The Sensitivity of the Spirit | Life in the Spirit Week 1
"The easiest thing in the world to do is grieve the Holy Spirit." You might have heard that term before--to grieve the Holy Spirit. But what does that mean? We are so honored to have one of the most impactful theologians of our day, R.T. Kendall, speak to us on the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit and how we can partner with that. We pray this message blesses you and strengthens your conviction to following the way of the Spirit!
Scripture references:
Acts 3:1-14
Ephesians 4:30
Ephesians 4:31
Okay, thank you. Please sit down. With that introduction, you remind me of a friend of mine from Pennsylvania who was speaking to this large sales gathering and was introduced as the man from Texas who had made $200 million in oil. I was going to tell how he did it. But when he heard the introduction, he panicked. He thought, what am I going to do? Well, he said to himself, there's only one thing and that's to stand up and tell these people the truth. He said, folks, before I get into my talk, one or two discrepancies in the introduction. First of all, he said, I'm not from Texas. I'm from Pennsylvania. Second, the money was not in oil. It was in coal. And third, the figure was not $200 million. It was $200,000. And fourth, it wasn't me. It was my brother. Fifth, he didn't make it. He lost it. Thank you for having me. I've just met John over this weekend and his wife this morning. And I'm just honored to be here. I appreciate your having me. My son, TR, he works with me full time. We travel the world together. And in the past year, a little over a year ago, I began to have attacks of vertigo. And this is why I'll be sitting. I would like to say the reason I'm sitting is I'm going to be like Jesus. You know, don't you, that he always sat when he taught. And the reason for that is the ancient rabbinic posture to teach was to sit. They didn't stand. They sat. Jesus sat when he taught the Sermon on the Mount. He sat in a boat, taught the parables. But that's not the reason. I worry that I might fall. And I could probably stand and preach, but I don't want to worry about whether I might fall. So that's why I've been sitting. And so I thought I would make that explanation. I've come from the hills of Kentucky. And I do this at the risk of making you feel inferior to me because, you know, I don't think I'm cut above you. I don't think that. I probably am, but I just don't. Oklahoma. Well, wonderful to be here and pray that I will be a blessing. Now the sermon that John wants me to preach was born in my days at Westminster Chapel. It was one of the insights that I had in my lifetime that I'm pretty sure has not been taught before. This is a surprise because it was so real to me. But then the more I began to preach it, there was no book I could read on it. And there's a close friend of mine. His name was Dr. Michael Eaton, the most learned man I've ever met. He's read everything from the Apostolic Fathers to the Church Fathers, the Medieval Scholastics, the Reformers, the Puritans, the Neo-Orthodox. And if there was a book out last week, he's read it. He was that learned. And I said to him, has anybody has ever spoken or written
on the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit? He says, there's nothing. Now there's a teaching sensitivity to the Spirit, and it comes to that. But what I want to say today, today, if I can get it over, and I pray that God will help me to give me the wisdom to get this over, we're talking about the person of the Holy Spirit. You see, the Holy Spirit is a person. We're Trinitarians, the three persons of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. And so it is an aspect of the person of the Holy Spirit. And one of his characteristics is that he's a very, very sensitive person. And that means that he can get his feelings. hurt easily. And so if we can get this over, and I can have the help of the Holy Spirit, I think it's one of the most life-changing words that I've ever had. It's changed my life. It's changed my life to find out what grieves the Holy Spirit. Well, I want to read to you from Acts chapter 3, the book of Acts chapter 3. You perhaps know the story of Peter and John healing the man at the gate beautiful. The question is, why didn't Jesus heal him? Because Jesus walked by him before. But what we know is that one day, Acts chapter 3 verse 1, now Peter and John were going up to the temple for the time of prayer at three in the afternoon. A man who was lame from birth was being carried there. He was placed each day at the temple gate called beautiful so that he could beg from those entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple, he asked for money. Peter, along with John, looked straight at him and said, look at us. So he turned to them, expecting to get something from them. But Peter said, I don't have silver or gold, but what I do have I give you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Get up and