The Holy Spirit in the life of the Believer

[0:00] Turn with me, if you will, to John's Gospel, again to chapter 14.

[0:14] We're going to read verses 15 to 18. Let's then read together and hear God's Word.

[0:30] If you love me, you will obey what I command, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter to be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth.

[0:50] The world can't accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

[1:03] I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. And God will bless us. To us that reading.

[1:14] Father God, we do indeed pray this morning for a Holy Spirit filling.

[1:40] Revive us, we pray. Help us to get out of this place different than what we were when we came into it.

[1:54] Use us. Fill us free as Lord from self. That Jesus may be glorified in all we do and say.

[2:08] In his name we pray. Amen. As we've looked through John's Gospel, we've seen John chapter 14.

[2:20] We've seen Peter and Thomas and others. And in these verses, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit.

[2:37] Verse 18 says, I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. And today, today I believe God is saying to you and he's saying to me.

[2:54] I will never send you into a situation alone. I go before you. I go behind you.

[3:06] I walk there. I protect you. And whatever situation you are facing today. Be confident.

[3:18] I am with you. Now when we read the New Testament, we discover that when the Apostle Paul asked us, asked to a certain, where a person was or was not a true believer, he asked this question in Acts chapter 19 and verse 2.

[3:51] Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? He didn't ask them, do you speak in tongues or do you do this?

[4:03] Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? Because Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to all who ask him. And the Holy Spirit will have come upon your life this morning when you asked him to be with you.

[4:26] In writing to the church at Corinth, he said, 1 Corinthians 3 and 16, don't you know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

[4:45] Now Paul didn't ask, have you been filled with the Spirit? He asked, did you receive the Spirit? And we receive God's Spirit when we exercise faith in Christ.

[5:02] And we are filled with the Spirit when we relinquish all of self and enthrone Christ unreservedly in our lives.

[5:14] And it's those words unreservedly we have to focus on. Unreservedly. Nothing of self. All of Jesus.

[5:26] But why would Jesus give to us the Holy Spirit?

[5:37] We see in Ephesians chapter 4 we read these words. Ephesians 4 verses 12 and 13.

[5:51] This is the reason. To preserve, to prepare God's people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

[6:19] instead speaking the truth in love we will all things grow up into him who is the head that is Christ.

[6:37] Interesting. There are three things there. To prepare God's people for works of service. that the body of Christ may be built up and to reach maturity.

[6:56] And that's God's purpose in giving to us his Holy Spirit. And we have to ask God that he may indeed fill us to all the fullness of his Holy Spirit.

[7:11] that we may accomplish those things that Paul says. No one, no one has ever known Christ as Lord who has not first made him as Savior.

[7:28] But there are many Christians who know Christ as Savior who do not know him as Lord. In the same way you can't be holy without being cleansed.

[7:48] And you can't be cleansed without being holy. Graham Strogey has said this Christ claims to be Lord of all or he is not Lord at all.

[8:01] Put it simply like this. all Christians have been to Calvary but not all Christians have gone on to Pentecost. And Pentecost simply means a new filling of God.

[8:21] If I were to ask you this morning how many people here are charismatics? What would you say? It's a rhetorical question. The word charisma come from the Greek or the word charismatic come from the Greek charisma.

[8:43] The gift of grace. And every believer is born baptized and dwelt sealed by the Spirit at conversion.

[8:55] So in a sense we are all charismatic. We might demonstrate that in different ways but we all have received the gift of grace when we come to God in forgiveness and seek forgiveness.

[9:11] Paul writing to the church in Ephesus says be filled with the Spirit. And when you look closely at the Greek text you discover that what is being said is be being filled.

[9:29] It's an ever continuing replenishment. Allow God to fill you day by day. Allow God to take from you things that you might be focusing on that are not of Him.

[9:46] And when you do that you'll notice there are three things that Paul is saying regarding being filled with the Spirit. First is this there is to be submission.

[9:59] Be filled. It's nothing you have to do. It's rather something you have to let God to do.

[10:10] Let God do to you. He wants to fill you. He wants our Christian lives to grow not to be stunted.

[10:23] To be like Jesus. To be like Jesus. All I ask to be like Him. In all life's journey from earth to glory all I ask is to be like Him.

[10:34] That's a tall order. But I have to listen to those words. And I have to obey those words. And I have to let the Holy Spirit fill my life to such a fullness that I will see something of Jesus in me.

[10:53] It's also a command. Be filled with the Spirit. You see we're left with no option in the matter. Because God doesn't want two classes of Christians.

[11:09] Those who are Spirit filled and those who are not. But and it's something which has happened in the present.

