Cornerstone Church May 13, 2012
“SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE AND RELATIONSHIPS”
Ephesians 5:18-21
“Two things are essential for you to enjoy any car that you buy. First is a set of keys. The key lets you into the car. It’ll help you open the trunk or the glove box or, whenever necessary, to lift the hood on the car. It’s what you need to crank up the engine. You can admire the car from the outside, or even sit quietly inside it, but you’re not going anywhere without the keys.
What the keys are to the car, conversion is to the Christian life. You don’t enter the Christian life because you’re born into a Christian family or because you attend a church where the Bible is taught, or even because you learn verses from a book called the Bible. You enter the Christian life through only one way: the key – Jesus Christ. John wrote it this way, ‘He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life’ (1 John 5:12).
You either have the key that gets you into the car or you don’t. You either have life in Christ or you don’t. There is no in-between ground to stand on.
The second essential you need for the car is fuel. Don’t try to save money filling up your tank with water from your garden hose and hope your car will run. The engine was designed to run on fuel. What the fuel is to the car, the Spirit of God is to the authentic, normal Christian life.”
Embraced by The Spirit by Chuck Swindoll, pgs. 67-68
“Therefore as you have received Christ
Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”
Col 2:6 NASB
The Key – Receiving Christ as Savior
The Fuel – Walk in Him (by the power of the Holy Spirit)
Two weeks ago I spoke on “God the Holy Spirit – The Unseen Comforter”.
The subject was too vast for one message and there were some questions left unanswered.
God the Holy Spirit is the third member of the Triune God (Trinity).
* The Holy Spirit is not an “It.”
* The Holy Spirit is not a force
* The Holy Spirit is God possessing the attributes of God (is eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere present) with personality displaying intellect, will and emotion.
This morning we are going to look at being filled or being controlled by the Holy Spirit.
* Every born-again believer has the Holy Spirit.
* The moment you were saved you the Holy Spirit baptized you into the Body of Christ.
* The Holy Spirit also gave you a Spiritual Gift.
A tension still remains within the Christian life as to whether we are going to live in the power of the flesh or seek to yield our lives to God and allow the Holy Spirit to fill us and control us.
WHAT DID THE EARLY CHURCH LOOK FOR IN LEADERS?
Acts 6:3 NIV “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them.”
Acts 6:5 a NIV “This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit…”
They were chosen not because of successful businesses, wealth or educational achievements.
They were chosen because the Holy Spirit’s presence in their lives was evident to all.
As this time there were several thousand Christians. But the basis for the selection for Spiritual oversight and leadership was individuals full of the Holy Spirit.
Living a Spirit-Filled / Spirit-Directed life is God’s desire and goal for every Christian.
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.
Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Eph. 5:18 NIV
Here we see the tension of living to please the flesh of living to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.
Eph. 5:18a NIV
Debauchery (dissipation)
“Extreme indulgence that results in a loss of control.”
* Drunkenness lowers inhibitions and the resistance to sin.
* Alcoholism for thousands of years has destroyed lives, marriages, and families!
I believe that this can also be applied to anything or anyone that controls or affects us in a negative way that diminishes our love for Jesus and desire to walk with Him.
Inebriated with the ways of the world
* Media
* Culture
* Alcohol
* Drugs
* Worldly aspirations
* Anger
Any negative influences that gain a foothold in your life and begin to control you can zap your strength and, before long, the presence of Christ in our lives is like a flame going out.
Eph. 5:15 NIV “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise”
2 Tim. 1:6 NIV For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
We need help being detoxified from these influences!
* Knowing the Word
* Walking with the Spirit
Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Eph. 5:18b NIV
Explanation of “Being Filled”
Command (imperative)
* It means, do this!
* It isn’t a suggestion.
Plural
* Y’all be filled!
* The whole church be filled (Body of believers)
* It is for all the saints!
* It is not for a select group of spiritual superheroes or superstars!
Passive
"Let the Holy Spirit fill you."
NEB
“Our part is to submit, to yield, to allow;
the Spirit’s part is to do the filling.”
The Holy Spirit: Power from on High by Jack Cottrell, pg. 381
Present Tense
* Be filled in the now (present time)
* Being filled yesterday or even an hour ago isn’t the goal.
