Text: Eph 5:18, John 15:5-8, Title: The Missing Link, Date/Place: NRBC, 11/27/11, AM
A. Opening illustration: read the story at the opening of The Spirit Filled Life, “I’m willing to bet there are millions of churchgoers across America who cannot confidently say they have experienced His presence or action in their lives over the past year. And many of them do not believe they can. The benchmark of success in church services has become more about attendance than the movement of the Holy Spirit. The “entertainment” model of church was largely adopted in the 1980’s and ‘90’s and while it alleviated some of our boredom for a couple of hours a week, it filled our churches with self-focused consumers rather than self-sacrificing servants attuned to the Holy Spirit….The light of the American church is flickering and nearly extinguished, having largely sold out to the kingdoms and values of this world….We are not all we were made to be when everything in our lives and churches can be explained apart from the work and presence of the Spirit of God….shouldn’t there be a huge difference between the person who has the Spirit of God living inside of him or her and the person who does not?”-Francis Chan
B. Background to passage: we have been talking about the definition and use of spiritual gifts within the body, because Paul has in 1 Cor 12. There are a couple of more messages on the definitions of gifts, but one of our members noted last week that I spoke about the “baptism of the Spirit” related to verse 13. And they asked about the “filling of the Spirit” which I only made a passing mention of. And as I thought about it this week, I felt like I should spend more time on such a key concept not only to spiritual gifts, but to every aspect of the Christian life.
C. Main thought: this morning we will talk about living the Spirit-filled Christian life out of the two most important texts that deal with the matter.
A. Keep on Being Filled (Eph 5)
1. Differentiate between baptism and filling. Explain the command in v. 18 to keep on being filled by the Holy Spirit. The word was used to speak of wind filling the sails of a ship, or like salt permeating meat, or being overwhelmed with a particular emotion, full of sorrow, full of joy, full of fear. In none of these cases did the thing being filled do anything but be there; someone/something else had to do the application. And along with the analogy of wine in this verse, the idea of control in carried with it. The witness of Acts shows us that while baptism by the Spirit happens once, filling happens repetitively. And the verb is passive, something that is done to us rather than by us. So, Paul is commanding that we continually, repeatedly, be filled up by the Spirit.
2. Acts 2:4, 4:8, 31, 6:3, 7:55, 11:24,
3. Illustration: think of it like a balloon, talk about the guest who lives in the back room whom you never see, versus one that lives in your living room, eats your food, and has his way about the whole place,
4. The filling of the Spirit is primarily responsible for effective ministry (empowerment for service), use of the spiritual gifts, production of spiritual fruit, evangelism, and sanctification; or just the whole Christian life! We don’t have time to got into all of the ministries of the Holy Spirit today (but let me encourage you to pursue it on your own, start in Rom 8, Gal 5, John 14-16), but suffice it to say that the active ministry of the Holy Spirit in your life is the only way that you will ever live in victory in the Christian life. And so to live in ignorance of this important concept is disastrous for your walk of faith. But most of our mindsets are geared to “do your best” or “try real hard” and God understands the rest. And we spend most of our Christian life trying to serve in our own power, vowing to try harder, do better, kill sin ourselves, and feeling terrible when we fail again and again. But the power to have victory in your Christian life lies in being filled with the Spirit. He is not a power to be harnessed; He is the life of Christ, the Spirit of the Living God who dwells in you. So we are to seeking the filling of the spirit, but not work it up. There is nothing that the sail can do, but wait on the wind, but it is hoisted in faith. Stop trying, and start trusting, depending, abiding in Him to work through you.
B. Abide in Christ (John 15)
1. Abiding, there’s a word for you. Some translations use remaining, or joining, but the idea is found in the context: branches and the vine. Jesus was teaching the disciples about their relationship with Him with this metaphor; and it is helpful to us at this point. The life of the branch comes from the vine, and the connection comes through their unity. He says that if you abide (dwell in, live in, wait for, lodge, reside) in Christ, draw your life from Christ, immerse yourself in Him, commune with Him, you will bear much fruit and glorify the Father (your purpose for living). Branches don’t produce fruit, but they bear it. Again, teaching that we are to trust more than to do. The responsibility of making fruit is on the Christ, and bearing it on us through our connection with Him. Without Him you can do NOTHING.
2. Phil 1:21, Gal 2:20,
3. Illustration: this is the testimony of Charles Stanley, D. L. Moody, R. A. Torrey, Martin Lloyd-Jones, Billy Graham, Charles Finney, Hudson Taylor, and many more.
4. Glorifying the Father is the reason you were created, your purpose for being. Bearing fruit and seeing answered prayer is the way that He is glorified. Our responsibility is to abide in Him. The Holy Spirit is Jesus in us, and His anointing/filling is the power that makes us the vehicle. The key to being filled with the Spirit is willingness and abiding. It is so freeing that our service, our spiritual gifts, our sanctification (overcoming sin) is not dependent on us doing it better, working harder, getting it right next time! It is dependent on us deriving our life from Christ, and abiding in Him. Your personal relationship with God has everything to do with your service, spiritual gifts, and overcoming sin! Your communion with God is the lifeline to the Spirit working in you and through you to do His good pleasure. You want to kick the habit? Be filled with the Spirit! You want to go deeper with Christ? Be filled with the Spirit! You want to overcome trials and suffering? Be filled with the Spirit! You to minister with effectiveness while avoiding burnout? Be filled with the Spirit? Want to control your tongue, your anger, your lust? Be filled with the Spirit! Want to stumble along in mediocrity, discouraged over your lack of success, trying harder but failing more, waking up to the smell of failure regularly while you are trying so hard? Don’t be filled with the Spirit. Note: this is not an invitation to an easy life, quite the contrary; it’s any invitation to joy, peace, and victory while you surf through a hurricane!
C. Summary Application
1. So what does it look like? *Don’t be discouraged, this is not to point fingers, this is only to open the gate to a whole new world of your Christian life. Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." –Mark 9:23
i. fruit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
ii. speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord…giving thanks always for all things…submitting…
iii. wives, husbands, children, employees, spiritual warriors
iv. keeping commandments, joy –John 15:10-11
v. witnessing – every time in Acts that they are filled, evangelism occurs
2. So what do I do? (wrong question, flawed, ask how do I trust)
3. Total dependence and desperation – faith and willingness are the requirements, relate back to gospel
4. Total surrender or abandonment – you must give up control, repent, confess, relate back to gospel
5. Desire for Him – ask God to make you thirsty, give you will to respond to that thirst, help you prioritize it
6. Abiding in Him – get in his word, get into worship, immerse yourself in anything/everything to cause your gaze to be fixed upon Christ, examine spiritual thirst-killers (1 Thess 5:19)
7. Moment by moment obedience to the inner promptings of the Spirit in your life. Anticipate His response!
A. Closing illustration: “My hunch is that most of you reading this book have basic knowledge about the Holy Spirit, but when it comes to experiencing the Holy Spirit in your life, it’s a different story…“I want nothing more than to live in total surrender and abandonment to the Spirit every moment I have left on this earth….I don’t want my life to be explainable apart from the Spirit”-Francis Chan
B. Remember this is not a manipulative tactic, or a two-class thing, but the normal Christian life
C. Acts 11:13, If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!
