BE A SOBER DRUNK

Acts 2:1 -13

1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 

2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 

3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 

4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 

5  And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 

6  Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 

7  And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 

8  And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 

9  Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 

10  Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 

11  Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 

12  And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? 

13  Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. 

BE A SOBER DRUNK

I know what you’re saying about the

title of this sermon. It sounds like an

oxymoron…you know…two opposing

words placed adjacent to each other…

like the song, A Hard Day’s Night…or

referring to a woman as being a LITTLE

PREGNANT. Or calling war, peaceful

force! It’s surprising how many of

these oxymora we speak, AND

completely UNDERSTAND!

The title of this text today is certainly

an oxymoron…BE A SOBER DRUNK.

The question that instantly comes to

mind is, “How can someone who is

drunk be sober? Or how can someone

who is sober be drunk?” When you’re

drunk you are unreliable, weak,

obstinate, contrary, needy,

dependent, and not thinking clearly.

And when you are sober you are

steadfast, strong, amenable,

agreeable, self-controlled, and

thinking clearly. The two just don’t

mix.

Nevertheless, the men and women in

our biblical text today were sober

drunks, but they were drunk with

something other than wine. They were

drunk with the Spirit of God.

Am I talking to any believers in God’s

house today? Have you ever been

drunk with the Holy Ghost? Let me

help you answer my question.

Have you ever been moved to

volunteer for a task that was beyond

your abilities?

Have you ever gone through a period

of great stress and wondered how you

were able to handle it?

Have you ever prayed so long and hard

that you lost all awareness of time?

Have you ever found yourself tolerant

and forgiving of someone who

deliberately offended you?

If you answered YES to any of

these questions, then you have

experienced being drunk with the Holy

Ghost. Because it took the Holy Ghost

in you for you to come out as pure

gold in these situations.

You may have been sober but you

were also drunk.

What does a sober drunk have that

someone drunk on something else

does not have?

First, a sober drunk has power.

That power comes from God. Every

believer is invited to FILL UP at God’s

filling station. I like the way Ephesians

5:18 puts it: “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”

Sometimes it’s hard to tell a Believer

from a sinner. Maybe it’s because

some Believers let their fuel tanks run

dangerously low.

· They offer no prayers to God in their

home.

· They seldom show up for Sunday

School or Bible Study.

· The Bible on the coffee table is little

more than an ornament.

· They show up for worship once or

twice a month.

They’re worshipping the Lord on what

can be called “Faith Fumes”. It’s no

wonder they can’t draw others to

Christ, because they can hardly trigger

a flame themselves!

They are desperately in need of being

FILLED with the SPIRIT!

A sober drunk is different. He’s hooked

up to heaven’s fuel tank all the time.

And his hook up guarantees him

continuous fuel for his journey. In fact,

he’s got power to spare! And when

you’re around him, his desire is to fill

you up with his excess!

Some Christians are like chameleons.

They just adapt to their surroundings.

They change with the social climate in

an effort to fit in. But the Believer

who’s FILLED with the Spirit has no

desire to fit in. Instead, they cause the

surroundings to adapt to them.

There’s a reward for this kind of

Believer. God’s blessings rest on those

who refuse to be Chameleon

Christians.

So a sober drunk has power. But

there’s more.

Second, a sober drunk has position.

As a child of God, you are uniquely

situated as one of God’s own. For this

reason, a sober drunk has an

inheritance. And the inheritance does

not come solely at death. No. The

Word promises blessings in the here

and now to those who are DRUNK with

the Spirit. The Word says, “Blessed are

they that keep judgment, and he that

doeth righteousness at all times.” (Psalm 106:3).

I don’t know about you, but I want to

position myself to receive God’s

continuous blessings. I want Him to

reign down blessings on me because

He has adopted me, through Jesus

Christ, and promised me a place in His

ancestral lineage.

We make such a big deal about earthly

positions. We esteem those who rise

to President, Vice President, or

Chairman. Nowhere is that more

evident than in the Church, where

there is often a power struggle for

coveted positions of leadership. I once

read that one Christian said, “Just let

them TRY to take me down from Usher

President. I’ll show them a fight!”

Imagine fighting to hold a position

down here, and at the same time

risking losing your position UP THERE!

Shouldn’t we covet the greatest

position we hold as Believers…the

position of being a child of the King?

King David knew the value of his

position, not as a king but as a

believer. That why it’s no surprise to

read his words, “I will bless the LORD at

all times: his praise shall continually

be in my mouth.”

