have Jesus. Jesus is outside your life. You may go to church, you may attend Bible study, but you don’t have the Holy Spirit in your heart. I don’t know. But who is running your life? Yourself. Now, is this guy smiling or not smiling? Well, you can put a smiley face if you want, but as a general rule, people who don’t have the Holy Spirit do not really have a lasting joy. Their happiness is dependent on circumstances. When circumstances are good, they’re happy. When circumstances are not good, they are unhappy. So this is a natural man. He is without God’s Spirit; Spiritually blind; Spiritually dead; He has no eternal life.
For example, in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, here’s an example. Everybody, read together. (v.3) «If our Gospel is veiled, it is», the word is 'veiled', or it is covered. If our Gospel is hard to understand, do you know why «…it is hard to those who are perishing…»? The Bible tells us there are people today who are perishing. Remember, I told you, in this room you have three kinds of people. The natural man. The natural man is perishing. He’s on his way to a place where you don’t want to go someday. He is perishing. However, what’s the problem with the natural man? Everybody read, «…In whose case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they may not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God». (v.4) The Bible says, «their eyes are blinded».
Look at Acts 26. Everybody, read. This is God’s mission for Paul and God’s mission for you and for me. What are we supposed to do to? (v.18) «To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, from the dominion of Satan to God…» By the way, if you look at this world today, you can see there is something wrong with this world. Yes or no? Something is wrong with our world. Now, before you blame others, can you ask your neighbor one more time, «What’s wrong with the world»? And what’s the answer? «I am». So you need the Holy Spirit to change you. Okay? Look what the Bible says: «…That they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me». Do you know the heart of God? God wants everybody to know Jesus so that you will have forgiveness. This is not my invention.
The Bible says «to open their eyes», to open the eyes of your family members who do not like Bible study, who will probably do something else every Sunday morning. Why are you here when you can do many other things on Sunday morning? Why are you here? I believe because God has opened your eyes to see how important it is for you to worship God and to listen to the word of God. Amen? And how do you receive forgiveness of sins? How? Look at the verse: «…Among those who have been sanctified by faith in Jesus».
So if you put your faith in Jesus, the Bible says the Holy Spirit enters your heart and your sins are forgiven. Are we clear? Second type of person it’s, look at this picture, the Spirit-filled Christian. This is the normal Christian. Who is in control? Christ. Where are you? Where’s the driver? You are no longer driving your life. Who is driving your life? Jesus. Where are you? You’re still inside. You have not lost your personality. The only difference is this. Who is in charge of your life? Louder. Jesus! Jesus. Now, the truth is, there are times when you don’t like to obey the Holy Spirit. There are times when you like to take control. Many times, you would rather be driving.
I remember this young lady, she fell in love with this guy. He really wanted to marry this guy, but the parents say, «No». The counselor says, «No, you wait». She waited and waited. You know why? Because she wanted the best. You will not obey the Holy Spirit until you believe that God has your best interest at heart. What is the important characteristic trait of a spiritual man? Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 2:14–15. Let’s read this together. «He who is spiritual appraises all things». The word 'appraises' is from a Greek word that implies you have discernment; you know how to analyze, you know, to look at things and arrive at the logical conclusion. A spiritual man has a spiritual discernment. Spiritual eyes are opened. «A spiritual man appraises all things, yet he himself is not appraised by people. He is appraised by God». He does not make decisions based on popular opinion. He makes decisions based on what God wants.
(1 Cor. 2:16) «For who has known the mind of the LORD that he will instruct Him? But», everybody read, «we have the mind of Christ». What does it mean that you have the mind of Christ? It simply means this: You are given the ability, the gift from God, to be able to see things from God’s perspective. The mind of Christ is the ability to see truth based on God’s perspective. Without the Holy Spirit, you cannot see the truth. What’s the topic today? «The Holy Spirit, the power to change»! And that’s why you need the Holy Spirit. The first thing that will change in your life will be the way you think, your mind. Believe it or not, your mind is so crucial. That’s how you begin to change. How do you have the Holy Spirit? Why is the Holy Spirit important?
Quickly, Romans 8:9. Let’s read this together. Who is a real Christian? Together, «However, you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him». (Romans 8:9) According to this verse, what are the different names of the Spirit of God? Here are the different names of the Holy Spirit. «You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit». So the name of the Holy Spirit is capital 'S', the Holy Spirit. What else? The Spirit of God. So another name for the Holy Spirit is the «Spirit of God dwells in you». Another name for the Holy Spirit is the «Spirit of Christ».