walk. And then taking him by the right hand, he raised him up. And at once his feet and ankles became strong. So he jumped up and started to walk. And he entered the temple with them, walking, leaping, and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God. And they recognized that he was the same man who used to be begging at the temple, beautiful gate. So they were filled with awe and astonishment at what happened to him. But while he was holding on to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astonished, ran toward them in what was Solomon's colonnade. When Peter saw this, he addressed the people, fellow Israelites, why are you surprised at this? Why do you stare at us as though we had made him walk? By our power and Godliness, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the God
of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied before Pilate, though he decided to release him and you denied the Holy One. And then Jesus, who was raised from the dead after being crucified. And I could go on and on. What happens is that Peter, rather than exploit the healing, uses the occasion to preach the gospel. Well, may God be pleased to bless the reading and the preaching of this, his most holy and infallible word. Brief word of prayer. Heavenly Father, I turn to you and pray now for the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus by your Spirit to rest upon every mind in this place, in order that their perception of what is said will be heard as you intend. Cleanse my tongue that I will be your transparent vehicle to pass on everything that needs to be said, nothing that doesn't need to be said. Help me to be very, very clear, very, very simple. I pray that this will be a life-changing word, and a word that brings great honor and glory to your name. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. This passage shows us four things about the Holy Spirit. Now, here's the story. Peter and John, they're going into the temple, and they walk by this crippled man. They had done this before, but they didn't heal him. Jesus went that way. Jesus had come to Jerusalem before. In order to get to the temple, this is the way you go. And he's always there. Jesus didn't heal him. It's interesting. A lot of people say, oh, if Jesus comes to your house, everybody will be healed. healed. Really? He goes right by this man. He doesn't heal him. This brings me to the first point I want to make. I call it the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit. I hope this is not new to you, but it is to many, the sovereignty of the Spirit. You see, what we have here is the Holy Spirit reflecting the sovereignty of God. Now, I wish it weren't true, but in my opinion, this is a missing note in the church today, generally, and with charismatics particularly, whether this applies to you, I don't know. But I can tell you this, the sovereignty of God needs to be rediscovered. It's when God said to Moses, Exodus 33, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. You say, but, R.T., that's Old Testament. Romans 9, verse 15, Paul quotes Moses. It's still applicable. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. What this means is that you cannot make God do things. You can't say, well, we're going to make Him do this. You see, I was actually invited to write an article anticipating my 90th birthday, so I wrote an open letter to the charismatic
movement, and I made the point there needs to be a rediscovery of the sovereignty of God. They wouldn't even print the article. It shows people are afraid of the sovereignty of God. I want you to know, He has a will of His own. He has a mind of His own. And if you think you can make God do things, you've got it wrong. You cannot twist His arm. You can't make Him do anything. We need to bow before Him. And so we're talking about the timing of God. Just because Jesus walked by this man, He didn't get healed. But then one day, one day in the sovereign purpose of God, Peter and John walked by this man, and suddenly they stop. And so it's all a part of God's timing. Now, here's the interesting thing about the Holy Spirit. You need to know this. Jesus was not His own man. This may surprise you. Jesus was not His own man. John 5, 19, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do. Do you realize that everything Jesus did was being orchestrated from the throne of God? So Jesus just did what the Father told Him to do. I wonder, I can't prove this, but it crosses my mind that Jesus is walking by this crippled man and says, well, Father, we're going to heal him. And no, just keep going. So Jesus did what the Father wanted Him to do. Well, now, the Holy Spirit is the same way. There's a verse in John 16, the King James Version says that the Holy Spirit will not speak of Himself. Not a good translation. I love the King James, but that one is not a good one. The Greek says the Holy Spirit will not speak on His own. Same as Jesus. Jesus did not speak on His own. He did what the Father