Changed by the Stream of the Spirit
We are continuing in our series on Supernatural Springs and this month we are focussing on the Stream of the Spirit.
As always the question to begin:
Do you seek a good life or a changed life?
In our lives, we all have something that we can thank God for.
We all experience different situations, circumstances and opportunities.
Yet each of us have been and continue to be blessed by God.
He has promised to never leave us or forsake us.
When we accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour we are filled with the Holy Spirit and we have the privilege of a constant companion on our journey through this life.
He leads, guides, empowers and dwells in every person who has been saved from the consequences of their sin.
In God’s strength, power, mercy and love, The Holy Spirit helps us in our daily living as we progress to our ultimate destiny - eternity in Heaven worshipping and praising God.
God is with us in the good times and the bad.
His presence is sure and certain.
His promises are Yes and Amen.
As the Hymn writer put it, our faith in God gives us: strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow - Blessings all ours with 10,000 beside.
We know that is truth, yet sometimes the way we live our lives does not really reflect that truth.
We are meant to experience abundant life through our faith in Jesus Christ.
We are meant to live changed, transformed,
spirit-filled lives.
But, somehow life does not always feel good, sometimes we feel low, down, disappointed, unempowered.
Sometimes it feels like instead of flowing in the stream of the Spirit we are just treading water.
Sometimes it feels like the river has gone dry.
Sometimes we feel like the pilgrims of old travelling through a dry and barren dusty land.
And instead of seeking change,
instead of asking God to refresh us,
instead of asking God to lead us to His Oasis of blessing and refreshment we choose to stay in the dry and barren place.
We make camp and wonder why we feel the way we do.
We make do with the resources we try in our own strength and wisdom to gather.
We try to refresh ourselves with the things of the world and end up drained and thirsty for something more.
This evening, I want to encourage us to seek a life that is different.
A life that is transformed, changed, renewed and refreshed by the stream of the Holy Spirit flowing in our lives.
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Everyone who has ever lived, everyone alive today both young and old, are seeking a “good life” - whatever they consider good to be.
People seek purpose, people seek pleasure, people seek happiness, fulfillment, direction.
People search for the meaning of life, but they look in the wrong places.
They seek meaning and change without seeking God.
They look at the world around them, the world under the Sun and completely ignore the God of all creation.
King Solomon, probably the wisest man who has ever lived wrote these words in Ecclesiastes
1:2-11,14
2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”
3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. 6 The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. 7 Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. 8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. 10 Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. 11 We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now. 14 I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind
Without God, there is no meaning to life.
Without God, everything seems completely meaningless - like chasing after the wind.
But with God, life is different.
With God there is purpose.
With God there is meaning.
With God there is hope.
With God there is joy and peace.
With God there can be real change.
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Here is another question for you:
Are you disturbed tonight?
What do I mean by this question..
The dictionary definition of disturbed is troubled, distressed, unsettled, upset, distraught, broken.
Are you disturbed?
Friends, does it disturb you the way some people live their lives without God?
Their attitudes, their actions, their inactions, their goals, their motivations...
Does it disturb you the way some Christians live their Christian lives?
The way they speak, act, and respond seems to be completely different from the way the Bible says they should speak, act or respond.
It is nearly impossible to see any Christlikeness in them.
They seem to be no different to the rest of the world.
They do not live a changed life.
Does it disturb you the way you live your life?
Maybe in your own life you know there are times when you speak, act or respond in a way that you know a follower of Christ should never act.
We should be disturbed by the way we sometimes lives the Christian life.
We may call others hypocrites, yet know in our heart we are guilty too.
The spec and the plank - the pot calling the kettle black.
There are times when we can show less understanding, compassion, and love than those who are not Christians.
When we come to Jesus, we are empowered by the Spirit to live changed lives.
We are meant to live lives that are Salt & Light to this fallen and broken world.
We are meant to proclaim Truth.
We are called to Sacrificial living - placing God’s will and purpose before our own wants, needs and desires.
We can be inconsistent in how we live for God, and we need to be changed by the Stream of the Spirit flowing in our lives.
Flowing in us and through us, cleansing, transforming and renewing, so that we can truly be the people God has called us to be.
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Tonight I want to encourage and challenge each of us to respond to the words of Jeremiah 6:16
This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16.
Tonight I want you to imagine you are standing at the Crossroads and you need to make a choice.
Do you go back the way you came?
Do you continue on?
Do you need to change direction?
Are you actually travelling on the wide road that leads to destruction? Living the worldy way.
Are you travelling on a religious road?
-bound by rules - worshipping out of duty or fear - no deep faith just a superficial journey. no hope.
Or, Are you travelling on the narrow path of faith with The Holy Spirit leading you to the correct destination?
The path to righteousness, holiness and walking right in the sight of God.
Honouring Him on your journey.
Encouraging others to travel with you.
A life changed and transformed by the Stream of the Spirit.
For us to truly travel that path, there are 5 things required from us:
Decision
Devotion
Discipline (of self)
Determination
Dedication
Decision
Our changed life begins when we decide God is real and we repent and and come to faith in Jesus Christ
Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him!” (John 14:6-7).
Until God becomes real to us, our lives are incomplete, unhappy, and empty.
It has been said there is a God-shaped hole within the human heart that cannot be filled with anything except Jesus.
We could study nature and discover the greatness of God.
