#1 in Series on Holiness
April 27, 2003
The Call To A Promise
Acts 2:38-39
The Lord has sent out a call to every corner of this planet. Just as He called Moses out of the desert, called Samuel in the night, called Paul on the road to Damascus, He calls us to come to Him, for He has a great gift. God made us a promise; one that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, and that He would redeem us to Himself and give of Himself to us.
The story is told that one day a beggar by the roadside asked for alms from Alexander the Great as he passed by. The man was poor and wretched and had no claim upon the ruler, no right even to lift a solicitous hand. Yet the Emperor threw him several gold coins. A courtier was astonished at his generosity and commented, "Sir, copper coins would adequately meet a beggar’s need. Why give him gold?" Alexander responded in royal fashion, "Copper coins would suit the beggar’s need, but gold coins suit Alexander’s giving."
This gift is greater than we deserve and greater than our need, but it suits God to give Him to us.
Jesus said, “ If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:13)
Now God is not giving us something that is a bonus for our actions. It is not a gift that is something like one of those Christmas gifts that we get, that while we appreciate and can use it, is something that we don’t really need.
When God, in the beginning, took a lump of dirt and began to design us, He created a complicated and intricate design that requires many things to make it function correctly.
We know many of these things: food, water, shelter, companionship. With these things, we can achieve a certain amount of functionality that can get us through this life. But it’s like trying to drive a car with a flat tire. You can make some progress, but eventually, the tire will completely come off, create huge stresses on the car, and these stresses on the car will eventually bring it to a standstill.
There’s one thing that we need that is part of our design that is absolutely essential to us
being able to reach our full potential. We cannot obtain this on our own, it cannot be bought, as Simon the Sorcerer learned the hard way, it is a gift that only God can give us.
As you know, I am a sound system buff. My equipment is not the “top-of-the-line” but it is of good quality. For it to work, it has certain requirements. I have an Electro-Voice 7100 stereo power amplifier. I know that there are some of you that will say, “What’s a power amplifier?” I will just simply say, “It’s what makes you hear the music.”
It’s not very large in size, it fits in my road case very nicely, but it can, when properly operated, make itself useful in a nice size auditorium. It even looks good. Now, you have to be a sound system buff to think a piece of gear actually “looks good,” but I think it does.
I can plug in my mixer and CD player, for example, and plug in the speakers and turn on everything on. There’s just one problem, I don’t hear any music. I think, “What’s the problem?” I look around and go, “Duh! I have to plug it into the power receptacle in the wall.”
Then, suddenly, I hear music! What was the difference? You got it, NO POWER!
We have all the right equipment to reach our fullest potential in this life. In a sense, our life can make some beautiful music, we have that potential. But it won’t happen until we are “plugged in” to the power source, the Holy Spirit.
That is God’s gift to us. He designed us so that our lives can make beautiful music if we are connected to Him.
Now several things are going to happen when we go to get plugged in and receive the Holy Spirit.
I. WE WILL BE CLEANSED FROM SIN.
Quite a few years ago, when I was beginning to acquire my first sound system, I needed a reel-to-reel tape deck, but good ones were singularly expensive, beyond my modest budget.
One day, someone I knew came to my house carrying a case. He opened up this case and it turned out to be a top quality Akai reel-to-reel tape deck.
He told me that he had found this at the dump. He didn’t know how it got there, but all the parts seemed to be there and thought I might could use it. I thanked him and he went on his way.
It was filthy dirty and it didn’t work. I took some cleaner and began to clean the outside of it. I cleaned every dial, knob and every part I could reach. When I finished, it looked brand new! There was only one problem, it still didn’t work.
So I took it to a repairman and he took it apart. The inside was dirtier than the outside. He thoroughly cleaned it, adjusted the switches and gear work, and replaced a couple of tubes. And when he plugged it in, it worked like brand new!
That’s just like us. When we are down in sin and it nearly destroyed us, we, in our feeble efforts will try to “clean-up” ourselves. We may look good on the outside, but the problem is on the inside. It’s the dirt on the inside, our sin, that keeps us from functioning properly.
When we repent of our sin, the Bible says, “He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. “ (1 John 1:9)
But not only does He clean us from sin, He repairs the damage that sin does. He fixes us so that we can operate to our full potential.
II. WE WILL BE MADE PERFECT.
Matthew 5:48 says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
There is a bumper sticker that is popular among Christians. It says, “Christians are not perfect, just forgiven!” I believe I understand what that statement is trying to say, “We are Christians, God has forgiven us, but we are still going to make mistakes!” If that is what it means, then I will agree with it. But I think that it is also misleading, for one of the basic tenets of the Bible is based on this scripture, the concept of “Christian Perfection.” Jesus would not have commanded it if He did not expect us to live it. So to be able to obey His command we must understand what He meant by being “perfect.”
We know from sad experience that it is impossible to live this life perfectly, never making mistakes, always doing the right thing at the right time, saying the right thing at the right time, having perfect judgment about all things and understanding all things. If this is
what Jesus meant, we are in big trouble, for there is no way we can ever live up to this command. But if He meant perfection to be total commitment of one’s spirit, soul and body to cause of Christ, that is something that is obtainable. Not attainable, but obtainable. For a perfect heart is a gift of God.
We are perfectly directed toward God. Do we still make mistakes? Of course. But these are not sin. The imperfections of the mind, will, and body are part of the imperfection of this life that will pass away. But the intent is pure, and that is the measure of perfection.
III. WE ARE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.
There is a lot of confusion about what the “filling with the Holy Spirit” means.
As you know, I am a techno-geek. Not only do I like sound systems, I like computers. I have only been involved with computers for about the last three years, so I’m not as “techno” as some people.
When I first got my computer, my phone bill was considerably higher because I spent a lot of time consulting with the experts at Hewlett-Packard unwrangling some of the messes I got myself into. Now there was no one there to stop me when I got into difficulty, when I got to the point where I didn’t know what else to do, I would then call them, and they would help me straighten things out.
I have often imagined what it would be like to have a computer expert living in my home. His sole purpose would be to sit at my elbow and watch me while I worked on the computer. If he saw me doing something that would cause me problems, he would stop me from doing it. He would then explain how to perform the job I want to do properly.
That’s what its like to be filled with the Holy Spirit. When we are first saved, the Holy Spirit is there, on call. If we get into difficulty, we call on Him and He answers. He helps us straighten out our difficulties.
But when we are filled with the Spirit, He comes to live in our heart in His fullness. He is there, at our conscience’s elbow, guiding us through life and helping us stay out of difficulty before we even get into it.
The Holy Spirit feels, thinks, wills, and, as the
Comforter, speaks to your heart. He guides you into all truth, and assists you in prayer. He intercedes, inspires, instructs, and warns you.
He can be resisted, or rejected, and thus grieved by you negative reactions to His directions, but He is there, surrounding you with His presence, keeping you safe in His arms.
CONCLUSION
God calls us to accept His promise. He promised that He would send His Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit, this gift, gives strength to maintain a pure heart and to do God’s will. It is the power to testify, to meet spiritual confrontations and overcome victoriously.
He becomes the “control center” of our life. He empowers us, motivates us, directs us, anoints us, and blesses us.
"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17)