said to do. So the Holy Spirit. You see that Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the Father, they're all together. There's no rivalry, no disagreement within the persons of the Trinity. And so everything that the Father said to do, that's what the Holy Spirit did. So in the sovereignty of God, Peter and John hear the Holy Spirit. That brings me to the second point. And this is the main thing I want to talk about today, the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit. How did Peter and John know to heal this man? They intended to go to this prayer meeting. Are you aware they're on their way to a prayer meeting at three o'clock in the afternoon? They don't get there. They don't get there. They stop. How did they know? It's because they were enjoying what I call, and I'll explain, the ungrieved Holy Spirit. Here's something you need to know about the Holy Spirit. As I said, He's very, very sensitive, and He's easily Grieved. Ephesians 4, verse 30. Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed
for the day of redemption. The word grieve comes from a Greek word that means get your feelings hurt. You say, well, surely you cannot hurt the feelings of the Holy Spirit. Yes, you can. And it's easily grieved. And this is the thing. It can be very frustrating. I remember so vividly in the days when I was coming to see this. I thought, it's so easy to grieve the Holy Spirit. And I think, well, this is not fair. It's so easy to grieve him. But it's just the way he is. And the scary thing is that when you grieve the Holy Spirit, you don't feel a thing. You just don't feel a thing. I was preaching in Florence, Alabama some years ago. And the pastor said to me as we were walking into the pulpit, he said, stop, tell me something. He actually said this, what is a veteran like you got to teach a young whippersnapper like me? And I thought, okay. And I came up with this. Find out what grieves the Holy Spirit and don't do that. And then you've got your work cut out for you. I'm going to say something that you may need time to digest. You don't have to take it just because I said, you can think about it. The easiest thing in the world to do is to grieve the Holy Spirit. You say, well, that's not fair. It's just, this is the way he is. This is a part of the Holy Spirit's ways. Now, there's an interesting thing we learned from John 1, where John the Baptist tells how he knew that Jesus was the Messiah. How did he know? He says, when you see the dove come down and remain. Now, I'm sure you've heard that the Holy Spirit is likened to a dove in the New Testament. It's not the only way. It's also depicted as wind, fire. Many people, and I agree with them, we want the fire to fall. But they don't understand, in order for the fire to fall, we must have the ungrieved spirit. Before the Spirit came down on Pentecost, they were all with one accord in one place. In other words, the Holy Spirit, they were not fighting each other. And then the Spirit came down. Then the fire fell. And this is teaching that I think can be life-changing. If I can get this over, it's so easy to grieve the Spirit. Now, the dove came down on Jesus and remained. He stayed there. In my experience, I'm ashamed to tell you, the Spirit came down on me, but it didn't stay. It didn't remain. Now, I know what it is. I had it just a few days ago. It's wonderful. It doesn't happen every day with me. The Spirit came down, and it was just so sweet. And I think, Lord, don't leave. Don't leave. Stay. Stay. Don't go. Don't go. And while the Spirit is there, there's joy. There's peace. You just want it to stay there forever. But life goes on, and hours later, you think, oh, what happened? He was so real. He was so real. You see, he came down on Jesus, and he remained. Comes down on me. Well, what is it?
What happens? Well, it could be that later that day, I get upset with my wife, or I'm driving down the interstate, and there's a car going in front of me so slow, and I roll down the window and shout, honk, what's the matter with you? The dove just flies away. I'm in a supermarket, and I'm in a hurry, and I get to the cash register, but there's this sweet little old lady in front of me counting her change. And I go, oh, I wanted her to hear me. She did, but so did the dove. Dove, he just rolled. You see, here's the thing. You may say, well, this is not fair, but we cannot bend the rules. You can't control. And the Holy Spirit is easily grieved. You say, well, he ought not be like that, but that's the way he is. Now, when we speak of another person as being sensitive, very sensitive, it's not a compliment. It's not a compliment, but that's the way the Holy Spirit is. Like it or not, he's just that way, easily grieved. There are two things God wants you to know, his ways and his word. His word and his ways. Question, is there anybody here that you would like to be on the good side of the Holy Spirit? Anybody here you'd like to be on inside with the Holy Spirit? Would you like that?
