INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Do you feel overwhelmed by life, tired from the struggles, fearful of the future?
• How many of us live in the city of Worryville? How many of us have housing in the new Stress Village subdivision?
• Life can be very tiring, tough and stressful. We can feel alone as we face our daily struggles.
• Do you think that God wants to add to your stress? Do you think He gives you a bunch more things to try to add to the stress of your life?
• Do you feel alone?
• Did God save you so that He could sit back and enjoy watching you struggle?
• We are like the hypothetical people that Max Lucado speaks of who live in Tuckered Town.
• They have nice cars that they are pushing everywhere they go.
• They get in to the car, start it, put it in neutral, then they get out and push the car everywhere they want to go.
• The whole time they are pushing, they have this thing called the gas peddle in the car that if they would use it, they would get where they are going a lot faster and a lot easier.
• Do you realize that many of us are trying to life our lives by our own power?
• We are struggling with sin, life and other issues. Are we trying to live by our own strength?
• Do you know that when you come to the WELL of God to drink, He gives you some special refreshment?
• SLIDE #2
• Last week we focused on accepting God’s Work on the cross, which allows us to experience God’s Grace! God’s work on the cross allows us to be defined by His grace.
• This week we are going to focus on accepting God’s Energy!
• When we come to Him for refreshment, He does not leave us with nothing, He does not leave us to go through it alone, and He does not leave us powerless!
• Today we are look at the wonderful gift of God’s Spirit.
• One of the reasons life gets so difficult for us is because we try to do it alone. One of the things that has to be frustrating for God is the fact that He has given us a gas peddle to push down for more power!
• It is time for us rely on God’s energy. Are you ready to come to God’s well this morning? Let us look at the power God has given to each of us!
• First we need to grasp the fact that….
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. GOD‘S SPIRIT RAGES WITHIN US.
• God’s Spirit- God’s power, unseen, undeniable presence is pulsating through our heart canals! Have you ever thought of the Holy Spirit raging inside of us?
• That is how John depicts it in the Gospel!
• If something can well up, it is raging. This leaves us with something we do not realize all the time.
• SLIDE #4
A. We have some untapped potential from which to draw from!
• SLIDE #5
• John 4:14 (ESV) but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
• Jesus says that those who drink from the water that He offers them will NEVER thirst again. We have the untapped potential of the flow of living water!
• God’s Spirit within us gives us power to overcome sin, the power to overcome the obstacles of life, the power to live for Him.
• You do not have to do ANYTHING alone! God is in you.
• SLIDE #6
• Acts 2:38 (ESV) And Peter said to them, “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.
• You cannot live for Jesus without God’s Spirit. The gift God gives to you is the indwelling presence of His Spirit.
• Until you place your faith in Him, repent, and confess Him as you Lord, and submit to being immersed, you do not have the gift of the Spirit in your life.
• When you are immersed into Christ, you get the gift, once you get the gift, you will find life changing for you.
• SLIDE #7
B. He is there whether we feel Him or not.
• Whether you feel Him or not is unimportant. Whether you understand Him is insignificant. God assured us that His Spirit is indeed with in us in a mighty and powerful way!
• In John 4:14, Jesus does not tell us that the water could gush out or could gush out, or even has been known to gush out, it says it WILL!
• If you are an immersed believer, you HAVE the Spirit within you.
• This is one of the reasons we do not wait to immerse people quarterly, we will do it when you are ready to accept Christ because baptism is part of the process of salvation, it is where your sins are forgiven and where you are buried with Christ and where you receive the gift of the Spirit.
• SLIDE #8
C. We can do far beyond what we are capable of doing.
• When we have God’s Spirit within us, we are capable of doing far more than we ever imagined we can do.
• SLIDE #9
• Philippians 4:13 (ESV) I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
• If God wants us to do something, He will give us the strength and energy to do it!
• You will be able to do more than you ever imagined when you have His Spirit within you!
• If Gods Spirit is in me, then why am I having such a hard time with things, why I does it seem like I am on a treadmill with my faith?
• NEXT we need to embrace the fact that….
• SLIDE #10
II. GOD’S SPIRIT FILLS US.
• This is a thought we need to truly embrace because embracing this blessing can change how you live your life!
• Being filled with the Spirit is not an option for the Christian.
