LIVING A SPIRIT DRIVEN LIFE
“KEEPING YOUR TANK FULL”
TEXT: Ephesians 5:15-21; Acts 4:31; Luke 11:13
INTRO:How many of you like going to the Gas pumps now of days!
It is crazy to think how much money we are paying for a gallon of gas, and they say that the end is not in sight. In Northern California, here in Quincy, We are paying on an average the highest amount in the Nation. $2.50 a gallon.
But here is the kicker- We will pay for it, we will pay the price, any price, because we like not having to walk, we like our cars, we like the power we have when we are in them.
Some may choose to drive less, or even carpool now and then, but for the most part, nobody is going to give up their cars.
It is funny, that in the physical world, we will do anything, pay any price for the fuel to give our vehicles power. Most of us will not even let our tanks go much below a quarter of a tank before we are right in that station filling back up again.
What about your “Spiritual Tank”?
How long do you go before you fill that tank up with fuel and power?
Do you feel this morning you are riding on Fumes???
Is your tank DRY?
Just like the fuel for your car, we are dependent on it and get it from a King from the Middle East-
The Middle Eastern King we get our fuel, our Anointed Oil from, Is Jesus Christ-
And Jesus, our King does not charge $45.00 a barrel for his Oil-
It is a FREE gift- Not just a one time gift, but a gift that we can go back and get more and more and more…
Last week we uncovered the promise of God that he would “Pour out His Spirit in the last days”. We also learned that God did this on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2.
Two things happened:
1. God GAVE (Poured out His Spirit) to the Church- By evidence of two of three witnesses, Fire and Wind- the third witness of the Holy Spirit is Oil.
2. The 120 in the upper room RECEIVED the Holy Spirit.
I know a lot of believers Pray for God to send His Holy Spirit to His church, I myself may have even been guilty of this in the past, however, we need to understand the truth, or the matter, and that is that God has already given His Spirit to the Church, our prayers should be more in line of…God help us live in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit, and cultivate fruits in the Spirit.
All over the World, believers are receiving the Gift of being filled with the Holy Ghost- .
For example:
· The Pentecostal, Spirit Filled church in Latin America is growing so fast, that they can not train pastors fast enough.- Missionary Jerry Brown
· The Largest Protestant church in the world is a Spirit Filled Pentecostal Church- Soul Korea
· Lives are being changed in Cuba today- Castro has now allowed the doors of churches to be reopened, however, the stipulation is that they have to be Spirit Filled Pentecostal Churches- James Braddy
· The new numbers come from the 2004 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, published recently by the National Council of Churches. The Pentecostal bodies in the top 25 are newcomer the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.), with 944,857 members (25th); the Church of God in Christ, with 5,499,875 members (4th); the Assemblies of God, with 2,687,366 (10th); and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World Inc., with 1,500,000 (tie 16th).
God’s Gift to the Church is being received by his people- You today may even remember the time that you received the Gift from the father- But here is my Question:
Hove you received lately?
When was the last time you were filled?
How well is your life in producing “Fruits” of this gift.
ILLUS: The great violinist, Nicolo Paganini, willed his marvelous violin to Genoa -- the city of his birth -- but only on condition that the instrument never be played upon. It was an unfortunate condition, for it is a peculiarity of wood that as long as it is used and handled, it shows little wear. As soon as it is discarded, it begins to decay. The exquisite, mellow-toned violin has become worm-eaten in its beautiful case, valueless except as a relic. The moldering instrument is a reminder that a life withdrawn from all service to others loses its meaning.
Bits & Pieces, June 25, 1992.
PROP.SENT: The Bible commands us to ..be filled with The Spirit. This is not a command of a one time experience, but a continued filling, influencing every aspect of our lives including transformed relationships, dynamic ministry and enhanced worship, which includes a personal prayer language.
I. RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT
A. Gift form God!
Luke 11:13 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!"
Do Christians receive the Holy Spirit when they are saved? If so, how is this experience different from the baptism in the Holy Spirit?