Get to know his word. Do you want to know how to get on good terms with the Holy Spirit? Get to know his word. He wrote it. Do you realize this? Holy men of old, as they spoke, by the move of the Holy Spirit. You need to know that the Bible is the infallible word of God. The Holy Spirit wrote it. This is his greatest product. So you say you want to get on good terms with the Holy Spirit. Question, how well do you know the Bible? Question, how much do you read the Bible? When I started preaching 70 years ago, everybody knew their Bibles. I could quote to any layman a verse and they could finish it. They could quote it. Do you know the Bible that well? How well do you know the Bible? I was blessed when I first went to Westminster Chapel. The man that put me there, Dr. Mark Lloyd-Jones, introduced me to the Robert Murray McShane Bible reading plan. You can get it online, but you don't have to use that one. You need a Bible reading plan
that will take you through the Bible in a year. Mine took me through the Bible in a year and New Testament twice. I can honestly say that I've read through the Bible 45 times, New Testament 90 times. You can do it. This is God's word. How well do you know the Bible? He wants you to know his word. He wants you to know his ways. Now, you may not like his ways, but he's the only God you have. And he's not gonna adjust to you, you adjust to him. And you read in Hebrews 3, verse 10, God said of the ancient people of Israel, they have not known my ways. You read his word to get to know more about him, but how do you get to know his ways? How do you get to know anybody's ways? By spending time with them. My wife, Louise, knows my ways. My son, TR, knows my ways. I've just got to know John. He knows a little bit, but not much. And I'm sure his wife, is it Michelle? Is that your name? I don't know how he got you, but you know his ways. Here's the thing, how much time have you got for God? Let me just come right to the point.
Be honest, how much do you pray? Oh, RT, I pray all the time, don't give me that. Of course, we all can say that. What if it were flashed on this screen, your name and how much time you spend every day alone doing nothing else but praying? Whether on your knees or sitting, but you're just talking to God. How much time? Martin Luther prayed two hours a day. John Wesley prayed two hours a day. The average pastor in America, according to a poll written up and they interviewed thousands, the average pastor in America prays four minutes a day. And you wonder why the church has no power, why there's no sense of the fear of God on the church. Martin Luther turned the world upside down. John Wesley turned England upside down. Today, nothing's happening. I'll just share this with you parenthetically, you don't have to accept it. In my opinion, the next thing to happen on God's calendar, it's not the second coming, it's the awakening of the church just before. I don't have time to go into that, but you see, God is going to use people who know His Word and know His ways. Know your Bible and pray a lot, and you'll be getting the tap on the shoulder down the road. God will use you where you won't be afraid to talk to your neighbor about Jesus. Do you talk to your neighbor about Jesus? You want to know the difference between a charismatic and an evangelical? An evangelical is a person who will tell you how to vote, but won't talk to his next door neighbor about Jesus.
Charismatic is someone who will spend all day trying to get you to speak in tongues, but won't talk to the next door neighbor about Jesus. You see, there's an absence of the fear of God. People are afraid. They're no longer soul winners. Listen, my people have not known my ways. Well now, the Holy Spirit, you see, is a very, very sensitive person, and you will know that, as I said, the Holy Spirit is depicted as a dove. At the natural level, a dove is a very shy bird. Did you know that? Did you know that pigeons and doves are basically the same? Any study of pigeons and doves, a pigeon is just a fat dove. Many can't tell the difference, but anatomically, they're the same. Any veterinarian will tell you, open up a pigeon or dove, it's the same gallbladder, same spine, they're the same. But temperamentally, they're different. Very different. You can train a pigeon, but you cannot train a dove. I've got a friend who died a few years ago and lived in Ada, Oklahoma. He raised pigeons and doves, one of the world's authorities. In fact, I couldn't have preached this sermon if I didn't know this from Pete Cantrell. He explained to me about a pigeon and a dove, and a dove is a very shy bird. A pigeon, he could train. Pete said, I could train a pigeon to find a red box in New York City. But you can't train a dove, they're different. Pigeons are boisterous. Doves are very gentle. I have a picture of T.R. when he was only eight or nine years old at Trafalgar Square in London. The pigeons will come, you throw birdseed all over you.
