DO NOT BE UNAWARE

Now, to get onto the topic for this morning.

Last week, we talked about the baptism of the Spirit. I understand that was a new topic for some of you and I know that I threw a lot of information at you last Sunday.

I want to thank those of you that remembered our commitment to each other this week! Candace and I have had the chance to talk with a few of you that brought questions about the last few weeks. Thank you! Thank you for holding up your end of the commitment. I know that there are still questions. Please reach out and let’s continue the conversations.

It’s important to ask questions. Because if you are asking that question, there is probably 4-5 other people asking that same question.

So, today a want to make sure that I was clear on a few sermons and maybe bring some things together and clarify better some of things that you brought up to help those who might be asking the same questions.

I want to recap these 4 phrases that we see in Scripture about the Holy Spirit. I realize that it has been 7 weeks since we talked about the first two phrases… A bit of a gap between those and these last two. The Lord took us on the stronghold side track that was necessary. But its been awhile and you may have missed that message or last week. So, let’s bring them together and make sure we are clear on these phrases in Scripture.

The indwelling of the Spirit. Ephesians 1:13-14 & John 20:21-22

Ephesians 1:13–14 ESV

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

This passage tells us that when you hear the good news of the gospel and believed in Jesus Christ and His salvation, at that moment, you were indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This deposit, is the guarantee of your eternal salvation!

Think about that, the guarantee of your eternal destination is not held by you but by God. His Spirit is the mark of a redeemed sinner and the promise of salvation.

Praise the Lord that it doesn’t rest of me.

John 20:21-22 is the first example that we have of this happening.

John 20:21–22 ESV

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

The disciples saw the resurrected Jesus and obviously believed in Him. And at the moment, the first meeting of resurrected Jesus and the disciples, He keeps His promise and gives them the Holy Spirit and a guarantee of there rebirth and eternal salvation.

We believe that this is true for all believers. At the moment, that you believe and put your faith is Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

At that moment, all that He is, is available to you. All of His benefits, His promises, His fruit. You now have access to the Father and the Spirit of the Living God now resides in you!

And because of that fact, we should begin to strive to live a holy life! We begin a process of sanctifying our lives to look more like Him.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

So, do you have the power on your own to glorify God with you body? No, but that brings us to the 2nd phrase about the Spirit.

Walking by the Spirit. Galatians 5 & Romans 8

I encourage you to read both of these chapters in full in this order. We went more in detail 7 weeks ago.

But the idea is this, there are many things that we even as Christians struggle with. Many desires of our flesh that are still drawing us away from walking by the Spirit. Galatians 5 covers a whole list of fleshly desires that we should be striving to resist, if we are to glorify God with our bodies.

Because it says the desires of the flesh are opposed to the Spirit. The instruction is to walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Its not about quitting the desires of the flesh, its about focusing on walking by the Spirit and you will quit satisfying the desires of the flesh.

Are there specific times in your days or weeks that you find that you fall into these desires? Seek to walk by the Spirit during these times and you will quit the desire of the flesh.

By how do you walk by the Spirit? That a vague church phrase.

Romans 8 tells us.

Romans 8:4–6 ESV

in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Read the whole section. Its powerful.

But it tells us that those who walk by the Spirit are those who set their minds on the Spirit. And a mind set on the Spirit is life and peace!

What these verses are talking about is pursuing a life that is thinking about God. This is doing all that you can to think about God. Look the more you think about God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit and who He is to you and for you, the less you are going to desire to sin and satisfy the desires of your flesh. The more you are not going to fall into worry or stress and you will begin to trust Him more and more.

The more you practice these things. The more you think about the things of God and resist temptation to sin. The more like Christ you will look and the more you are going to trust Him to do things in you and through you.

This is a process. Some people can jump right to it at the moment of salvation. They drop sins and have this passion to kill sin in their lives. Some of us, its a longer process of sanctification. It is a journey with Jesus. As we walk through life, ways that we turn away from Him are revealed. Choices we make are revealed as not God’s way. Things that we do and say are shown as not God honoring.