Yes, when persons accept Christ, the Holy Spirit begins a great work in their lives. The Spirit convicts them of sin, convinces them of righteousness, and dwells within them (John 6:44; 14:17; Roman 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13). No one becomes a Christian without this gracious work of the Holy Spirit.
However, there is an additional and distinct ministry of the Holy Spirit called the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The Baptism is an empowering gift from God the Father that is promised to every believer
Matthew 3:11; Luke 11:13; 24:49; Acts 2:33, 38-
Scripture teaches us that after a person is a believer, God has the Gift of the Holy Spirit, or the Baptism of the Holy Spirit-
I know some teach that this Baptism in the Holy Spirit is the same thing as a person becoming saved, and the Holy Spirit takes up residency. However, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, came after one believes.
On the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit was received by 120 BELEIVERS.-
It helps the Christian to live a holy life and also brings a new devotional attachment to Jesus Christ, making Him very real and precious.
The primary purpose of the Baptism is to give greater power for witnessing (Acts 1:8). Other benefits include a greater joy in spiritual service, and a heightened sense of one’s mission to the world.
We will share more on this a little latter.
B. Gift that keeps giving!
Acts 4:31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Once a person is baptized in the Holy Spirit, why is it necessary to be refilled later?
On the Day of Pentecost 120 disciples (committed followers of Jesus) were "filled" with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). This fulfilled the promise Christ had made to them a few days earlier. He had said, "John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:5). But this initial experience of being baptized in the Holy Spirit is only the beginning of a lifelong experience. God wants us to remain filled with the Spirit.
ILLUS: Perhaps an analogy will best clarify this. As Christians we may be compared with a reservoir for producing electrical power, like one of those you see when you drive down the canyon. When we accept Christ, construction of our reservoir is complete. We now have the potential to be useful and to affect lives. But until the flood gates are opened and the cascading river waters pour through, no power is realized. So it is when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit. We open our lives to God and the Holy Spirit pours into us and through us. It is then we become most effective in God’s service.
As with the reservoir, this power-generating experience is not intended to be a one-time occurrence. It is to be an ongoing process. When our spiritual power runs low, we need to return to the Source and let the blessed Holy Spirit pour into us again, bringing fresh power.
This happened to the early followers of Jesus. Peter and John they had already been baptized in the Spirit; but later on, when persecution arose, they needed a new surge of spiritual power; so they prayed to the Lord once again and "they were all filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 4:31).
As the Spirit-filled believer serves the Lord, there is an expenditure of spiritual power. It becomes necessary for him to open himself afresh to the Holy Spirit in order that his power may be replenished.
The command in our text today Ephesians 5:18 is literally, "Keep on being filled with the Spirit." Here lies the secret of Spirit-filled living. The Spirit-filled life is a continuous process of receiving and giving, of being filled and sharing with others, of receiving power from God and spending it in gospel service.
II. LIVING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
How do you know if you are living a spirit filled life?
Is the any signs that we need to be aware of, any warnings?
A Spirit-Driven Life is believers who has
A. Transformed Relationship! (desperately seek more of GOD. )
Psalm 42:1, 2 “As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God.”
There was an evangelist in the 19th century named Charles Finney who led about 500,000 people to the Lord in his lifetime. This was before microphones or mega churches or televangelism.
All Finney had going for him was the power of God working through him. Finney said that revival is nothing more and nothing less than a new beginning of obedience to God, starting in God’s people.
Finney believed that Christians were more at fault for not being revived than sinners are for not being saved.
Judgment begins in the house of God. Revival comes when we Christians get serious about obeying God. The Lord wants to shake up His people, big time
The question is… will we let Him?
ILLUS: “If our churches don’t pray, and if people don’t have an appetite for God, what does it matter how many are attending the services? How would that impress God? Can you imagine the angels saying, "Oh, your pews! We can’t believe how beautiful they are! Up here in heaven, we’ve been talking about them for years. Your sanctuary lighting—it’s so clever. The way you have the steps coming up to the pulpit—it’s wonderful. . . ." I don’t think so.
