Sermon Tone Analysis

The Necessity of the Spirit

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God’s Word for Life Sunday!

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Lesson Connection

Spiritual Necessities

There was a man by the name of George.

George had worked at this plant for almost 20 years when rumors started swirling (as they sometimes do) that there was a “downsizing” was coming.

He knew that his seniority would be a factor in all of this.

But yet, there he sat in his truck in the company parking lot, holding a letter informing him that his position was being eliminated.

What were they going to do?

He and his wife had gotten used to a comfortable lifestyle.

And now, suddenly, money was going to be tight.

Every purchase was going to have to be evaluated more closely and carefully.

They were going to have to discern better between needs and wants.

After the kids were in bed that night, they talked about it awhile, and then they took hands together and prayed.

“God give us wisdom while we wait on you to provide a new job.”

The peace of God came into the house, like only prayer can bring.

And then they turned their minds to the budget.

Vacation was going to have to be delayed.

More meals in, less meals out - they would make it work.

And thankfully, God soon opened up another door for work because of their faithfulness and prayer.

They made it out of that, but it changed their perspective on what mattered, financially.

In economics, it’s what you call “necessity goods.”

It’s the last things customers stop buying when their income goes down.

And generally, necessity goods are divided into eight categories: food, utilities, communications, housing, transportation, medicine, education, and services (daycare, dry cleaning, etc.).

But… there are some spiritual necessity goods, also.

Spiritual necessity goods are those things that we have to have if we are going to be in a right fellowship with God.

As a matter of fact (I want to say this definitively), in order for that relationship with God to be right, these are things that WILL be there.

They are: a prayer life… repentance… faith… obedience… daily consuming the Word of God… submission… water baptism… a pastor… a local church family…

And… there’s ONE gift that we cannot purchase, yet we HAVE to have.

It’s the Holy Ghost.

Without it, we might have religion.

But we don’t have relationship that leads to eternal life.

Being filled with the Spirit is an absolute must to live a victorious life and be ready for a new, eternal life.

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And this series I am starting today (which will extend into the first Sunday of 2023) is all about the gift of the Spirit.

It is my prayer that maybe some burning questions are going to be answered, and also there is going to be a renewal of the fire of the Spirit in you… and who knows - it might burst out freely all over this room in one of these lessons!

Jesus Stressed the Necessity of Receiving the Spirit

So, what about this Spirit thing?

Jesus - very early in His ministry - chose to have an off-the-record conversation with someone.

These are the types of moments that are coated in mystery.

If it happened in our time, conspiracy theorists would be all over it.

“What ACTUALLY happened???” “You just KNOW there’s something there!”

It was a conversation with Nicodemus in John 3.

This guy was a member of the Sanhedrin.

All you need to know there is that it was the highest ruling body among the Jewish culture, with immense influence and power (perhaps not unlike the U.S. Senate, in our culture, except with much more religious bent).

Nicodemus had listened to Jesus teach.

He had watched Him perform miracles.

And after all he viewed, he was desiring to speak with Him about it and learn more.

Again, here we see a SEEKER who has come to know more.

And he succeeds due to his desire.

I’ve recently heard leaders in Christianity down the idea of seeker-based Christian living.

I BEG TO DIFFER.

So, Nicodemus is seeking.

But, he felt it best too approach Jesus in the darkness, so as not to tarnish his social standing.

And he came by night…

So, there was some faith in that statement!

It might be limited faith, but faith, for sure!

And Jesus got ahold of that little bit of faith, and introduced a most important thing to humanity:

Now, that phrase “born again” is entirely common to us today.

But think about how confusing and strange that must have sounded to Nicodemus.

Born again?! That’s not physically possible!

And the answer Jesus gives is one of the most foundational parts of the New Testament church.

So you’ve got being born again of the water (water baptism in Jesus name).

And that’s a worthy and wonderful subject.

But THIS lesson today is centered on the second half of Jesus’ instruction in that verse: being born again of the Spirit.

When the Holy Ghost was poured out n Acts 2, that experience Jesus told Nicodemus about become a REALITY.

And check this out… at the time, when Jesus told him that, he didn’t say that a believer would be well served by receiving the Spirit.

Nor did He say that we can be a better Christian if we receive it.

And He didn’t merely recommend it.

He just very simply COMMANDED it.

“You must be born again.”

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Receiving the Spirit Requires Faith and Involves a Sign

Now, of course, today we have a great advantage over Nicodemus.

He had never heard of someone being baptized with the Spirit.

But we have such a testimony about it that we can say that millions and millions of people have experienced it today!

And we know they have because, as Jesus instructed, we have heard the sound.

There is a sound associated with the infilling of the Spirit that is unique to it and completely confirms it.

When you take a look at the various times in the Book of Acts when someone was born again of the Spirit, you can observe that there was a consistent sign from Heaven showing the Spirit had filled them.

Just like in Acts 2, every person will speak in an unknown tongue when they are first filled with the Holy Ghost.

I Must Receive the Spirit to Be Born Again

What was true for Nicodemus is true for each of us also.

There is only one way to be born again: we must be filled with the Spirit of God through a miraculous Spirit baptism!

And anything less does not bring us into obedience to the teaching of Jesus!

Jesus says, “You must be born again, of water and of Spirit.”

And the Christian world is going to have to come face-to-face with this.

We ALL are!

It is upon each of us to make this desire personal.

More than just accepting this teaching as a church body (that we have to be born of the Spirit), salvation is PERSONAL.

“What do you mean, Bro.

LaRue?”

Well, I will not automatically be filled with he Spirit simply because I attend a church that believes this way.

There are many who are a part of a local church that believes this.

They go to church on Sunday, they feel goosebumps, and assume they have the Spirit.

You don’t have to assume - THERE’S A SIGN!

I don’t receive the Spirit baptism just by being part of a family that has this heritage.

I could claim all kind of things because of my dad and his dad and my mother and her mother.