Sermon for 11/22/2009
Be Filled with the Spirit
HoHum:
Video Clip from Andy Griffith Show on Otis Campbell
WBTU:
Read Ephesians 5:18-20
A. Wine in Bible times
1. In the world of the Bible they did drink wine. (1 Tim 5:23) Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
2. They did not have a lot of the drinks we have today, they had water and wine.
3. When they drank wine, it was not the strong drink that we have today. They would take at least 3 parts water to 1 part wine and make a drink.
4. The Bible is definitely against drunkenness. When people did not dilute their wine with water, the goal was to get drunk. (Prov 23:31 NIV) Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! (Prov 23:32 NIV) In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.
6. I do not drink alcohol. I was raised in a family where it was not acceptable and in Crystal’s family it is the same. As a practice, I do not partake. I do not drink caffeine because it does cause problems for my kidneys and bladder. I do not drink alcohol because it could cause problems with my mind and morals. “You don’t know that.” No, I don’t but why take the chance. Have enough weaknesses and temptations.
7. Max Lucado not long ago admitted to having a problem with drinking. Just a little bit here and there to calm his nerves and then it got worse.
8. But preacher you just quoted Paul telling Timothy to drink some wine. But in our day if we have a medical problem we have a whole lot of medicines that they didn’t have in Paul’s day. Encourage us to abstain.
9. Do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery- Ephesians 5:18
B. Be filled with the Spirit
1. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come. In Acts 2 we see that the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles in a miraculous way. At the end of Peter’s sermon, he says this, (Acts 2:38 NIV) Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:39 NIV) The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call."
2. We see from the NT that when a person wants to be saved from their sins, that person is baptized and then the Holy Spirit comes into them to live forever.
3. (Rom 8:9 NIV) And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. Either we have the Spirit or we do not. What is the deal with this filling of the Spirit? We were filled at our conversion, weren’t we?
5. Some would like us to believe that this is talking about the experiences that some have today in the name of the Holy Spirit. People who act like they are drunk at worship services. Is this what this verse is talking about? Yes and No.
C. Compare and contrast getting drunk with wine and being filled with the Spirit
1. Man has a craving for release and for excitement. Why do people get drunk?
a. They need some escape from their pain, frustration, and despair.
b. They need a release from the daily pressures and stress.
c. They are just bored and want something exciting to do.
2. Cheers Theme Song- Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got. Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot. Wouldn’t you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go Where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came. You wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same You wanna be where everybody knows Your name.
3. Alcohol stimulates excitement. It heats the blood, it fires the passions. Men use it, not for the sake of intoxication, but excitement. Loose all inhibitions and be wild.
4. What this verse is really talking about is not being drunk on wine and in connection with that the things of the world. Do not fill up your life with worldly things. No, be filled with the things of the Spirit. What are the things of the Spirit?
5. Let me ask this: When you drank your first beer, did you like it? Most people did not. Why do they keep on drinking it? To get the buzz. It takes some time but after a while they like it. They get good at getting drunk. Over time an old pro.
6. For those not raised in church, when you first came to church did you like it? A little hesitant, a little fearful. Why did you keep on coming back? You liked what you were experiencing; you liked the people, etc. It takes some time but after a while you start to like it. You come forward and are baptized. You take your first communion. You get involved in service at the church. At first… You are encouraged to read the bible and to pray. At first you feel completely out of place, but after a while you like it. Get involved in a group of Christians who pray and read Bible. You are filling up on the Spirit each and every day. Love it. Did it start out that way? Naturally we do not.
7. Alcohol is a depressant. Fun for a while, but in the end it leaves us depressed.
9. The Holy Spirit is a stimulant. He energizes us. He leads us to a place, the presence of God, where we do experience healing from our pain, frustrations and despair. We do have release from the daily grind. When filled up, this is the great adventure.
10. Steven Curtis Chapmman- Come on get ready for the ride of your life Gonna leave long faced religion in a cloud of dust behind And discover all the new horizons just waiting to be explored
This is what we were created for We’ll travel over mountains so high We’ll go through valleys below Still through it all we’ll find that This is the greatest journey that the human heart will ever see The love of God will take us far beyond our wildest dreams
11. And most importantly, we don’t wake up with a hangover and wonder what we did the night before. Huey Lewis and the News- I want a new drug, one that won’t go away, One that won’t keep me up all night, One that won’t make me sleep all day.
Thesis: If we are continually being filled with the Spirit, we will be filled with two things.
For instances:
1. Filled with love songs (Vs. 19)
A. Not love songs like the world things of love songs, but love songs for the Lord first. Donald Gary Barnhouse was a powerful preacher with a mind like a steel trap. One New Year’s Eve, back in the late forties or fifties, at the church’s watch night service, Barnhouse was administering a communion service when there was a noisy disturbance outside. A group of loud, drunken voices were passing by the church singing for all they were worth: "Glorious, glorious, One keg of beer for the four of us. Glory be to God there ain’t no more of us, for heaven knows I’d drink it all alone." Obviously, the noisy disturbance had put a damper on the attitude of worship within the church. Barnhouse, however, seizing the moment in dramatic fashion, lifted high the communion cup and shouted, "Glorious, glorious, Jesus drank the dregs for all of us. Glory be to God there is no more for us, for on the cross He drank it all alone."
C. (Eph 6:24 NIV) Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying (sincere) love.
D. I love the Christ who died on Calv’ry, For He washed my sins away; He put within my heart a melody, And I know it’s there to stay. Chorus- In my heart there rings a melody, There rings a melody with heaven’s harmony; In my heart there rings a melody;
There rings a melody of love!
E. Lot of debate about this verse among Churches of Christ. Miss the whole point!
F. Next, love songs for others- (1 Pet 1:22 NIV) Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. Also, Ephesians 5:19- Speak to one another with psalms…
G. There’s a sweet, sweet spirit in this place, And I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord.
There are sweet expressions on each face, And I know that it’s the presence of the Lord.
Sweet Holy Spirit, sweet Heav’nly Dove. Stay right here with us, filling us with your love. And for these blessings, we lift our hearts in praise. Without a doubt we’ll know that we have been revived, When we shall leave this place.
2. Filled with thanksgiving (Vs. 20)
A. Alex Haley, the author of "Roots," had an unusual picture hanging on his office wall. It was a picture of a turtle on top of a fence post. When asked, "Why is that there?" Alex Haley answered, "Every time I write something significant, every time I read my words & think that they are wonderful, & begin to feel proud of myself, I look at the turtle on top of the fence post & remember that he didn’t get there on his own. He had help."
C. Roland Allen tells about a veteran missionary who came up to him one day after he had delivered a sermon. The missionary introduced himself & said, "I was a medical missionary for many years in India. And I served in a region where there was progressive blindness. People were born with healthy vision, but there was something in that area that caused people to lose their sight as they grew older.” But this missionary had developed a treatment which would stop progressive blindness. So people came to him & he performed his treatment, & they would leave realizing that they would have become completely blind, but because of him their sight had been saved. He said that they never said, "Thank you," because that phrase was not in their dialect. Instead, they spoke a word that meant, "I will tell your name." Wherever they went, they would tell the name of the missionary who had cured their blindness. They had received something so wonderful that they eagerly proclaimed it.
B. Worked around a lady who would always say, Thank you Jesus!
C. Around thanksgiving we talk about being thankful. Who are we thankful to? (James 1:17 NIV) Every good and perfect gift is from above. Therefore, we need to tell the name, Jesus Christ, everywhere and in everyway.
D. (2 Pet 1:3 NIV) His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
