In this message, Dr Evans explains how in order for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we must be willing to allow Him to show us the areas that need improvement. Once we do that, we are even closer to being transformed into His image. Recognize The Lordship of The Holy Spirit | The Lord | Tony Evans Sermon #HolySpirit #sermon #TonyEvans ——————————- If you would like to download two encouraging, FREE full-length MP3s of Tony’s popular sermons: “The Sovereignty of God” and “How to Handle a Crisis,” you can do so by clicking on this link: https://share.hsforms.com/1atT9MJvXQN… If you would like to sign up for our daily devotional bringing you hope and inspiration, please go to this link: https://share.hsforms.com/1CkOLA910Sm… ▶ Do you know Jesus as your Savior? https://tonyevans.org/know-jesus-christ/ ▶ Stream Sermons: https://tonyevans.org/podcast/ ▶▶ Free Sermon App: https://subsplash.com/tonyevans/app/ ▶▶ DONATE: https://give.tonyevans.org/the-altern… ▶ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drtonyevans/ ▶ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtonyevans/ ▶ Are you a preacher? Free sermon outlines: https://go.tonyevans.org/dr-tony-evan… Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he has been named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. Dr. Evans holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on over 1,400 radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Dr. Evans’ sermons are also streamed and downloaded over 20,000,000 times annually.
he’s called the anointing every
Christian has the anointing if you are
saved you have it you possess it you own
it it is there the anointing is the
indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit
designed to do his work in your life God
has turned everything in history over to
his son it is only by your bringing
glory to the son that the spirit kicks
on
Jesus Christ privately and publicly must
be able to be exalted in your life give
the anointing a chance put it first take
the written word put it in the face of
the Holy Spirit do it on the front end
and let’s see what programming God
brings up into your life
you and I when we were born
picked up from our parents not only our
skin tone and type and racial identity
and
hair texture and the other
things that are part of the physical DNA
but they also transfer it to us a sin
nature
a nature that is prone to rebel against
the standard of God
it’s built in
and it is known as indwelling Sin it is
inside
your human nature that has transferred
it to your damaged soul that manifests
Itself by the activity of our bodies
so your body does what your soul says
your souls does what your human Spirit
has allowed and since the human Spirit
at Birth is affected and infected by the
virus of indwelling sin the soul becomes
distorted and the body winds up doing
stuff is not supposed to do
the question is
how do we address this infection
that we all have
now
most of the time we try to manage it
we try to do external reforming of it
but then most of us just try to hide it
we try to camouflage it with the way we
look
the money we have the car we drive the
place we live in we try to hide the fact
that we have been infected
but the infection just keeps showing up
it shows up in Anger we can’t control
language
that we shouldn’t be using that spurts
out all the time
addictions that take over that we keep
hidden in secret
discouragement and that rules our lives
because of this infection
you may think you’re okay
but your soul has been distorted
and it comes up with all kind of
configurations
Verse 18 says three words I don’t want
you to miss
he says but we all
so this applies to you and me where you
are how you are to transform you from
there to where God wants you to be
he says over and over again in verse 17
and 18
the Lord is the spirit and the spirit is
the Lord he says that over and over
so the name of the spirit we want to
focus on is the name the Lord
because he says the spirit is the Lord
now the Lord refers to Jesus Christ
the problem is as we said last time
Jesus Christ physically is in heaven
he’s not physically on Earth
but he is spiritually in you if you
become a Christian
so the spirit is the Lord who is
physically in heaven but is spiritually
in you you have spiritual Jesus and
spiritual Jesus Is In You by means of
his agent the Holy Spirit
so if you have the Holy Spirit you have
Jesus operating in you
okay because the Lord is the spirit
he says where the spirit is
there is Liberty verse 17 says
Liberty means release from anything or
anyone who’s holding you illegitimately
hostage
so if you are being illegitimately bound
by something or someone
by some habit or some circumstance by
some attitude or some action the reason
you have the spirit who is Jesus inside
of you is to release you
so there is a release mechanism
operating inside of you for where the
spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty
how does this Spirit begin to release
you from the infection that we all have
how does it begin to set us free
by transforming us Verse 18 says
he says we are being transformed
God’s goal is not external Reformation
or infection management
his goal is spiritual transformation
the only way you know
that you are growing in your Christian
Life is that you are changing
if you are not changing it means you are
not growing even though you might be
shouting
until there is change what he calls
transformation