• ALL who are immersed into Christ receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!
• SLIDE #11
A. God commands us to be filled.
• If something is gushing out of something, you would think is happening because the container is so full it cannot hold it all.
• For the waters to be gushing out of us, we have to be overflowing with the water the Spirit gives to us.
• SLIDE #12
• Ephesians 5:18 (ESV) And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
• A vessel can only hold so much. To be filled, you need to make room for the Spirit in your life. It is like Christmas. Your child gets more toys, they do not have room for them, so what do you do? You clean out the old toys so you can bring in the new.
• The way the verse is structured made the readers see BE FILLED in capitol letters, it was the emphasis of Ephesians 5:18.
• God gives us a full measure of the Spirit, but for us to have this, we need to clean out some closets in our life.
• Here is something we need to get a hold of.
• SLIDE #13
B. We should not ask for more of the Spirit, we should ask the Spirit to get more of us!
• I hear people asking for more the Spirit in their lives, what they really need is less of them, and then more of the Spirit can get a hold of them. More of Him and less of me should be our plea!
• The thing that gets in the way of the Spirit is ME. The Spirit is not the problem.
• We need to quit spiritualizing our own ways and paths and decisions and get out of the way and let the Spirit REALLY control us.
• The way you can tell if the Spirit REALLY controls you is by seeing of the fruit of the Spirit is becoming more evident in your life.
• SLIDE #14
• Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
• NEXT we need to embrace the fact that….
• SLIDE #15
III. GOD’S SPIRIT SEALS US.
• The Holy Spirit is God’s mark on us- His guarantee that we belong to Him!
• SLIDE #16
A. The Spirit is God’s promise that we belong to Him!
• The Spirit is God’s tattoo on us. God can look at us, see the Spirit in us and then know we are His!
• SLIDE #17
• 2 Corinthians 1:21–22 (ESV) And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
• When you give yourself to God, you are His.
• This should have a dramatic impact on our life. Knowing that we belong to God should help us to do the right thing no matter what our circumstances.
• We want to strive to live in such a way that we please the Spirit within us.
• We are not CHEAP vessels designed to be cheapened, we are SPECIAL!
• SLIDE #18
• Ephesians 4:30 (ESV) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
• NEXT we need to embrace the fact that….
• SLIDE #19
IV. GOD’S SPIRIT DESIRES A RESPONSE FROM US.
• Having all this at our disposal requires some sort response.
• We are not called to just sit on the wonderful gift we have from God. But we do need to…
• SLIDE #20
A. Wait for His power.
• Who has time to wait? Waiting doesn’t mean inactivity. Waiting means watching for Him. If you are waiting for your spouse to come, you are watching for them.
• When I was a boy, my brother at I would stay glued to the window waiting for my grandparents to come to see us from Kansas. We were filled with anticipation.
• You are watching for God, searching for God and hoping for God. Great promises come to those who do!
• SLIDE #21
• Isaiah 40:31 (ESV) but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
• As you wait on God, you will see God’s power working in you. We have a tendency to try to run ahead of God and do things with our own power and strength.
• After we crash and burn, we get upset at God. We need to wait for God, but our waiting does not mean we sit around doing nothing.
• One thing we do is try to stay away from sin. Many times we will sin in an area because we will not wait on God. We cheat ourselves out of a special blessing when we do.
• The other thing we need to do is…
• SLIDE #22
B. Invite Him to fill every corner of your heart.
• While you are waiting, invite Him to occupy EVERY inch of your heart!
• Without Him we are in trouble.
• I want you to look at this glove. Can it pick up anything; can it hold my wife’s hand? Can it do anything on its’ own? What is it missing?
• What the hand is to the glove, the Spirit is to the Christian!
• The Spirit is what makes us what we are, if we ignore or will not allow the Spirit to guide us will render us useless.
CONCLUSION
• As a Christian, you have all the power you need for all the problems you face. Do you desire God’s Spirit? Here is what you do.
• You give your life to Jesus, then you let Him have you!
• Will you come to the WELL of God’s grace, would you like to receive God’s energy in your life?
• If you are a Christian and have not been using God’s energy, you can change that today!
• Let’s quit trying to do it on our own, let us start relying on God’s energy, your life will be much better for it!