If we don’t want to experience God’s closeness here on earth, why would we want to go to heaven anyway? He is the center of everything there. If we don’t enjoy being in his presence here and now, then heaven would not be heaven for us. Why would he send anyone there who doesn’t long for him passionately here on earth?” Jim Cymbala, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire
A Person Living a Spirit Filled life, will have his/her relationship to God be transformed into a passion that can not be quenched.
We think that revival is going to disrupt our life – and it will.
But we desperately need our lives disrupted, shaken up. If we’re honest, we’ll admit that we’re living below the level of joy and abundance God has for us.
Revival – personal revival – will bring that joy! But to have it, we must cut loose the sin that so easily entangles us. Every day offers each of us a new beginning of obedience to God.
Empowered not by our fleshly attempts at obedience, but by His Spirit working in us to obey. Today offers that same opportunity, that same new beginning.
· Trust God to show you that same opportunity, that same new beginning.
· Seek after more of God.
· Ask Him to touch your heart and move in a fresh way in your life!
A Spirit-Driven Life is one in which believers maintain a heart of
B. Total Repentance!
ILLUS: Playing Around With Sin
Sammy was a good-looking young boy who lived in the deep south. His summer days were filled with times of walking through the woods, playing with friends, and fishing in the pond down the dirt road Fishing was by far his favorite thing to do. Just about every day during his summer vacation, he would dig up some worms and head off, pole in hand, for a day of fishing.
This steamy hot day was like most others during Sammy’s summer break.
Waking early, he could hear the pond calling him to come fish. Sammy quietly walked out the front door, grabbed his pitchfork and worm pail from the porch, and walked into the woods to search for bait. He turned over old stumps and dug under leaves hoping to find worms. Under one old stump he hit the jackpot. The ground was writhing. In two minutes he had all the bait he needed, and in 15 minutes he was at the pond.
Reaching into his bait bucket, Sammy pulled out a big worm. He double hooked it and tossed it into the water. He noticed a stinging in his hand, but filled with the excitement of the moment, he paid no attention to it. Within 30 seconds, Sammy had a strike and pulled in a nice catfish. Wow, he thought, a fish in the first minute. This is unbelievable!
He put the catch on his stringer, hurried to re-bait his hook, and tried his luck again. Once again he felt a stinging sensation in his hand as he threw his hook into the pond. He didn’t have time to worry about it. Within just a few seconds, he had another huge fish. He fumbled the next time he baited his hook—his hand felt numb and stiff. But Sammy was too excited about catching another fish to give it much thought.
At the end of only an hour of fishing, Sammy had caught eight large fish. This was definitely his best fishing day ever. He was so proud of his accomplishment that, even though there was plenty of day left to fish, he threw the heavy stringer of fish over his shoulder and dashed down the dirt road toward home to show off his catch to his mom and dad.
The local sheriff happened to drive up alongside Sammy and started to congratulate him on his catch of fish. With a smile and a victory whoop, Sammy held up the stringer. The sheriff gasped, parked his car and strode over to Sammy. His eyes hadn’t deceived him—Sammy’s arms really were red and swollen to about twice their normal size. Exactly where have you been and what bait did you use to catch all those fish?" the sheriff asked Sammy, already guessing the answer.
I found some special bait under an old stump," Sammy boasted. "These worms really wiggle good," he commented, handing up the bait bucket for inspection. After a close look at the worms, the sheriff went into fast-forward. Securing the bucket in his truck, he then scooped Sammy and his stringer of fish into the backseat of his patrol car. Spinning a U-turn on the gravel road, he sped off to the hospital, but Sammy was already dead.
What the sheriff had discovered was that Sammy had been fishing with baby rattlesnakes. Sammy’s deadly bait brought him a good morning’s fishing but cost him his life. Had Sammy stopped fishing after that first sting, he could have been saved. One bite from a baby rattler won’t kill a person who gets treatment in time. But Sammy was having fun and didn’t bother himself with the small voice of pain in his hand. Then, as his hand grew numb, even that small voice was silenced.
Playing around with sin is like using baby rattlesnakes for bait. Sinning seems harmless to people who don’t recognize sin and are unaware of its deadly consequences. The more sin you get into, however, the more numb you become to its sting.