Now, with all of those synonyms being mentioned, who is a Christian according to this verse? Who? Somebody who goes to CCF? Sorry. You can come to CCF every day and not become a Christian. You don’t go to a garage to become a car. Just because you go to a worship place does not make you a Christian. You become a Christian how? Everybody, read, «If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ…» Perhaps, you need to examine yourself, whether you have the Spirit of Christ. Perhaps, many of us have religion, but not the Spirit of Christ. Think about it. Has your life been transformed? Do you have a desire to study the Bible? Listen. How can you think and act like Christ if you don’t read the Bible? Hmm. Think about it. If you want to change, if you want to experience God’s power, God’s Word (the Bible) + God’s Spirit (you need the Spirit to understand the Bible) + obedience. What is the result? Transformation.
Do you believe in the gift of the Holy Spirit? Louder. Yes, God gives us gifts. Some people may have the gift of tongues, some people may have the gift of discernment, whatever it is; but you have to balance it with the Word of God. The Word of God tells you how do you exercise those gifts? You cannot be out of control. You cannot be be noisy. See, the Bible helps you balance the truth. So how do you transform? How are you transformed? God’s Word + God’s Spirit + obedience resulting in transformation. And that is the meaning of the Spirit-filled person. The Spirit-filled person is controlled by the Holy Spirit. You know what? The Holy Spirit, when does He come into your life? When does He come? When?
Ephesians 1:13. Let’s read this together. «In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth (after listening to the Gospel) the Gospel of your salvation…» What is the Gospel? The Good News: Jesus died on the cross for our sins; He rose again from the dead. The moment you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, that He rose again from the dead, the Bible says, you are saved, «having also believed», notice, grammatically «having believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise». (Ephesians 1:13) The day you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior is the day the Holy Spirit enters your heart. The problem is this: Just because the Holy Spirit entered your heart, does not mean He’s in control. You know why? Let me share with you a problem that many people don’t realize. The Holy Spirit may not be in control.
Look at this picture. All right. This is called a Carnal Christian. A Carnal Christian, who is in-charge? Who? Who is driving the car? Yourself. Where is Jesus? Inside your heart. You know Jesus promises not to leave you, but you can make Him sad. You can grieve Him. You know why? Because Jesus is not the boss. You are the boss. In any company, how many CEOs can you have? How many presidents can you have? How many? One. In your family, how many presidents can you have? How many CEOs? One. The Carnal Christian is Christ is in him but the self is in control. No power, no joy. This man is the most miserable person. He’s so miserable. A Carnal Christian is so miserable. You know why he’s so miserable? Because Christ is in him. If you keep running your own life, what will Christ do? Do you think Christ is just a passenger?
Christ will do something in your life until you realize that something is wrong with you. It is because God loves you, and you know, God can wake you up in many ways. Yes or no? God can speak to you in many ways. He spoke to me when I was sick. He opened my eyes. What about you? Let’s look at Romans 7. This man is so miserable. Everybody, read this. «The good that I want, I do not do, I practice the very evil I do not want». (Rom. 7:19) Do you understand this guy? «The good I want, I don’t do, I practice the very evil that I do not want». How many of you can empathize with this experience? You are now doing something you don’t like and what you don’t like you do? Is that part of your life? Yes or no? Let’s be humble. Yes? Or how many of you have experienced this kind of situation?
Now, how do you get over this? You see, this guy is so miserable. He said, «Wretched man… (I’m so wretched.) …Who will set me free»? (Romans 7:24) You know, I praise God if you read the next few verses, it’s the Holy Spirit. He says, the Holy Spirit will set you free. The law of the Spirit of life. You know how He sets you free? He begins in the mind. That’s why the Bible says, «If you’re controlled by the Holy Spirit, you will have the mind of Christ». (1 Cor. 2:16) Can I teach you how to be controlled by the Holy Spirit? To be controlled by the Holy Spirit is very simple. You must surrender your all, starting with your mind. Surrender the way you think. Follow God’s way, God’s truth. Your mind. And then your mind, what you think of, will now control your emotions. Surrender your emotions.