I've got a picture of T.R. with four pigeons on each arm and two on his head. Pigeons will come everywhere. You couldn't get a dove to come near Trafalgar Square. A dove is very sensitive. And so in the same way that many people can't tell the difference between a pigeon and a dove, they don't know the difference between the authentic work of the Spirit and the real authentic work of the Spirit. People say, well you should have been at church Sunday, the Holy Ghost came down. You get to the bottom of it, it was probably pigeon religion. I've written a book called Pigeon Religion. to show the difference. And so, to get to know his ways, you need to know this about the Holy Spirit. You may not like it, but he so easily grieved, so easily grieved. And you see, we can't make him adjust to us. A British couple were sent by their denomination to Israel as missionaries, and they were given a home in which to live near Jerusalem. And they discovered after they got there that a dove had come to live in the eave of the roof of their house. And they were so excited. It was like a seal of God on their being in Israel. But they noticed one thing, that every time they would slam a door, the dove would fly away. Every time they would get into an argument with each other and start shouting, the dove would fly away. And one day, Sandy said to Bernice,
he told this story all over England, have you noticed the dove? Oh, she said, yes. Have you noticed that every time we shout at each other or slam a door, the dove just flies away? She said, yes, and I'm so afraid, but he will fly away and not come back. He just looked at her, and here were his momentous words. Either the dove adjust to us, or we adjust to the dove. And it changed their behavior from then on. Just to keep a dove in the eave of the roof of the house. Listen to me, dear friends, the Holy Spirit is a thousand times more sensitive than that and he's not gonna bend the rules for you. And if we grieve the Spirit, we grieve the Spirit, and what happens, the dove flies away. Well, do you know what it will take to grieve the Spirit? Do you? Do you know what it does? Turn, you don't need to do it right now, but remember to turn to Ephesians chapter four, verse 30, where Paul says, grieve not the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. The very next verse says, let all bitterness, wrath, anger, evil speaking, be put away from you, forgiving one another as God and Christ forgave you. The chief way we grieve the Spirit is by bitterness. You lose your temper, you won't forgive, you speak evil of somebody. And here's the scary thing, when you grieve the Spirit,
you don't feel anything. The dove just flies away, you find out later that you grieved him. And so you do it when you lose your temper, you're wanting revenge. I wonder if there's anybody here right now, you need this sermon, is there a husband or wife? You're fighting with each other, anger. Dove just flies away. Are you bitter? Could it be you're holding a grudge against somebody right now? If somebody say, you say, I'll never forgive them for what they did, really? That means that the dove is gonna stay at bay. Don't think he's gonna come down to you because you've got your feelings hurt. Listen, it's when you hold a grudge against somebody, a grudge, you're angry, you're bitter, and you wonder why that you don't feel the presence of God. I'm telling you, dear friends, the dove just stays at bay. You see, the Holy Spirit came down on Jesus, and you know what the Holy Spirit said? He said, oh, I like it here, I think I'll stay. Because Jesus never, ever grieved the dove. The Holy Spirit. So here's what happened, Peter and John, they're on their way to a prayer meeting at three o'clock, but they never get there. What happens, as they're walking by,
all of a sudden, Suddenly they see this crippled man and they stop and they say look at us How did they know to do that You see if Peter Had a fight with his wife that morning that he slams the door says John Let's go up the prayer meeting and they come to that crippled man. They didn't made it. They just kept going and it kept going or Suppose when Peter says to the crippled man, look at us and John says Peter. Why is it always you that gets to say look at us? Why can't I do it once in a while? The dove would have just flown away and then it made it going on to the prayer meeting. I'm telling you the Holy Spirit Will not bend the rules for anybody But you see they both together Enjoyed the ungrieved spirit and as soon as God wanted to do something stop together They're together. They know what to do And this is the thing. I want to get over if Victory Church in Oklahoma City and for all you watching online Don't pass the buck and say it's their fault their fault their fault there you start with yourselves You don't want to grieve the spirit and You will hear his voice. I Was speaking in Seoul Korea several months ago and after it was on the Holy Spirit it wasn't this particular sermon, but I was speaking on the Holy Spirit and a Korean lady comes up to me I'd say she was around 30 years old with a question. She said I am with AI Artificial intelligence a very bright woman. She says I have a question Do you think that AI can imitate the voice of the Holy Spirit? My reply I Hear the voice of the Holy Spirit in proportion to how little I have grieved the spirit And she went oh my