* Day by day
* Moment by Moment
“Be being kept filled”
Yielding and submitting to the Holy Spirit allowing Him to work through you!
* Being filled is not some zap in the past or a once for all experience.
* That would be like a husband telling his wife:
“I told you I loved you on the day I married you
and if things changed I’d let you know.”
Illustration of “Being Filled”
Permeated
* Mixing sugar in water or coffee
* Yeast in dough
* Salt curing meat
It permeates into the substance becoming a part of it
The Holy Spirit likewise is to permeate our lives!
1 Cor. 6:19-20 NIV Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
Wind filling a sail
* This truth amazed me! I had not heard this before (not even on Jeopardy!)
* The wind does not push the boat forward!
The wind creates a negative pressure (vacuum) in front of the sail which then draws and moves the boat forward!
God the Holy Spirit draws us to live Godly lives and for us to willingly desire to yield and submit ourselves to Him and His control.
2Pet. 1:21 NIV For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Controlled by
* A glove in itself is powerless and useless
* It can sit on a shelf, workbench or on the floor
But when a hand fills the glove it becomes useful.
The glove now with the guidance and power of the hand can produce and complete projects and assignments.
Zech. 4:6 NIV So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.
OUTCOME A SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE
Ephesians 5:19-21
The Holy Spirit permeates right into the core of our heart (what controls us)!
A right heart attitude and affection leads to right living!
Actions from being filled radiate outward like ripples on the water:
The verb – “Being Filled” is linked to several participles which reveal the outcome of being Spirit-Filled looks like in the life of the believer:
Speaking (teaching – Colossians parallel passage)
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
Eph. 519a NIV
It doesn’t mean we go around like this:
“How are you, Brother Jones?”
“Fine, Brother Rick.”
It is about worship!
* Worship has a vertical dimension as we praise and worship God.
* Worship also has a horizontal dimension!
We sing and proclaim truth to one another as we praise the LORD!
* It helps us grow!
* It increases our faith!
No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow’r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow’r of Christ I'll stand.
In Christ Alone – Keith and Kristyn Getty
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Worship is for Christians!
* It is a powerful medium that can reach the unbeliever but not in the way we think of it in our world today.
o Some in the Christian world today believe it is the rhythm, beat and style that reach the lost!
o It is the message being proclaimed through lives filled with the Holy Spirit that leads to transformed lives.
Illustration from Moody Pastor Conference
* One year while at Moody the All Chicago Choir was singing and then leading us in worship.
* The choir was made up of people from every race, nationality, and economic status as well as individuals with special needs.
* It was in the 90s and so every window and door to the outside world was open!
* As the choir, the worship team band, and 1,500 Pastors were all singing and praising the LORD the glory and presence of God was so heavy and weighty in Torry-Gray Auditorium that if an unsaved person had walked in off the street hearing the praise they would have undoubtedly fallen on their knees and wanted to know how to be saved!
It is the power of the truths proclaimed, communicated through lives set free, empowered by the Holy Spirit that testifies to others who need to be set free!
Singing
Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,
Eph. 519b NIV
* Joy should spill out of the life of a Christian continually!
* Joy not based on circumstances but flowing from the inner power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
There’s within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still,
In all of life’s ebb and flow.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Sweetest Name I know,
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go.
He Keeps Me Singing
Thanking
“…always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Eph. 5:20 NIV
Grumbling and a lack of thankfulness seem to permeate our lives and world these days!
Even some of the poorest individuals in America are much better off than much of the world.
Johannas Tauler, 14th Century mystic/preacher one day met a beggar on the road:
“God give you a good day, my friend,” he said.
The Beggar answered, “I thank God I never had a bad one.”
Tauler said, “God give you a happy life my friend.”
“I thank God,” said the beggar, “I am never unhappy.”
Tauler amazed responded, “What do you mean?”
“Well,” said the beggar, “When it is fine, I thank God; when it rains I thank God; when I have plenty, I thank God; when I am hungry, I thank God...Why should I say I am unhappy when I am not?”
