Where do we go from here?
I personally had to watch last week’s sermon a couple of times to get it all myself. If you were not here or missed it because of serving please go to Facebook or our app and listen to it.
This week I want to do, what I believe is a follow-up to last week….
The challenge the Lord gave us was to impact our world and the only way we could do that is by being filled with the Holy Spirit. As Christians we have accepted Jesus’ death and resurrection, the price he paid for us so three main things could take place
1) Our sins could be destroyed so we could have a relationship with the one who loves us the most. Colossians 2:14
2) Satan was defeated and his hold on us because of sin would be broken off, the legal right he had over us was broken Colossians 2:15
3) The Holy Spirit will come to empower you to be His witnesses John 16:5-7
The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit famously in Acts 2 but then again later in Acts 4 after Peter and John had been persecuted we read this.
Acts 4: 29 – 31
Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
The in-filling, or baptism in the Holy Spirit gives us the boldness not only to find renewed strength after a battle but to go beyond strengthening to overcoming.
Some believe they receive this infilling when they came to Christ and some did but allow me to show you something from scripture
Acts 8: 12-17
But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip performed.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. 15 As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. 16 The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Then Paul ran into this in Ephesus Acts 19: 1-7
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. 2 “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them.
“No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked.
And they replied, “The baptism of John.”
4 Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”
5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
The Holy Spirit is with you as you have come to Christ and for some they are filled with the Holy Spirit when they accepted Jesus as their Lord and savior but
- If you are missing the zeal to share the greatest message ever told
- If none of the gifts are evident in your life that are listed in Romans 12 or 1 Corinthians 14, 16
- If you struggle always and have to fight for joy, love, peace…..
- If you don’t have a hunger for God’s word or time in prayer
If these things are missing from your life, you may very well need to choose to be filled with the Holy Spirit
We will always battle our flesh and demonic powers which cause some difficulties for us in fact
Jesus said in this world we will have tribulations. The apostle Paul told us that we would have battles.
Ephesians 6:12, 13
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand
Spiritual battles can only be won with spiritual weapons. The Holy Spirit enables us to function with these spiritual weapons. You can read about some of them if you continue reading in this chapter.
Regarding the Holy Spirit we often talk about gifts as manifestation of power. After all it was the tongues that drew the 3000 to Christ. Which is the part of the purpose of the gifts of the Spirit but it is the fruit that sustains them day to day let’s take a look at another scripture.
2 Timothy 1:7
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”
Fear can overwhelm us – do we have enough money, what if I get sick, does the boss like me, what’s going to happen to my kids what’s going on in this country, the economy, my future? Just to name a few. Did I hit one of yours?
God has called us to live in a Spirit of power, a Spirit of love, Spirit of soundness of mind.
The Holy Spirit filling gives us this. His pouring into our lives gives us all we need.
Please notice here the balance between power and love. We need the power gifts and we need love. Paul could have mentioned any portion of the fruit of the Spirit but He specifically mentions love.
We need the gifts of the Spirit such as prophecy, words of knowledge and wisdom, healings and miracles to show signs to the world of God’s great power. We need gifts of administration, faith, mercy, leadership, giving, hospitality to gently show the world God’s power.
The power is nothing without love.
1 Corinthians 13:1 – 3
If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.
2If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.
3If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.
The Holy Spirit fills believers so that we can accomplish Jesus’ commissioning of us. His challenge to us was go into all the world. He said he would give us power to be Hs witnesses but he challenged us that they will know we are his disciples by our love one for another.
Fruit of the spirit is….
Galatians 5:22,23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self- control. Against such there is no law”
The Holy Spirit reigning and ruling in our lives will keep us filled with all of the fruit.
We don’t always want to be kind, loving, joyful, encouraging but the Holy Spirit fills us with power to be all of these things and more.
He is the Spirit of truth and the truth is we are overcomers, we are powerful, we are called to do and see amazing things and all of these things will be ruled by love.
A love that reminds us of how much we are loved and enables us by love to:
- pour out love into the unlovable
- be at peace even in the middle of the most intense storms
- causes us to delight in doing good works
- causes us to long to be obedient to Christ
- gives us a generous spirit to give of our time, money and energy
- causes us to see people and circumstances the way that Jesus sees them.
- And so much more
The Holy Spirit is God in the spirit available for all of us. He is the power in the church.
Celebrate today by allowing the Lord to fill you for the first time or refill you with His Spirit