Let the Holy Spirit control your emotions, and then after your emotion is controlled, then your actions will follow. I call that the TEA principle. Have you heard the TEA principle? TEA. How do you spell TEA? T-E-A. How are you controlled by the Holy Spirit? Be controlled. Allow the Holy Spirit to control your thought life. You know, the Bible commands us… Surprisingly, many people don’t know that the Bible commands you what you are to think. The Bible says «Whatever is lovely, whatever is true, whatever is good». Remember? The Bible says, «Let your mind dwell on these things».
(Philippians 4:8) You are to control what enters your mind. Ladies and gentlemen, if there is one truth that you can learn for the rest of your life, learn this: You are responsible for your thought life. And that’s why in my case, I saturate my mind with the Word of God. I meditate on the Bible. Why? I want to think correctly. You know, thinking correctly is so crucial. It affects your emotions, it affects your actions. Folks, your mind is everything. So when you want to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, God’s word + God’s Spirit. You guard your mind. Every time you are thinking something wrong, not biblical, change it. If you are a Christian, you are indwelt by the Spirit. Upon salvation, Jesus comes. A filled person with the Holy Spirit is in complete surrender.
A Christian is somebody indwelt by God’s spirit. It’s permanent. The day you pray to receive Christ, He comes into your heart. Permanent. But the Spirit-filled life is moment-by-moment, obedience. Moment-by-moment. To come to Christ is a gift of God by grace. You don’t deserve it. You humble yourself, and you ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. That’s called the «indwelling of the Holy Spirit». However, it does not mean that you are controlled. To be controlled is a command. It’s moment-by-moment. For example, let me give you an example of moment-by- moment control. Galatians 5. Let’s read that together. «Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh». (Galatians 5:16) «Walk by the Spirit». It’s a command. Obey the Holy Spirit moment by moment. Are we clear?
It’s a command. You follow the Holy Spirit and then what will happen? You will not follow the desire of the flesh. So to be controlled by the Holy Spirit simply means you surrender your own. The best example I can think of is the example of a dear friend who died already. His name is Dr. Bill Bright. Many of you may not know who is Dr. Bill Bright. He’s the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. He’s a dear family friend and he shared with us his story. You can read this story in his biography. He had a fight with his wife one night, and they decided to settle the argument by surrendering everything to God.
So the next morning, they made a contract with God. It’s called the «famous contract with God». Dr. Bill Bright and his wife signed a contract with God. What is that contract? Simply something like this: «From this day onward, we, Vonette and I, Bill Bright, surrender everything to You, my possessions. I’ll no longer seek the praise of men. I’ll no longer seek after the material things of this world». This guy is a millionaire, but he surrendered everything to God. When he surrendered everything to God, in less than 24 hours, God gave him a vision to put up Campus Crusade for Christ. Campus Crusade for Christ. How many of you have heard of Campus Crusade for Christ or Cru? I’m amazed. Everywhere I go, I’ve seen people impacted by the ministry of Dr. Bright.
Can I tell you something about him? To show you that when he surrendered everything, he was filled by the Holy Spirit, moment by moment. A day came when people wanted to kick him out. His own staff, his own senior team decided they wanted to get rid of him. He arrived from Asia after maybe a two-month trip. I don’t how long. When he arrived home, they went to his house and said, «You know what? You need to resign. You are not fit to run Campus Crusade for Christ». You know why? They got jealous of him. They wanted to take over the ministry. You know what Bill Bright did? Most people don’t know this. He said, «Gentlemen…» He did not get angry. He did not curse them. You would’ve probably cursed them. «Who do you think you are? I started Campus Crusade for Christ and now you want me to resign and you take over»?
He didn’t say that. He simply said, «Brothers, let’s kneel down. Let’s kneel down together and let’s ask God to give us wisdom». You know what he did was shocking. He prayed. Guess what happened? Of course, those men wanted him out, lost. 10 years later, one of those men who left said he told his son, «The day your father knelt down, I know the battle is over». «Dr. Bill Bright is the right man to lead Campus Crusade for Christ». The board supported him, and that’s why when he was interviewed, «Dr. Bright, do you have a problem? Can you share with us your problem? What are your problems in life»? «Can you share with us your problem so that the people can relate to you»? This is his reply.