Hey, I cannot do that. I found that interesting. You see there's some things a I can't do You get to know God and it's open to anybody here you don't have to have a Seminary degree even a college education or high school education when you didn't want more of God and You just get to know his ways All right sovereignty of the spirit Sensitivity of the spirit I Come third. I call it the surprise of the spirit but what happens is that Peter and John together the man is suddenly healed and Everybody can't get over it Crowds form they come from every direction people leave in their homes You heard about the crippled man. You see he was a fixture in Jerusalem. Everybody knew him 40 years old never walked and now he's walking jumping and everybody want to know what's going on Peter says to these people. Why does this surprise you? What if God wanted to do a work in Oklahoma City and There are churches that are wanting to see something happen Listen I can tell you the way forward Find out what grieves the Holy Spirit don't do that and as a church Where each one here has the I use this word unmerciful Use this word ungrieved spirit You see all of you have the Holy Spirit. I believe that I believe you have the Holy Spirit, but he may be grieved What is grieved that means the dove is just kind of gone on that way and There's no intimacy. You're not hearing him. There's no witness And God wants you to be restored And that the dove would come down and it comes by swallowing your pride Admitting It's not my brother Nor my sister, but it's me O Lord standing in the need of prayer
the surprise of the Spirit. Who knows what God would do in this church? It would take everybody by surprise, but it shouldn't. If in this 40-day fast you're going to do, it's not going to be not eating for 40 days because you say, well, all I need is for the Holy Ghost to come down on me and I fall to the floor. Listen, if you're angry or bitter when you fall, you'll be bitter when you get up. If you're empty-headed when you fall, you'll be empty-headed when you get up. It comes to those who know God's ways. He will remind you of what you've taught, says Jesus. If you haven't been learning anything, He can't remind you of anything. You say, I'm just going to pray more. Get to know His Word. He will remind you of what you've been taught. And if you're empty-headed, there's nothing to remind you of. Sensitivity of the Spirit. Surprise of the Spirit. One last point. The strategy of the Spirit. Why didn't Jesus heal this man? He went by him. There's a divine strategy. I think one day God said to Jesus, I'm saving him for Peter and John. Now Peter and John, suddenly, there's a strategy. What do you think it could be? I'm pretty sure I know. You see, the church in Jerusalem had gone way down to nothing because on the day of Pentecost, there were 3,000 converted, but they didn't stay in Jerusalem. Most of them were from out of town, and they go back to their homes. Now there's just a few in the Jerusalem church, and they're persecuted. They're lonely. People laugh at them. They scoff. They needed a platform. They needed a platform. And God says, I can give you a platform. And so when Peter and John healed this man, they come from all directions. See, what's going on? And here's the moment. Now Peter has a platform. Thousands are gathered. They're going to listen. They saw what this man did. He's healed. They're going to listen. The question is, how did Peter take advantage of this platform? What did he do? Oh, is he like some of the faith healers? I won't mention names. They say, well, send in your requests, and I'll pray for you. Listen, why don't you? I'll teach you how to pray yourself. No, they want your money. And then they exploit, look what we do. We see miracles. Peter could say, look everybody, see what we did. No, they didn't do anything like that. They took advantage of the platform to preach the gospel. That's what they did. They wanted to preach the gospel. And there were thousands more converted. That's the strategy. I don't mean to be unfair, dear people, but are you seeing people saved? Or are you like so many churches, you rob Peter to pay Paul, and the kingdom of God doesn't increase in numbers. It's
