We’ve talked about the bad news. Now, the good news.

Steve Brown:
We’ve talked about the bad news. Now, the good news on this edition of Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
That was Steve Brown and this is Key Life. We’re dedicated to the teaching that the only people who get any better are those who know that if they don’t get any better, God will still love them anyway. Steve is an author, seminary professor, and our teacher on Key Life.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. If you’ve been listening the last few days, it’s been no fun. Cause I’m doing what Jesus did, I’m telling you the truth. And it’s not a pleasant truth, and in some ways it’s a dark truth. That’s what Jesus did just before he was crucified. He told his disciples what they could expect, and they winced. And then he told them the good news about what else they could expect, and they were joyful. And they served for the rest of their lives. It works that way with us. If you’ve been listening over the last few days, we’ve been talking about doubt and fear and struggle and failure. It’s what it means to be human. Now, the Holy Spirit is what is promised. So, what follows this broadcast and in the next week are some facts you can count on. You can lean on those facts, those rocks, because they’re solid. They are gifts from God, and they are applied to our heart, mind, and life by our Lord, the Holy Spirit. Okay, first, the Holy Spirit connects you to the God of the Universe because of the work of the Holy Spirit, you can pray as you ought, request what is needed, and rest easy in God’s presence. Listen to what the Bible says. This is Romans 8:26 through 27.

Likewise the Spirit also helps us in our weakness. For we do not 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 makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

What does that mean? That means that you’re on the Holy Spirit’s prayer list. I’m, and I’ve told you this before, and I feel bad every time I do it, because it sounds so pious, but I’m a man of prayer. That isn’t bragging, and it isn’t false pride. It’s just the opposite. I’ve been honest with you about the bad things in my life, about my failure and sin, and I’ve done that because of the forgiveness God has given me, which is a reason for praise. Let me be honest with you about something good in my life. I’m a man of prayer. I get up very early in the morning, earlier than you do, and it isn’t natural. For years, in fact, I felt that prayer breakfasts and sunrise services were pagan. I was quite sure that God wasn’t up until at least six in the morning. And that he had no desire to spend time with me until I had consumed at least two cups of coffee. As someone said, I’m an atheist, until I’ve had my first cup of coffee. Getting up was a horrible experience. And I refused to take naps during the day because my body simply couldn’t stand the agony of getting up more than once in any 24 hour period. And then 15, 20, maybe 25 years ago, I woke up at 4 in the morning. I felt refreshed. I didn’t feel the need to try to go back to sleep. At first, I thought it was guilt, but as I examined my heart, I wasn’t any more sinful than I had been the day before when I slept fine. I decided to just get up and go about the business of my day. That’s when, for some reason, I knew that the business of the day was his business. And that he wanted to talk to me before I started with other business. Over the intervening years with few exceptions, I’ve been a morning person. You know what gets me up at such a horrible hour? Coffee and Jesus. That’s right. Coffee and Jesus get me up, and the Holy Spirit does all the work. Because I’ve been promised by the Holy Spirit, and I don’t have to watch my words or what I do in his presence. I don’t have to be religious at that hour of the morning or pretend to be spiritual. You know why? I have been promised by God in his Word that the Holy Spirit would take my prayers to God. Not only that, he would translate my anger, my inappropriate comments, and my selfish petitions into proper and powerful prayers before the throne. You would be shocked at my times in prayer. It is the only place I can be totally honest and vulnerable without feeling rejection. It’s the only place I am totally loved and accepted. It’s the one place I can say whatever I want and know that I won’t be kicked out. Where does that come from? That is the gift of the Holy Spirit. And God has given the Holy Spirit to me as his gift. My friend, Tony Campolo, starts his day bright eyed and bushy tailed, he says, God, what kind of neat stuff are we going to do today? Now, I’m not there. My prayers are often like those of the lady who prayed.

Lord, I haven’t been angry today, I haven’t hurt anybody, I haven’t been mean to anyone, I haven’t sinned. So far today I haven’t lusted, I haven’t been bitter, I haven’t been selfish, but in a few minutes I have to get up out of this bed, and I need a lot of help from you.

I often pray, Father, I’m going to get up in a minute, please get me back to this bed tonight without messing it up so badly that it can’t be fixed. But never mind, I can hardly wait to get up because of the Holy Spirit who wakes me up and reminds me that I am accepted, I am loved profoundly and deeply, and that I am clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Let me tell you about how our Lord, the Holy Spirit, promises to deal with our doubts and fears. Listen again to what Jesus promised, and this is John 14:16 through 18 where Jesus says.

I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Helper, that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him or knows him. But you know him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as an orphan; I will come to you.

This is what Paul wrote.

In him you also trust it, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also you believed and were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption is complete, to the praise of his glory.

And so, it’s hard sometimes, but we have a special connection. And it comes from the Holy Spirit to the Ruler, the King of Kings, the God of the Universe. Being blessed by our Lord, the Holy Spirit, doesn’t mean that we never have any doubts. Rather, it means that those doubts are dealt with in a supernatural way. Show me a Christian man or woman who never doubts, and I’ll show you a man or a woman who is living a life of denial and untruth, and who may not even be a Christian. But more important, show me a man or a woman who has never experienced the supernatural certainty that has no rational explanation. And you’ll see the real deal. Do you know how I know what I believe is true? I just know that I know that I know. Pascal gave a great wager.

That if there is no God and one has wagered one’s life on him, one has lost nothing. However, if one wages one’s life on God and he is really there, he has gained everything.

You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thank you Steve. You know, I know Steve said that the bad news is important, but I’m not going to lie, it’s nice to end our week on the good news. And be sure to tune in tomorrow for Friday Q&A that’s when Steve and Pete will answer this question. I’m a Christian. What do I do if I’m married to a pagan? Join us for that, for the answer. Well, Father’s Day has come and gone and whether that relationship is good or bad for you, it’s important to remember that each of us was fathered by God himself. Well, Steve spoke about this in a special sermon called The Best Father You Ever Had. And if you call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE we will send you that sermon on CD for free. Again, that number is 1-800-539-5433. And you can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that CD. To mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the U.S. and Canada. Again, just ask for your free CD called The Best Father You Ever Had. And finally, if you value the work of Key Life, you could join us in that work through your financial support. Giving is easy. Simply charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or you can now gift safely and securely through text. Just pick up your phone right now and text Key Life to 28950 that’s Key Life, one word or two. It doesn’t matter. Text that to 28950. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.