We could study astronomy and come to a conclusion concerning the eternity of God.
We could study philosophy and come to the conclusion that God is intelligent.
But we can only come to know God personally,
we can only be in a real relationship with our loving Father God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Devotion
Our changed life involves devotion to following the will of God
Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:1-2 Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
(Romans 12:1 – 2).
Paul wrote to the followers of Jesus Christ in Rome about two essential things to live a changed and transformed life, two things that are necessary for us to prove in our own experience that the will of God is good, acceptable, and perfect.
First the devotion of our body to God - the external condition for discovering how good the will of God is for our lives.
Unless we are willing to let our physical being, the way we live our lives everyday, to be completely focussed on serving God’s will and purpose it is impossible for us to live fully transformed lives.
Second, Paul speaks of the transformation, the renewal of our mind - the discovery that dedication to the will of God must be part of our daily walk that leads to a changed and transformed life.
Paul encourages us to not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewal of our mind.
In this sinful, mixed up and broken world, people do not naturally think the thoughts of God.
We must accept in our minds the teaching and thoughts of Jesus, we must let the Spirit of God reshape, remold, recreate and renew our attitudes.
So that we can truly discover, in our own experience the will of God for our lives.
We need to be devoted to doing and following the will of God.
Discipline, self-discipline
A changed life requires voluntary self-discipline along the way.
It is more than just desiring the right destination for our life.
It is more than just making plans of what we could do.
It is pressing forward everyday towards our ultimate destiny.
It is more than just a vague desire to follow God.
It is more than a couple of hours on a Sunday,
it is the self-discipline to surrender the things that draw us away from God’s plans and purposes for our lives.
A changed life is a worthwhile life.
Proverbs 14:2 Those who follow the right path fear the Lord; those who take the wrong path despise him.
Proverbs 15:32 If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.
Proverbs 16:2-3 People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives. Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.
Proverbs 19:20 Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life.
A self-disciplined life is a worthwhile life.
Determination
The pathway to a changed life requires determination along the way.
It is not enough to know the pathway that leads to a changed life.
It is not enough to admire the pathway that leads to a changed life.
It is not enough to plan to choose the pathway to a changed life.
We must be determined day by day to walk in our changed life, the good path that leads to the right destination in our lives.
Dedication
A changed life requires dedication along the way.
we need to learn how to conquer any inconsistency in our daily walk.
Let me use the disciple Simon Peter as an example. Peter’s life reveals the truths that we need to follow so that we can conquer inconsistency in our lives.
The author Alexander Whyte wrote, “The four gospels are full of Peter. After the name of our Lord himself, no name comes up so often as Peter’s name. No disciple speaks so often and so much as Peter. But no other disciple was as inconsistent as he was.”
The truth is many of the causes of Peter’s inconsistent behaviour are the same as ours.
At times Peter was overconfident.
Of all of Christ’s disciples, Peter was the most likely to speak up first.
He was overconfident about his loyalty.
He was overconfident about his strength.
And maybe He was a little overconfident about his maturity.
Peter did not always draw on the spiritual resources of God. It seems, just like we so often do,
he could react or rush into a situations without prayer.
Perhaps Peter’s most well known inconsistency was just a few hours after he had declared in Luke 22:33 “Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you, and even to die with you.”
That same night Peter denied he was a follower of Jesus or that he even knew him.
Do you hide your faith from those around you?
Luke speaks of how Peter sought the Lord’s forgiveness: Luke says “Peter went out, and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62).
He had been so vocal about his commitment.
But he had failed.
In the darkness of that night, Peter wept,
he knew his sin, he wanted to be forgiven.
Who would have thought that a man like Peter,
a man who was so inconsistent, could have been used by God?
Who would have chosen him to preach the sermon on the day of Pentecost?
Friends, Peter was able to conquer his inconsistency, and we can too, but we can’t do it in our own strength.
We need to surrender completely to God’s purposes and plan for us and allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide.
Listen to the words of the song:
Let your living water Flow over my soul,
Let Your living water flow over my soul,
Let your Holy Spirit come and take control,
Of every situation that has troubled my mind,
All my cares and burdens on to you I roll.
Father, Father, Father.
Give your life to Jesus, let Him fill your soul,
Let Him take you in His arms and make you whole,
As you give your life to Him, He’ll set you free,
You will live and reign with Him eternally.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
Come now Holy Spirit and take control,
Hold me in your loving arms and make me whole,
Wipe away all doubt and fear and take my pride,
Draw me to your love and keep me by your side.
Spirit, Spirit, Spirit.
Let your living water flow over my soul
Let your Holy spirit come and take control,
Of every situation that has troubled my mind,
All my cares and burdens onto you I roll.
Father, Jesus, Spirit
Let me close with the question I began with:
Do you seek a good life or a changed life?
The pathway to the changed life begins when we accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
We must allow him to lead us and guide us.
We must be willing to accept Him as Saviour and also as Lord.
We must be willing to let him take control.
Jesus is the only way out of the frustration of failure
Jesus is the only way through a life of hardship,
Jesus is the only way through difficulty and disappointment,
Jesus is the only way through to an abundant life.
Jesus is the only way to a changed and transformed life.
If you want to walk the right path, live a changed and transformed life it is only by faith in God,
If you want to find the good, changed and transformed life, you will find it only through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit
Trust Jesus your Savior and let him truly become the Lord of your life.
Amen
