The Spirit-Filled Life (Part 4) Series

The Spirit-filled Life (4)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 6/11/2017

For the past few weeks we’ve been exploring key passages of Scripture that teach us vital truths about who the Holy Spirit is and what He is anxious to do in our lives. In the first week, we learned about the Person of the Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit isn’t an it, He’s a person—God the Holy Spirit), we learned about the Presence of the Holy Spirit (that He indwells and infills every believer), and we learned about the Power of the Spirit (that He enables and empower believers in various ways).

In week two, we learned how to listen to the Holy Spirit and examined the three primary ways that He still speaks to us today—through His Whispers, His Witnesses, and His Word. Last week, we discovered the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12 outlined the Plethora of Spiritual Gifts, the Purpose of the Spiritual Gifts, as well as the Problem with Spiritual Gifts and how to overcome it.

So as we bring this series to a close, I want to spotlight one last role the Holy Spirit plays in our lives. And we find a clue to that role right there in His name.

The Holy Spirit goes by many names in the Bible. He’s called both the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. He’s called the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Life. He’s called Comforter and Teacher. But the name He’s most identified with is Holy Spirit. Ninety-seven times the Bible calls Him the Holy Spirit. Yet we sometimes lose sight of that word holy when we refer to the Spirit or when we discuss the work of the Spirit in our lives. God’s ultimate purpose for indwelling us with His own Spirit is to make us holy.

What does it really mean to be holy though? Well, it doesn’t mean living a life of silence and solitude like some monk in a monastery. It doesn’t mean that we draft a list of do’s and don’ts to live by. A holy life is not an “as good as I can be” life. What does it mean, then, to live a holy life? It means living life God’s way rather than our way. It mean choosing to be led by the Holy Spirit day by day and being transformed in the process. Paul actually describes this transformation in terms of fighting, following, and fruit in Galatians 5.

If you have a Bible, open it to Galatians 5. Paul dedicates ten verses to this topic and, even though it’s a lengthier passage, I’d like to read the whole section before we dive into the text.

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other… When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control… Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. (Galatians 5:16-25 NLT)

In this passage, Paul uses three key words to describe our relationship with the Holy Spirit, how He gets ahold of us and transforms our lives. First, he describes the fight of the Spirit.

• THE FIGHT OF THE SPIRIT

How many of you are familiar with the Incredible Hulk? If you’re Marvel movie fan, you’ve probably seen the Hulk in action, fighting alongside the Avengers. But originally, the Hulk wasn’t envisioned as a hero. Back in 1962, Stan Lee described the Hulk as a “brutal, bestial, mockery of a man… a savage marauding monster… the most dangerous living creature on earth.” As the story goes, an explosion of gamma radiation transforms a scientist named Bruce Banner into the Hulk. True to his name, the Hulk towers head and shoulders over normal human beings. His arms are as thick as tree trunks and more powerful than pile drivers. Within the first two pages of his first appearance, the Hulk smashes through a brick wall, crushes a jeep, and overpowers a squad of armed soldiers. The contrast between the Hulk and his alter ego, Dr. Banner, couldn’t be starker. Stan Lee writes, “Where Dr. Banner had been gentle, the Hulk was a brute! Where Banner had been civilized, the Hulk was a savage! Where Banner was a man, the Hulk was a monster!” Guilt-ridden by the destruction and damage the Hulk causes, Dr. Banner spends all his energy and resource trying to control or conquer the Hulk. But every time he gets angry or loses his temper, the monster reemerges wreaks havoc.