[11:25] The present tense in the grammar of the New Testament always implies something which has a definite beginning and leads to a course of events and experiences and of happenings allowing God to fill us every moment of the day.

[11:47] Not something we ask God to do tomorrow or next week or next year but we ask him to allow him to do today in our lives. And in that whole aspect of being filled with the Spirit we have to understand there can be no relationship without fellowship.

[12:19] There can be no union without communion. There can be no abundant life without health. There can be no privilege without enjoyment and there can be no movement without progress.

[12:39] Christianity is not just a religion it's a life. It's not only an external ethic but an internal dynamic and transforming experience.

[13:00] And what makes all this possible is what the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished at Calvary his resurrection but also the penetrating power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

[13:17] What did he achieve at Calvary? Achieved through his resurrection and achieved by sending us the Holy Spirit the powerful person who wants to motivate us day by day.

[13:33] James Stuart in his book Opened Windows says this there are many sincere Christians who are living defeated lives because they are not aware of the full provision which is theirs in Christ to be filled with the Spirit.

[13:59] how many honestly can say here this morning that I am filled with the Spirit day by day to allow God to work in our lives and so fill us in changes.

[14:18] And Jesus in these verses in John chapter 14 promises the disciples the Holy Spirit. to the one who denied and doubted and those who asked questions and those who fled at his crucifixion he said to them I will send to you the Holy Spirit don't be afraid he'll transform you by his infilling power if you're fearful or anxious or weak as those men were here make sure you receive the Holy Spirit in your life and his promise became a fulfillment you notice in Acts chapter 2 the place was filled and then the people were filled

[15:21] God never leaves a vessel empty God wants to fill this church to the rafters with the Holy Spirit he wants to he wants us to know the importance of the Holy Spirit in our life and when that happens those disciples knew obedience guidance truth knowledge life peace contentment understanding and victory and when we're really filled with the Holy Spirit certain things begin to happen there's a new consciousness of Christ that is we begin to look at things and people and situations with the eyes of

[16:26] Jesus we begin to see people as Jesus would see them begin to see how God is working in each other's lives we begin to see Jesus and him manifesting himself through our brothers and sisters in Christ in other words we compliment each other God gives to us different gifts doesn't give us all the same gift because he knows what we need and how we can use it for his glory a new consciousness of Christ a new awareness that Jesus is not just in my life but he's in yours and we can see it a new conception in prayer and that simply means this that there's a new desire discovering the power of prayer in our praying tourists told of a young lad in a cathedral city who was trying in vain to reach the brass knocker on one of the doors and one of the more exclusive streets and as he was trying to reach this knocker the bishop passed by and the bishop saw him and he said son can

[17:59] I help you yes sir and so the bishop with all the regalia reached up and knock knock knock and then the boy said let's run for it and sometimes we're like that in prayer we run before God has a chance to answer waiting expectantly in expectancy expectantly do we do that in our praying because he gives a new hunger and we begin to see God working through our prayers we sense of power and excitement of answered prayer and sometimes God wants to surprise us with joy have you been surprised by God's joy in your prayer your prayer life life and we also see that there's a new

[19:16] Christ likeness and character not just seeing but doing and overflowing in joy counting it all joy to suffer for Christ grace in Acts chapter 5 we read these words the apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering this grace for his name but previously to that to that verse they were told this when the disciples prophesied if it is not from God you will not be able to stop these men you will only find yourselves fighting against

[20:17] God so let's believe and understand that God gives us the power and wherewithal to pray in such a way that he will deliver and answer the prayers in his will how we must desire a Christ likeness of character as Jesus prayed as we follow his example in prayer as we seek the father's mind and will and purpose not to be disappointed but to pray in expectancy and belief and there is a new communicativeness of Christ wherever we go St.

[21:13] Francis of Assisi turning to a young brother in the ministry said let's go into the town and preach they passed through the market along the main road and all the avenues and then coming to the hill leading to the monastery his companion said to him when shall we begin to preach St.

[21:38] Francis answered we've been preaching all the time and that is a spirit filled Christian not being turned on to witness at certain times but letting our actions speak louder than words and when we do that people will listen people will see and people will ask us questions when we have the opportunity to be able to tell them what God has done for us J.