In the excitement of the moment, you ignore the still small voice of God warning you of danger and encouraging you to choose life instead of death.
Calloused. Indifferent, Ignorant to the things of God.
We must cry out to God on a regular basis in repentance.
Hebrews 1:12, 13 “Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.”
People lose their hunger for God as a direct result of a hardened heart.
? – Find yourself slipping into a comfortable mode of complacency?
? – Find your thought life drifting off to a place that only concerns the flesh?
? – Consumed with the affairs this life brings?
? – Indifferent to the Holy Spirit’s conviction and guiding?
Allow the Holy Spirit to soften your heart thru repentance!
It is ludicrous to think that we are living a Spirit Filled Life, and then the next moment we are fulfilling the desires of our flesh. Not yielding to the Conviction of the Holy Spirit-
Like the pain in little Sammy’s arm- The Holy Spirit will warn us of danger. But it is up to us to respond.
Remember it is the …little foxes that spoil the vine.
A Spirit-Driven Church is a body of believers who are actively loving and
C. Testifying of the Redemption!.
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The primary purpose for the Baptism of The Holy Spirit- is to empower God’s people with Dunamis – power! To be WITTNESSES of the Testimony of Jesus Christ!
It’s power that we need from God to fulfill the great task of reaching our world. With the Good News of Jesus Christ. Next week I’ll talk a little more about dynamite!
It is thought his POWER we are given the BOLDNESS- Par-rhay-see-ah to evangelize those we come in contact with.
This parrhesia, gives us power to speak forth the word of God, outspokenness, freedom of speech, with frankness and candor. The word denotes a divine enablement that comes to ordinary people, exhibiting spiritual power and authority.
This word also refers to being empowered to give a clear presentation of the gospel, without being ambiguous or unintelligible.
Parrhesia is not a human quality; it is the result of being Filled with the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, one of the greatest and most airtight test, if a person is living a Spirit filled life, is simply- Are you sharing the life saving testimony of Jesus Christ????
I know that I can get myself in to a lot of trouble with some people… However, if you just look at scripture you will find that it is Impossible to separate the two:
Spirit Filled living, equals on hands involvement in evangelism.
After the initial reception of the Holy Spirit, the 120…
Acts 2:11 …we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"
Which led to Peter preaching and Acts 2:41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Acts 2:47 And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 4:4- But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. Solomon’s Porch
We must be careful not to divorce the two:
I know there is a lot of emphasis today on the signs and wonders that come with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit- But signs and wonders are not the test or the primary purpose for the Spirit Filled believer.
How long has it been since you shared the Testimony of Jesus with someone?
A Spirit Filled believer will have a passion for the Lost!
A Spirit Filled Believer will Be constantly emptying him or her self/ always coming back for more of what God will have for them.
I will boldly make this statement:
If you have not given out, what God has given you, then you are probably not living a Spirit Filled Life.
Your life is not filled with LIFE!! You heard me! Spiritually you are dying, In order to grew and have Abundant Spiritual life, You have to give out!!
ILLUS: A natural example of this point can be found by looking at the two seas in the Holy Land. The Sea of Galilee freely receives and gives out water. It has an abundance of life, nurturing many different kinds of fish and plant life. The water from the Sea of Galilee is carried by way of the Jordan river to the Dead Sea. But the Dead Sea only takes water in and does not give out. There is nothing living, no fish or plant life in the Dead Sea. The powerful life giving waters of the Sea of Galilee become dead when mixed with the hoarded waters of the Dead Sea. Life can not be sustained if held onto. –John Bevere, “The Bait Of Satan” Charisma House, 1997, page 12,13.
Church you have to give out, if you are going to survive, if you are going to bring New Life into those around us, we need a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
CONCLUSSION The command to “Be filled with the Spirit” is a command to be continually filled, it is not a one time event. However, we must pour out what God has poured into us. If we are going to have any effect on the world around us, we need to have the power of the Holy spirit working in our lives, we need to make sure we are Living a Spirit Filled Life.