A sober drunk has power and position. But there’s one more…

Third, a sober drunk has purpose.

There is a reason why we need to be

filled with the Spirit at all times. 1

Peter 5:8 gives us a reason: “Be

sober, be vigilant; because your

adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,

walketh about, seeking whom he may

devour:”

Weak Believers moan about their

circumstances and accuse God of

forsaking them when things are not

going well. If they were filled with the

Spirit they would recognize that God

never forsakes His own. The reality is

that we live in a world ruled by Satan.

We, who are the called of God, are not

OF THIS WORLD. But since we have to

live here for a time to serve God and

work to convert sinners, we need to

know how to combat the enemy.

That’s what we are here for…to battle

against the forces of evil that would

steal the souls of our loved ones.

We need to come to the full

understanding that man is made up of

mind, body and soul. The soul is that

part of you that makes you feel guilty

when you know you shouldn’t be

where you are, or drink what you are

drinking, or say what you are saying,

or do what you are doing. The soul is

always uncomfortable in those

situations, because your soul is pure

and does not desire to live in an

impure environment. When your soul

is subjected to sin, it is CUT OFF from

God, because God CANNOT dwell in an

unholy place. So the next time you feel

your soul (the Spirit in you)is

uncomfortable maybe you should

listen. It’s for your own good.

However, when you are drunk with the

Spirit, your soul is connected to its life

source…the Lord. That’s when the

Holy Ghost’s tap is turned on and your

life takes on new purpose. You can run

from that purpose, but it does not

absolve you of your purpose. It just

makes you a renegade, a defector or a

run-a-way Believer. And you end up

failing…not only failing the Lord, but

failing yourself as well.

As a sober drunk we have power…We

have position…We have purpose. The

Holy Ghost pours out His strength on

those who stay focused on the prize…

the prize of the high calling in Christ

Jesus.

Pentecost was the second great

festival of the Jewish year. It was a

harvest festival when firstfruits of the

grain harvest were presented to God.

In like manner Pentecost symbolizes

for the church’s the beginning of God’s

harvest for souls in the world.

While the priests may have been in the

Temple offering the first loaves of the

new harvest, in celebration of the feast

of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost came as

the first fruits of our inheritance.

Suddenly there was a sound that was

heard throughout the city. There was

no wind, but the sound of a rushing,

mighty wind. Suddenly, as each

looked on the rest, he saw their heads

crowned with tongues of flame. Each,

too, became suddenly aware of a

drawing toward the Lord, of a longing

to see Him glorified, and of a vast

enlargement and enhancement of

spiritual joy and power.

When presently the vast crowd

collected to know the meaning of the

sound they heard in their own tongue,

the wonderful works of God. The Holy

Ghost used the telepathy of mind and

heart, so that involuntarily the speaker

clothed his thoughts in a language

borrowed from his hearer’s

vocabulary. This was the sign of

Babel’s undoing. The church was now

infused with power from on high.

And we are the church. Our spiritual

compass points others toward heaven.

God wants you to know that your

smallest act or choice of words might

set in motion influences that could

change the course of someone else’s

life. You could be the sole source to

affect their destiny.

Let’s get drunk with the Holy Ghost,

and let the Spirit fill us with His power.

Let’s get drunk with the Spirit, and

allow the Spirit to position us for

greatness.

Let’s get drunk with the Spirit, and get

busy fulfilling our purpose as the

“called of God”.

On the day of Pentecost, the disciples

were filled with the new wine of the

Holy Ghost that was prophesied by the

Prophet Joel hundreds of years

before. They found themselves at

God’s filling station…

The place of power, yielding to

God’s Spirit, accepting God’s salvation,

resting in God’s peace, and witnessing

of God’s power.

The place of position, submitting to

God’s authority, committed to God’s

cause, surrendering to God’s Will.

The place of purpose, ready to do

God’s work, saving lost souls, caring

for God’s people, and anxious for

Christ’s return!

So come to the fountain and drink up, Saints!

Drink from the fountain of Power.

Drink from the fountain of Comfort.

Drink from the fountain of Anointing

and Glory.

Drink from the fountain of the Holy

Ghost.

This is the secret of our joy.

The power of our witness;

The strength of our victories;

Drink up!

This is the motivation for our teaching.

The inspiration for our singing;

Drink up!

This is the anointing for our ministries;

The comfort for our souls;

Drink up!

And let’s all become sober drunks!