[22:21] Edmund Orr in his book entitled The Church Must First Repent has some sobering thoughts regarding believers especially in relation to churches that John writes about in the book of Revelation he talks about them being paralysed rather than powerful and needing to repent which is maybe a repulsive thought to some even in congregations today I remember being in a church and God gave Lynn and I a vision about the church having to come and repent and renew and someone said what have I got to repent of how sad it was not necessarily meant for that day and age it could have been to repent for something that happened days before years before what have I got to repent of have we ever said that what have I got to repent of as I look at my life in the past how I've lived for you

[23:42] I see my failures my faults I see there are days when I've doubted you when I've done things that you've not been pleased with and that's those times I need to come and repent of I see some things in the church that people have done and said in churches not just this church that we seek forgiveness and repentance and when we do that God will fill us with his spirit do you believe it but we first of all as Edmund Orr says we must church must first repent let's not assume that we're too good or too holy to repent we all need

[24:42] God's forgiveness in our lives we all need to know repentance we all need to have that infilling of the spirit in God in our lives that God will give to us and God will bring to us and God will do for us one day a communist said to a pastor I have a sneaking regard for your Jesus but I am sure I see no connection between him and the life of your church when we look into the book of Revelation and see those seven churches five of them needed to repent and some of the characteristics of the church at the

[25:44] Odysseer were lukewarmness self satisfaction half heartedness indifference can any of those characteristics be seen in my life if so I need to repent but what about you what about this church do we need to repent do we need to do we need God to fill us anew and afresh some many years ago you remember Elba Edinburgh and Lothian Baptist Association somebody wrote a paper he did a survey of the churches in Elba and it was entitled as others see us if any revealing but there are times we need to have a

[27:04] Holy Spirit audit which can be revealing painful excruciating hard hard to hear but in the long term very beneficial how do you think this church would react if the elders said to you I'm not saying they've discussed this they're not but what if we were to say to you we need to have a Holy Spirit audit would you be willing to participate in it to lay yourself bare that God may show you the things in your life and my life which are not of him the little idiosyncrasies that sometimes keep the church from growing the way it should being built up as God wants us to it's a challenge

[28:18] I believe it's a challenge today for churches to seriously think about having a Holy Spirit audit and that can mean change change we don't like change do we it means the difference between remaining comfortable and remaining challenged be filled with the spirits Paul says Jesus says and some have found that there is no prayer that God is so swift to answer as a prayer that he might break us F.B.

[29:16] Mayer said in the life of every Christian Jesus is present but in some he's not only present but prominent and in others he's not only present and prominent but preeminent spirit of living God full of fresh in me break me melt me move me fill me spirit of living God full of fresh oh Lord I want you to do that in my life do you pray the same prayer C.T.

[29:57] Studd Charles Thomas Studd the missionary and the cricketer is involved in the first ashes test he said this I pray that when I die all hell will have a party to celebrate the fact that I am no longer in the fight and yet we have to realise that we follow on from the studs of this world no longer in the fight but we are that God may fill us and use us to all his fullness there's a verse in Joshua chapter 3 verse 5 conjugate yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you do you believe that do you want that to happen behind every promise the condition which has to be met the

[31:18] Lord will do amazing things among you that's the promise the condition we have to consecrate ourselves I mentioned C.T.

[31:33] Stud let me just say this in closing C.T.

[31:45] stood was fearful his wife to be might become so occupied with him that her thought of the Lord Jesus Christ might not have first place in her life that she put him before Jesus and so he wrote a little ditty and asked her to recite this every morning it was this Jesus I love thee thou art to me dearer than Charlie ever could be and oh that we would simply take those words and put our partner's life or others names in that sentence

[32:48] Jesus I love thee let me make this personal sorry Lynn Jesus I love thee thou art to me dearer than Lynn ever could be and when we come to that point of recognizing that Jesus is more important than anybody else in our lives we've cracked it because he fills us to all the fullness a new conception of Christ likeness in our lives to follow him unwaveringly constantly that he indeed would fill us overflowing God wants to fill your life just as much as he wants to fill my life now remember your life's full and

[33:54] I apologize if I I'm saying something I shouldn't to some of you guys maybe you are living that life where you're the fullness of God's in you let others see that but I have to say Lord there are times I fail you there are times I don't do as you want me to do and I want a new infilling of your Holy Spirit today now in this place maybe that is your experience too and maybe you'd like someone to pray for you and ask that God would indeed fill you afresh to open your heart up your life up your whole being up your whole future up that you can see what

[35:05] Jesus is going to do and is doing for you Father God thank you for your Holy Spirit help us realize the importance of him in your church in our lives help us not to make him second place but help us to enable him to be priority in our lives that others will see the greatness of God in what we do and what we see that we would love each other by this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you love love God love your neighbor love your friends love your church and may that be seen and evident in our lives

[36:15] Lord change us where we need to be changed and fill us fresh and new in your name I pray Amen What God