Spiritual Development is not occurring
because the infection is still operating
because you’re not changing
he says in first Thessalonians 5 23 you
are transformed
from your spirit to your soul to your
body
let’s review
the anointing the presence of the spirit
invades your human Spirit the Holy
Spirit when you’re converted invade your
human spirit
your human Spirit sits inside your soul
as the human spirit
is Amplified by the Holy Spirit
it penetrates the soul and begins to
address the infection of indwelling sin
in all of our souls
with the infection of indwelling sin is
being addressed by the expansion of the
holy spirit in your human Spirit then
the Soul gives new data to the body
when the body gets new data from the
soul that’s been being corrected by the
presence of the anointing the Holy
Spirit that’s invaded the human Spirit
that’s now dictating to your soul that
means you’re doing new things with your
body
you’re changing on the outside because
you’re being transformed on the inside
this is the key
to beginning the process of becoming
better and becoming different and
becoming free there must be the move
from the inside out not the outside back
in
so
the Lord is the spirit
where the spirit of the Lord is
he makes a contrast important contrast
because in verse 14 he says
their minds were hardened for until this
very day reading of the old Covenant the
same Veil remains unlifted but it is
removed in Christ so
he says that the eyes of the people were
blind they had a veil on a covering talk
about that more in a moment
so that even when they read Moses that
means read the Old Testament even when
they read Moses it didn’t do him any
good
so you can read the Bible and it do you
no good
you can come and hear a sermon and it do
you no good because there is a veil
blocking the word from doing its work
okay so he says they were reading Moses
the Old Testament
but they weren’t changing
they weren’t being transformed
he calls it the old Covenant
because God has a new way of working now
this is the New Covenant
in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit
came upon people in the New Covenant he
dwells inside of people
in the old Covenant David said take not
your spirit from me in the New Testament
he can’t leave you because he’s been
permanently placed inside of you it is a
different way of operating so when you
go back to the old way you find out that
you’re not making progress because God’s
not using that way now he’s using
another way the beauty of the New
Covenant of the holy spirit’s work in
the human spirit inside the soul in
order to change the body is because now
you have a built-in power source to kick
in addressing the infection of the Soul
because he now indwells you which is the
anointing so
you have now a new Arrangement this new
Arrangement is designed to release you
free you change you and heal the
infection in order to transform you you
look at the damage people did to you the
damage you do to people the habits that
we’ve developed that we should do the
language that we use the hate the hatred
that we give the racial Strife we we
we’re dealing with folk with damaged
Souls who want to pass laws to fix Souls
you can’t pass laws to fix infection he
says
but we all verse 18. with unveiled face
let me talk about how you must approach
this issue
you must approach
your need for Spiritual transformation
with unveiled face
when a woman gets married not so much
today but in Years Gone by they would
virtually always have a veil over their
face
he says the reason in the old Covenant
that even though they read the Bible
they weren’t changed is they had a
covering over them
but if you come
to the Lord who is the spirit
with an
unveiled face what does that mean
a willingness to be fully exposed
to be fully exposed
you can’t come to God and be changed if
you come to him shucking and jiving
you can’t come to him acting like
everything’s all right when you know
it’s not all right
you can’t come to him faking it to make
it you can’t go you must come to him Raw
you must take off the pretending that
you do at work the pretending that you
do by yourself the pretending that you
do on the job the hidden that nobody
knows but you when you come to him he
says you got to remove the veil off of
your face because I know you playing if
you talking to me with a veiled face
that means you got a cover-up going on
and I won’t change you if you’re covered
up
so you must come to God Raw
the moment you come covered up it
doesn’t matter that you’re reading the
Bible doesn’t matter that you pray
doesn’t matter that you’re in church
because you’re doing a cover-up he says
You must come with unveiled face
when you come with unveiled face he says
you are to come
beholding as in a mirror the glory of
the Lord
all right so we got first thing is that
if you want to deal with the infection
you got to come clear and clean and
honest with no camouflage
he says
you must behold as in a mirror the glory
of God
there it is
he says
you must come before the mirror the
mirror is his word because he says in
the previous verse when they read Moses
so he’s talking about the reading he
says You must come before the mirror
with an unveiled face
beholding the glory of the Lord
he says that’s why he says You must
behold which means stare at
you must behold
as in a mirror
the glory of the Lord
okay let me take you deeper James
chapter 1.
James chapter 1 talks about the mirror
he says in James chapter 1 beginning
with verse 19.