R. Kent Hughes, Ephesians pg. 176
Submitting
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Eph. 5:21 NIV
Submit =
* “to arrange under, to subordinate”
* “to sumbit to one’s control, admonition or advice”
* “to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader”
* “voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating”
John 13:4-5 NIV “So he (Jesus) got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
OUTCOME SPIRIT-FILLED RELATIONSHIPS
Ephesians 5:21-6:9
The ripples of how it is seen in our lives explain “Being filled with the Spirit”.
* Speaking
* Singing
* Thanking
* Submitting
But the last one Submitting to one another continues to be expanded upon and explained from Ephesians 5:21 – Ephesians 6:9.
We do not have time to expand each of these. But understand this. The outworking of these relationships: Marriage, Parenting, and Employment must be understood as an outcome of being filled, led, guided, directed and controlled by the Holy Spirt.
Love, Grace, Humility, Honor and respect pulse through these words and concepts.
We cannot miss that or we misinterpret the Scriptures!
Marriage: Husband and Wife
Eph. 5:22-23 NIV Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
Eph. 5:25-28 NIV Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
I can hear some now: “I’m showing her I love her by being the boss!”
It doesn’t say, wives: make your husbands lead or husbands make your wives submit!
It is about respect and understanding God created roles and finding joy and happiness in loving God and one another.
Pat Williams, Senior Vice President of the Orlando Magic discovered this
“Prescription for a Superb Marriage.”
Remember the word: BEST
* Blessing: Speak well of your spouse
* Edifying: Build them up – Praise them in front of your children and others
* Sharing: Do things together (listening, learning, loving)
* Touching: Holding hands and hugging
From Ed Wheat’s Book: “Love Life for Every Married Couple
After reading this I was on my way home from the church when I saw a couple from our church walking down the road holding hands and walking their dog.
This was practicing sharing their lives with one another!
“A normal, solid, reliable marriage is not filled every day with soft, romantic music wafting through the rooms of your home, accented by dreamy, scented candles and bouquets of fragrant roses. A good marriage doesn’t mean you frequently sit for hours in a bubbly hot tub, kissing and hugging each other. After awhile, both of you can’t even fit in the same tub together….and you don’t even want to.”
Embraced by The Spirit by Chuck Swindoll, pgs. 66-67
A superb marriage comes from mutual love, humility, submission and respect.
Parenting: Parents and Children
Eph. 6:1-3 NIV Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Eph. 6:4 NIV Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
These truths are based on the Ten Commandments!
Discipline is needed from time to time. It is a part of parenting.
I believe it was Martin Luther that said:
“Spare the rod and spoil the child – that is true. But besides the rod keep an apple to give him when he has done well.”
Quoted by Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, pg. 212
Wise parenting is based on the same concept of the Holy Spirit drawing us forward like the wind in the sail drawing the ship forward.
We are to lead and guide our children forward to love and honor God, have a proper respect for their parents and authorities and to serve others as they earn a living.
Employment: Employer and Employee
Eph. 6:5-8 NIV Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
Eph. 6:9 NIV And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
Simply put if you are an employer take proper care of those who work for you.
If you are an employee then give your employer a good day’s work.
We are called by God to show our employer:
* Obedience
* Respect
* Sincerity
* Loyalty
* Good will (our heart in our work)
James M Boice: Commentary on Ephesians
Dr. Steve Farrar just released his new book:
How to Ruin Your Life By 30: Nine Surprisingly Everyday Mistakes You Might Be Making Right Now
No one sets a goal to ruin their life!
But a sure way to ruin your life is to live your life directed by self and chasing after the false oasis and traps in our world.
The self-directed life is literally a dead-end street.
Life even for a Spirit-Filled Christian has difficult days.
Chuck Swindoll says we need God in the crisis moments and each day.
“Most of Life Happens in the Middle and that is also where we need the Spirit’s filling. The Spirit of God provides us with the power to live a normal Christian life – an everyday, believable, Christlike life, authentic from one day to the next.”
Embraced by The Spirit by Chuck Swindoll, pgs. 66
Are you keeping short accounts with God?
Are you walking daily depending on God?
Are you yielding your life to Him and a living Sacrifice?
“Be being kept filled”
It shows up in your Life
It shows up in your relationships
This is the Spirit-Filled Life
