Word of Salvation – Vol. 32 No. 01 – Jan 1987

 

Be Filled With The Spirit

 

Sermon by Rev. L. A. Stokes on Ephesians 5:14b-21

Reading: Exodus 35:30-36:1; Acts 2:1-4, 12-18; Ephes. 5:8-21

Singing: 317, 95, 396, BoW.H. 13, 397, 491.

 

Brothers and sisters, people of God!

The word "charismatic" is one of those words that conjures up all sorts of feelings and emotions.

 - For some it brings back bad memories;
friends and relatives who left our church and went charismatic.

 - Others use it as a derogatory label:
"Is it true that the church at such and such is going charismatic?"
"Did you know that Reverend so and so is a charismatic?"

 - For others it just raises a whole lot of questions.
Why are charismatic churches full and overflowing?
Have they got something we haven't got?
Have we missed out on something?
Is this God's great outpouring of the Spirit before Jesus comes again?
What if we're wrong and they're right?
What's wrong with my faith: it seems so dull and boring!

No matter what our reaction, and whether we like it or not, the charismatic movement is a challenge to every Christian and to every church.

 - It challenges us to rethink our own position.

 - To re-evaluate our own church, what we do and why we do it!

 - And it leaves us with the inescapable question:
            HAVE THEY GOT SOMETHING WE HAVEN'T GOT?

Ephesians 5:18 leaves us with the same sort of challenge:

            "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to riotous living.
              Instead, be filled with the Spirit."

(I prefer to use the words 'riotous living' rather than the word debauchery.  The Greek word is the same that is used in the story of the prodigal son – when he wasted all he had in riotous, wild living.)

Paul says: 'Be filled with the Spirit!'

We have to ask ourselves:
            - Am I filled with the Spirit?
            - Is this congregation Spirit-filled?
            - What does it mean ... what is it?
            - What happens when a Christian is filled with the Spirit?

I want to answer two questions about being filled with the Spirit:
            1.  WHAT IS IT?
            2.  WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU'VE GOT IT?

1.  WHAT IS IT?

e.g.  Are we like buckets with holes in them?
            Leaking buckets that need to be constantly filled with the Spirit!
            We could call this the "Liquid view" of being filled with the Spirit.

Is the Spirit some sort of genderless substance that's poured into Christians?

Or is being filled with the Spirit like a drug?

And Christians are spiritual junkies who constantly need another fix...?

One more pill to pop!  One more shot in the arm?

Wasn't it Karl Marx who said: "Religion is the opium of the people"?

If we want to know what it is to be filled with the Spirit then the place to begin is the Bible.

Which people in the Bible were filled with the Spirit and what happened to them when they were filled?

In the book of Exodus God told His people to build a tabernacle.  He chose a man called BEZALEL, whom He filled with His Spirit to do this great task.

The Bible says:
            "...the Lord has chosen Bezalel, and has filled him with the Spirit of God... to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship...!"

In the times of the Judges, God chose men like Gideon, Jephthah and Samson to deliver his people.  And of each one of them it is said: "...the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him."

The Old Testament set the pattern.  When God fills people with His Spirit He fills them for a purpose – for a special task.

On the Day of Pentecost the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit.  And what happened?

 - they spoke in other tongues: they communicated with others.

 - Peter proclaimed the gospel, and 3000 people were converted in one day!

In Acts 4 Peter was once again filled with the Spirit.  And when he was filled with the Spirit he preached boldly!  Acts says: "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly."

In Acts 13 Paul was filled with the Spirit when he rebuked Elymas the sorcerer.  He told him that he was a child of the devil, full of all kinds of deceit and trickery... and Elymas was struck with blindness.

When the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, saw this he believed: "...he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord."

Acts tells us that when they chose deacons they chose men: "...full of faith and the Holy Spirit."

When a Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit he speaks the Word of God boldly and people get converted.

 - Are we speaking the Word of God boldly?

 - Are people getting converted?

"Do not be filled with wine... instead, be filled with the Spirit!"  Here is an important clue for what it means to be filled with the Spirit.

When a person gets drunk we say that he is "under the influence"; or we say he is "full".  He is under the control of alcohol.  So it is with the Spirit.  To be filled with the Spirit is to be under His influence; under his control.  It is to be full.  When we see a Christian bubbling over with excitement about the Christian faith then how often have we heard others say: "He's full of it!  Or "She's full of it"?

Alcohol is not a stimulant, it's a depressant.  It knocks out the higher centres of the brain.  And that person no longer behaves as he normally would; it leads to excessive riotous behaviour!  But the Holy Spirit is not a depressant.  He is the one who stimulates Christians.

Jesus said: "When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you shall receive POWER!

Isn't this what we want to see in our own lives, and in the life of the church?... POWER!  Power to change and alter our lives!  The power to praise and serve the Lord.  The power of the fruit of the Spirit.

To be filled with the Spirit is to be under His influence.  So we should not resist Him, abstain from Him.  We should drink Him in.  We need to recognize also that the Holy Spirit has partners.  He cannot be separated from His partners.  THERE IS THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE WORD AND THE SPIRIT.

When the Spirit works He works through the Word – His partner.  How much time have you spent in the past week filling yourself with the Word?  Or have you been so busy filling yourself with other things that the Bible has sat on the shelf?