You know, I love his reply. Okay? This is what he said. A surrendered man filled with the Holy Spirit. Remember, he surrendered everything. He’s now a slave of Christ. You know what he said? «A slave», rverybody, read, «A slave does not have rights. A slave does not own what he pours his life blood into. A slave of Jesus is at peace no matter the circumstances because he can completely trust his good and faithful Master». Is this amazing? Praise God! Are you a slave of Christ? Look at his next quotation. Bill Bright said, «The only responsibility of a slave is to do what the Master asks him to do. When you understand this, you’ll understand that the slave does not have problems. A slave only has opportunities to see», what? «the Master work».
Friends, are you filled with the Holy Spirit? Do you have problems? Once you understand the mindset that God owns everything, even your life, your family, the truth is this, you don’t have problems. Paul is saying, you want to be spirit-filled? This is how you should invest your life in the church. So let’s continue reading. Paul is saying, «According to the grace of God, which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid the foundation. Another is building on it. Each man must be careful how he builds on it. No man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ». (1 Cor. 3:10) Paul is now giving another analogy. He’s building.
Paul is saying, «I’m a master builder». He’s now giving us a picture of the church. A church is like a building. It’s a picture of the temple in Jesus' time. You have one foundation. Paul is saying the foundation of the church is who? Jesus. So Paul is now saying, I’m a builder. There’s only one foundation. Who’s the foundation? Jesus Christ. But «…you must be careful how (you) build (on the foundation)». (1 Cor. 10) Let’s read the next verse. «If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw», two kinds of materials. One is: gold, silver, precious stones. The other kind of materials, they are very bulky. You have wood, hay, straw. What’s the point? The point is this. «Each man’s work will become evident for the Day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work».
(1 Cor. 3:13) You know what Paul is saying? Someday, everything you do for God, everything you do, for God or not for God, will be tested by fire. What Paul is saying is this: the church has one foundation, Jesus Christ. How you build on the church, how you disciple people, how you pour your life on them, your motive, will be tested. Will they last? Will they not last? Look at the next verse. As we finish. Everybody, read together. «If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire».
(1 Cor. 3:14–15) This now tells you the theology of rewards. Someday, God will examine our lives and everybody will be rewarded according to the quality of his work. Not everybody will have the same reward. Don’t be confused. Salvation is a gift. You don’t earn salvation. It is paid for by Jesus. But rewards are different. Rewards is what you do for Jesus after you have salvation. Your reward is in how faithful you are, and not everybody will have the same rewards. Not everybody will be rewarded. This is the scary part. According to Paul, let’s read this one more time. «If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss», he will suffer loss, «but he himself will be saved». (1 Cor. 3:15) In other words, someday you’ll be judged by what you do for Jesus.
My friend, someday when you see the Lord, it’s all about love. Don’t regret that you did not give your best while on earth to serve our Savior. I want to give my best while I still can to serve Jesus. Because the Holy Spirit is the only one that can help you do your best for Jesus. But if you live for yourself, I can guarantee you one thing: Someday, you will have regrets because you have not done your best for Jesus. Let’s bow our heads and pray. If God has spoken to you and you realize that you have not surrendered your life completely to Jesus, I’d like to encourage you today to live a life of no regret. If you want real change, I want you to make a decision today. If you have never done this, I want you to surrender your life completely to Jesus. If you like to do that today, will you raise your hands? Praise God. Anybody else? You want to surrender your life completely to Jesus wherever you are.
In fact, I want you to stand up and pray with me. If you want to surrender your life to Jesus, stand up right now wherever you are. You have not done this before, you have not surrendered your all to Jesus. You have been in control of of your life, but today, you say, «I want to surrender my life». You know, God is looking and God loves you. God knows your heart. Do not allow your pride, do not allow yourself to stop you from surrendering to the Lord. You don’t need to look at others, just you and Jesus. Anybody else? You want to surrender your all to Jesus. Praise God. Anybody else, wherever you are, I know God is speaking to you. Praise God! Surrender your life to Jesus, wherever you are. If God is speaking to you, stand up, and then you pray this prayer with me:
Lord Jesus, here I am. I surrender my all to You. Everything that I have, everything that I possess, all my life I give to You. Help me to live a life that’s going to be pleasing to You. From this day onward, Lord, help me to live my life serving You and being pleasing to You. In Jesus' name we pray, in Jesus' name I pray, Amen and amen.