these words
this you know my beloved brethren
but everyone must be quick to hear quick
to hear what what God’s point of view is
slow to speak slowly speak what what
your point of view is
and slow to get anger anger over what
that what God says and what you say
don’t agree
so the anger of man does not achieve the
righteousness of God just because you’re
mad about what God says because it’s
different than what you say God says
tough
therefore putting aside on filthiness
all the remains of wickedness in
humility receive the word implanted
which is able to save your souls now
he’s writing to Christians because he
calls them my beloved brethren
remember when you accepted Christ your
spirit got saved not your soul
your soul is being saved that happens
over time your spirit is saved
instantaneously so he says I want your
soul the infection to be delivered saved
and the way that is is you must receive
the word but notice the word implant is
has an ed on it you have an implant
that’s already inside of you that’s
ready to receive the implant is the holy
spirit operating in your human Spirit
you got an implant in your soul that’s
ready to receive the word
let me say this again the Holy Spirit
that’s infused the human Spirit stays
hungry
and wants to eat in order to expand and
it is hungry the implant is hungry for
the word
stay with me he says
prove yourselves to be doers of the word
and not hearers who delude themselves
for if anyone is a hero of the word and
not a doer he is like a man who looks at
his natural face in a mirror okay here
we go with the mirror and once he has
looked at himself and gone away he
immediately has forgotten the kind of
person he was
but the one who looks what’s this
intently because it’s a brass mirror you
got to work with it who looks intently
at the perfect law the law of Liberty
and abides in it not having become a
forgetful hero but an effectual doer
this man is blessed in what he does so
watch this
he says if you want to be transformed
have your soul saved have the infection
dealt with
you must come to God with an unveiled
face
and you must come to the Mirror which is
his word
but don’t come like a man
who looks at his face and turns away
the Greek word for man is the word male
don’t come like a male to put it another
way if you want to be transformed come
to the mirror like a female
not like a male
a male will look see and turn away
females don’t look see and turn away
females hang out in the mirror
stay in the mirror
Meander in the mirror until they get it
right
if the soul is going to be changed you
must come to the word
with an unveiled face and when you come
there don’t be like a man who wants to
read it and go
hang out there a little bit how long
till you see your face in it
tell you see you
see people read the Bible but don’t see
them
he says you hang out
look intently James says abide in it
until you see God is talking to you
not just talking about David and I’m
just talking about Solomon but he’s
talking to you you hang out in that
mirror until you get exposed why
because you see
no man or woman can see their own face
you don’t you don’t see your face
help me now right now look at your face
[Applause]
you can’t see your face the only way you
know what you look like is you have a
mirror
and guess what the mirror tells you the
truth
he says You must come with unveiled face
with the Boo-boo in your eye and the
hair messed up you come with you you
know you you come with with the raw
reality of the infection of the Soul
then you sit down and you read and
Meander until the Holy Spirit sees let
you know I’m talking to you
now the word is speaking personally
you’re not just reading a page he said
don’t just be a hearer but be an
effectual doer in other words what am I
going to do now that I’ve been exposed
now that the word has exposed me what am
I going to do differently what action am
I going to take because he says if you
hear it and are exposed to it but take
no action it will not benefit you
action activates what you read being
exposed so the reason that we are not
changing is we either not coming with an
unveiled face we’re not coming honestly
or we’re not allowing the word to be a
mirror we’re just reading it because
we’re supposed to but we’re not giving
God permission to show us what’s wrong
to expose us or if he shows us there is
no action taken to show we’re serious
about what we saw what good is seeing
that you messed up in the mirror if you
don’t pick up a comb what good is
serious seeing that you’re messed up in
the mirror if you don’t pick up soap in
a washcloth it was good that you saw it
but you still haven’t changed there’s no
transformation
but when the unveiled face meets the
mirror of the word and you see it’s
talking to you and a step of action is
taken
transformation begins
and you will discover something
you are being transformed he says into
the image
of the Lord
change is the proof of growth he says
and you are being transformed into that
same marriage now let me give you a
warning let me give you a warning here’s
the warning the warning is
if you take this seriously and you go
before the mirror of the word with an
unveiled face until God exposes
something in your life
the flesh is going to throw a temper
tantrum
your unredeemed humanity is going to
Rebel
because it does not want the expansion
of the spirit messing with
the soul
but he says you are being transformed
from Glory
to Glory okay
from one level to the next level a test
is a adverse circumstance
that God causes or allows in your life
to take you to the next spiritual level
and you know God is ready to do
something new when he puts you in a test
all of our human reaction is to react to
the test
rather than to react to the reason for
the test
that’s why the Bible says in James 1 let
patience have its perfect work while
you’re in the test
we try to illegitimately get out the
test which only means there’ll be a
retest
see I don’t care how hard you get you
may even get out of it for a minute
but God bleeds in retesting until you
pass that grade level to take you to it
he will he will put all kinds of things
or allow all kind of things to test you
because when you pass the test you now
move to a new level of glory and a new
level of spiritual transformation and
here’s the thing
when you see
God changing you when you see the spirit
of God doing this thing in you
hmm
you’ll almost welcome the test
because you know something new is coming
down the pike
when a woman is pregnant
it shows
belly
change in appetite shift in mood I mean
numbers of things
change
you know why they change
because life is growing on the inside
and it’s just showing up on the outside
and you know how life got there
intimacy
there was intimacy that produced life
life began to expand and it began to
change her
when the Holy Spirit entered you there
was a conception in your human Spirit by
the Holy Spirit
and he wants your soul to get bigger
he wants your soul to expand
so that there’s a birth of a transformed
life
emerging from you
guess what the infection I have and you
have and we have God has already come up
with an antidote we’re standing in the
Rocky Mountains
you can see that Jesus is indeed Lord of
creation
when you see the Perfection he brings
about in nature well that same Lord
can transform our lives so that we can
be what he has created us to be
and he does that by means of the Holy
Spirit
the Holy Spirit as we exalt the lordship
of Jesus Christ
the benefits of his lordship to us so
that we can experience the
transformation power of God
taking away the things that ought not to
be part of us and placing on us all that
the new nature is designed to bring
about in US
same Lord
that brought about the Rocky Mountains
is the same Lord that can bring about a
productive a successful and an impactful
Christian Life
to those who recognize the lordship of
Jesus Christ activating the work of the
holy spirit in their hearts Minds bodies
and souls
[Music]
thank you
[Music]
thank you