AC and Susie

As I have mentioned earlier (“No-Hitter and AC”), AC Pryor became my best friend in Junior High School. After he graduated High School he married a lovely girl named Susie. This story is about a time that my former wife Carole and I visited with AC and Susie.

Every time we went back to Louisville, KY to visit my family we would make arrangements to spend some time with the Pryors. The Sunday after Thanksgiving in 1970 (while I was finishing my Masters degree at Purdue) we had what turned out to be a life-changing meeting with AC and Susie. AC has written about this night in his book, “The Sound Mind Investing Handbook” by Austin Pryor (see Chapter 25). [I'll refer to this book as SMIH below].

We went to their home that night and had a wonderful dinner. Afterward we started talking and sharing how excited we were about having a personal relationship with Jesus. I had been praying for AC and Susie ever since 1965 when I met Jesus, that they would come to know Him as Carole and I did.

As AC says in his book, “After dinner, it wasn't long before Bob shifted the conversation to spiritual matters. He saw us living the comfortable life and asked Susie at one point: “Susie, are you happy?” And she answered, “We've really got a lot to be thankful for.” He said: “I can see that. But are you happy?” And she paused, then simply said, “No.” (see SMIH pp 298-299).

It was then that I got to share with AC and Susie the answer to the question, “Have you made the wonderful discovery of the Spirit-filled life?” This information is found in a little blue booklet by the same name. That night I shared the information from the booklet. We said that the Bible explains that there are only three types of people in the world (see 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:3):
o..Natural People...(Those who have never asked Jesus to be their Savior and Lord)
o..Spiritual Christians...(Those who are directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit)
o..Worldly (Carnal) Christians...(Those who have received Christ, but who live in defeat because they are trying to live the Christian life in their own strength)

The Bible teaches the following four principles for living the Spirit-filled life:

First:....God has provided for us an abundant and fruitful Christian life.
The promise of the abundant Christian life given in 1 John 10:10.
The key to fruitfulness is abiding in Christ (obeying Christ moment by moment) as shown in John 15:4-5.

The nine-fold fruit of the Spirit (the result of obeying Christ) is given in Galatians 5:22-23.
(These are love, joy, peace, patience ,kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). Also we are promised that the Holy Spirit will give us power to witness in Acts 1:8.

The question that follows is “Why is it that most Christians are not experiencing the abundant life?” The answer is given in the second principle:

Second:...Worldly (Carnal) Christians cannot experience the abundant and fruitful life.

The worldly (carnal) Christian trusts in his own efforts to live the Christian life.
He is either uninformed about, or has forgotten, about God's love, forgiveness,, and power. He has an up-and-down spiritual experience. He cannot understand himself – he wants to do what is right, but cannot. He fails to draw on the power of the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life. (And this only comes by continually obeying what Christ leads you to do).

The fruit of a worldly (carnal) Christian are just opposite of the fruit of the Spirit, some of which are: legalistic attitude, impure thoughts, jealousy, guilt, worry, discouragement, critical spirit, frustration, aimlessness, fear, unbelief, disobedience, loss of love for God and others, poor prayer life, no desire for Bible study, etc.

The third principle gives us the only solution to this problem:

Third:...Jesus promised the abundant and fruitful life as the result of being filled (directed and empowered) with the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit-filled life is the Christ-directed life by which Christ lives His life in and through us in the power of the Holy Spirit (see John 15). One becomes a Christian through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, according to John 3:1-8. From the moment of spiritual birth, the Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit at all times (John 1:12, Colossians 2:9-10, John 14:16-17). [Though all Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, not all Christians are filled (directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit on an ongoing basis]. The Holy Spirit is the source of the overflowing life (John 7:37-39). The Holy Spirit came to glorify Christ (John 16:1-15). When one is filled with the Holy Spirit, he is a true disciple of Christ.

Principle 4 gives the answer to the question, “How, then, can one be filled with the Holy Spirit?”

Fourth:...We are filled with the Holy Spirit by faith; then we can experience the abundant and fruitful life that Christ promised.

You can appropriate the filling of the Holy Spirit right now if you:
o..Sincerely desire to be directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
o..Confess you sins (agree with God).
o..By faith, thank God that He has (already) forgiven all of your sins – past, present, and future – because Christ died for you.
o..Present every area of your life to God (Romans 12:1-2)
o..By faith claim the fullness of the Holy Spirit, according to the following:

His command: Be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)

His promise: He will always answer when we pray according to His will (1 John 5:14-15)

When we left AC and Susie that night, we left a copy of that blue booklet with them. I found out later, that before they went to sleep that night, they both prayed and asked Jesus to be in control of their lives and that they would be filled with the Holy Spirit (see SMIH pp 300-302).

Since then they have been a godly couple and have been wonderfully used by Jesus. I am always encouraged when I talk to them (even when I am down).

Lessons from Richard King and Jesus

When I was growing up in Louisville, KY, I would listen to a radio show out of Cincinnati, OH with a funny announcer named Richard King. One of his favorite things to do was play music and then make a horrible sound like “BBBBBBBBBZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ”. After doing that for a while, he would come on the air and say “The trouble is in your set!”

I found that very funny, but later, it reminded me of a parable that Jesus taught.
Jesus said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank [or 2 by 4] in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” - Matthew 7:3-5 NIV

This reminds me that when I disagree with someone, I need to carefully examine my own life, before I can criticize that other person. Only when I have examined my life, confessed my own sins and repented of my sinful ways, can I clearly see problems in another person's life,

Several years ago, there used to be a Christian band that called themselves “PlankEye”. I thought that was a wonderful name, and think of it when I am tempted to criticize others.