To be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with the Word.  Remember, in the book of Acts when Christians were filled with the Spirit they spoke the Word of God boldly ... they were filled with the Word!

AND THERE IS THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN CHRIST AND THE SPIRIT.

The great work of the Spirit is to lead us to Jesus Christ.  In John's Gospel Jesus says:

"When the Counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth... He will testify about me!"  "He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.”

The self-effacing third person of the Trinity does not testify about Himself, but testifies about Jesus.  No one is more Christ-centred than the Holy Spirit.  The Bible does not say: 'Fix your eyes on the Spirit'.  It says: "FIX YOUR EYES ON JESUS."

Those who are filled with the Spirit are filled with what Jesus Christ has done, is doing and will do!

To be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with a person.  When two people are in love each one is filled with the other.  They write letters to each other; they talk about each other; they cannot stop thinking about each other.  They are filled with the other person!  Or to change the analogy: As a drunk cannot stay away from the bottle; the Spirit-filled Christian cannot stay away from the Gospel.  This is what it means to be filled with the Spirit.  Now we look at the second question:

2.  WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU'VE GOT IT?

 - Do you live each day on a perpetual emotional high?

- Do you dance in the aisles and leap for joy?

- Do the frozen chosen become the happy clappies???

-

One thing's for sure: The church wakes up!  The Spirit is the Spirit of freedom.  Where the Spirit is that's where freedom is – the freedom to praise the Lord.  The freedom to express our deepest affections; our trust and joy in the Lord.  And also to express our emotions in the church.

According to the Bible, what happens when a Christian is filled with the Spirit?  It's all there in the context of Ephesians 5:18!  Congregation, what happens when you've got it is REVIVAL!  We need revival!  When Christians are filled with the Spirit the church revives.

Do you think your Christian faith is dull and boring?  Maybe that's because it is dull and boring!  Ephesians 5:14 tells us, "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."  Have you ever been asleep and someone comes in and a few inches from your ear shouts: WAKE UP...!!  One thing's for sure you won't stay asleep!  This is what the Spirit is saying to the church: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead..."  And we will not only be the Reformed church, we will also be the Revived church.

Being filled with the Spirit is often thought of as some sort of mystical experience – some sort of divine zapping!  And yet, when we look at the Bible, above everything else being filled with the Spirit is PRACTICAL!  It's as practical as Bezalel being filled with the Spirit so he could build the tabernacle!  Verse 15, "Be very careful then how you live... making the most of every opportunity."

Being filled with the Spirit is not just about how we feel; it's about how we live.

 - The Spirit-filled Christian is very careful how he lives, and makes the most of opportunities.

How many opportunities will God give you this week to present the Gospel to someone else?  What will you do with them?  It affects our thinking – our understanding: "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."  How a man thinks so he is!!

To be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with JOY.

 - The joy of sins forgiven.

 - The joy of acceptance with God through Jesus Christ.

And the unbeliever says: "These Christians are happy; what are they so happy about?"  And then we make the most of that opportunity to proclaim Christ.  And because we are full of joy we sing and make music in our hearts to the Lord.

 - No mournful dirges!

 - Spirit-filled Christians!  You can hear it in the way they sing!

To be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with thankfulness!  "Always giving thanks to God ... for everything, in the name of Jesus Christ!"

Did you hear the fullness words?  "Always" and "for everything."  How practical it is!

Those who are filled with the Spirit talk to each other.  Paul says: 'Be filled with the Spirit' and then he says: 'SPEAK TO ONE ANOTHER.'  You cannot be filled with the Spirit while there is someone with whom you are not on speaking terms.  When Christians are filled with the Spirit they speak to each other.  And what do they talk about?  They speak to one another with Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs are all about Christ, and what the Lord has done, and what the Lord is doing.  What we are full of is what we talk about!

 - What will you speak about after church tonight/this morning?

 - And what will you talk about tomorrow and the next day?

I know what you will talk about... you will talk about whatever it is that fills you!

Spirit-filled Christians not only speak to one another, they, also SUBMIT to one another.  They know how to bend the knee to each other, and they know how to honour others above themselves.  I've had Christians say to me: "I bend my knees to no one except to God.  That is wrong!  When the disciples washed each other's feet the only way they could do it was to bend down on their knees!  Do you know how to submit to each other?  OR are we saying with our lives 'I submit to no one'?

CONCLUSION:

"BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT."

WHAT IS IT?

 - It is to be under the control and the influence of the Holy Spirit.

 - It is to be filled with the Word.

 - It is to be filled with what the Word and Spirit are full of: ...Jesus Christ!

"BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT.'

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU'VE GOT IT?

 - the church is revived, we wake up from our sleep.

 - we make the most of opportunities.

 - we have a new way of thinking and understanding.

 - we're happy and joyful: we sing and make music.

 - we're thankful for everything.

 - we speak to each other and we submit to each other.

You see now why Paul gives this command in the present continuous tense: Be filled and keep on being filled!  As every new day begins we are commanded: Be filled with the Spirit!

 - Are we a Spirit filled church?

 - Am I a Spirit filled Christian?

 - What is my life full of?

MAY THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD FILL US WITH JESUS AND HIS POWER.

AMEN.