just trading forth. How many people are being saved? I would urge each of you to be soul winners. Don't be ashamed of the gospel. Bring your neighbor to hear the gospel preached. This is the need of the hour, soul winning. It's perished from the earth. I close with a story that I find a little bit embarrassing to tell, but I'm not making this up. When I was at Westminster Chapel, it's a preaching center. All the preacher had to do was preach. It was a wonderful thing. But I started my preparation for a Sunday on the previous Monday morning because I wanted to be at my best preaching. So I started preparing on a Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. By the weekend, I had several sermons. I had to preach four times a week for 25 years, four times a week, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturday morning, Sunday night. And I started early. There was once in 25 years where I didn't get to do that because I was busy preaching. all over Britain. And I never forget it. I remember it as though it were yesterday, but it was now Saturday morning, and Sunday's coming up, and I hadn't even opened a book, cracked a book, read anything. I just was been too busy preaching. Now it's Saturday morning, and I think, oh boy, Lord, please. I've got the whole day left to be no interruptions, nothing, no phone calls, no knocks at the door, and just help me, Lord, because you know I've had a hard week. It was nine o'clock in the morning. Louise and I got into an argument. In Kentucky, we would call it a dandy. She was horrible. I slammed the door. I went to my desk. I opened my Bible. I have a blank sheet of paper, pen, my Bible. Lord, help me. Deal with that woman. Ten o'clock, blank sheet of paper. Oh, Lord, please help me. Jesus. I had the text, but I had no thoughts. It's now noon. Lord, please help me. Please help me. Jesus. Now it's two o'clock, blank sheet of paper. I think, Lord, you know that what I say tomorrow morning is going to go all over the world. You've got to help me. Three o'clock, blank sheet of paper. Four o'clock. I close the Bible. I go into the kitchen, and there's Louise standing by the refrigerator, crying. I said, Honey, it was all my fault. I'm sorry. She says, Well, it wasn't all your fault. It's partly my fault. I said, No, it's all my fault, and I'm so sorry. We hugged. We kissed.
I went back to the same desk, same Bible, blank sheet of paper, and I promise you, in 45 minutes, I had everything I needed. The dove came down. I couldn't write the thoughts fast enough. What's the difference? Holy Spirit, ungrieved, ungrieved. He'll do it for you, but He won't bend the rules for you. He's not going to adjust to you. You adjust to Him. Sensitivity of the Spirit. He's not going to bend the rules for you. I'm finished, but wait. I wonder, is there anybody here, you say, R.T., I needed that. If God has been speaking to you, let me ask you a question. Don't, are you there clapping? Where are you? I'm going to ask you to lead the way. Get up and come down and pray. If there's anybody here, you say, R.T., I needed that. I'm going to ask you to stand up and just go to the nearest town, come down here and stand and pray. I want to pray with you. You really want to. Don't wait till you get home. Say, Now I want to do business with God. I needed this Word. Come on down and just pray. We're going to, I'll wait a couple of minutes. You that are in watching online, you can leave where you're sitting, come down and join these. Looks like there's going to be a couple of hundred or more. Don't miss this moment. This will show that God and the angels, you're not joking. You're not, you want to do business with God. Lord, I need this. Thank you for dealing with me. Thank you for dealing with me. Okay. You're going to lead us in prayer. It's a simple prayer. It won't take long. But coming forward this way, you're showing that you want to do business with God. You're serious It means everything to you. You're sending a signal to the angels to God I want help I want you to pray out loud the prayer. I now give you you ready everybody together Lord jesus, I need you I want you I'm, sorry for my sins For my bitterness for my unforgiveness I'm, sorry Calm holy spirit
Calm ungrieved holy spirit Don't leave stay As best as I know how I give you my life In jesus name Amen We're so grateful that you joined us today at victory We pray big prayers to a big god and we expect big results If you would like to receive prayer, you can submit a prayer request by visiting victory.church slash pray If this message or any of our messages have impacted your life and you would like to partner with us through giving You can do so at victory.church slash give Thank you again for joining us at victory church. We live life to the full
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