The Holy Spirit that we receive as salvation is our guide and our conviction. Showing us the ways that we can glorify God with our bodies. He calls us lovingly to obey Christ’s commands with our thoughts and actions. He calls us to repent and turn away from those sins. So, that we can walk in the fruit of the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

That is what He wants to help us have in our lives.

It starts with the mindset on the Spirit. The more we do that, its not that we receive more of Him, but we allow Him to be more for us.

A sanctified life is not about God controlling more of you. Its about surrendering more for Him to be more of who He is to you. If you don’t let Him be God, be your Comforter, your Provider, your guide, the love of your life, how can He be those things for you?

You must grow in looking more like Him, trusting Him more, allowing Him to be God in your life. We must strive to think about Him more. We must seek to die to the things of the flesh.

The more we surrender to the power and conviction of the Holy Spirit the more you are going to fall in love with Jesus. The deeper you are going to walk in a loving relationship with the Father. God is a personal God. We must cultivate a relationship with a person. It takes time and energy to pursue my wife. To love her more. The same goes for our relationship with God. Its not about getting Him to love you more, its about spending more time in His love!

This is a journey. This is the life of a believer. Each and everyone of us must walk this path.

Walking by the Spirit is our choice and it is for our benefit! We must choose. He doesn’t force us. But it is for our benefit that we can be set free from the slavery to sin and be able to walk in the fruit of the Spirit and with a mind of life and peace.

However, the Holy Spirit desires to get us to a point of obedience, surrender and trust that we are no longer focused on ourselves and our own lives. Through this process of sanctification, our thoughts and love will spread to those around us. To those in your family. To those in your church. To those in your neighborhood. To those in your workplace. To those in our community.

As we die to self, the Spirit will shift your attention from yourself to others. And you will be at a place that you begin to trust Him more.

It is at this point that I believe you are prime for the Spirit to use you in new and mighty ways that are not focused on you.

Baptism of the Spirit / filled by the Spirit. Acts 1:4-5 & Acts 2:1-4

Where does the phrase baptism of the Spirit come from?

Jesus said it, Acts 1:4-5

Acts 1:4–5 ESV

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Now, remember, at this time, John 20 had already happened. They were already indwelt by the Spirit. But Jesus was promising them a moment of additional immersion in the Spirit that was coming. He told them that they would receive power when this Spirit came. To do what? To be witnesses of the gospel to the world.

When this happened in Acts 2, we see the Spirit descend on the disciples like fire and they were filled by the Holy Spirit.

You notice in this passage, Jesus says that they will be baptized by the Spirit and when it happens, the Spirit prompted the writer to write, filled with the Spirit. And going forward in the book of Acts, that is the phrase used to describe this. So, I will follow that example.

At this moment at Pentacost, the Holy Spirit desired to start a church of Christ believers in Jerusalem. And He chose to use the disciples to do that through.

He filled them and gave them specific gifts for that moment for the Spirit’s purpose. Someone needed to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, He gifted Peter with a gift to be able to explain God’s Word and Christ’s action in a way that cut them to the heart. Because there was many people for different nations, different languages were needed to communicate that message. So, He gifted the disciples to speak the languages of the listeners.

And 3000 men gave their lives to the gospel. And then they needed someone to lead this new church of believers. So, He gifted Peter and the other disciples to lead, organize, teach and serve the church. Thus pastors and teachers were given to the church.

According to 1 Corinthians 12, there are a variety of gifts, services, and activities but the same God who empowers them all.

1 Corinthians 12:7 ESV

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

1 Corinthians 12:11 ESV

All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

So, these gifts are chosen by the Spirit to give to whoever He wants to.

The gifts of the Spirit are chosen by Him and they are not for your benefit. But for the benefit of others.

The gifts are for the common good and the edification of the body. For the church!

The church is supposed to be an assembling of Spirit-filled, gifted believers that come together for the common good!

The church is a 7 days a week this. It is a body that goes through life with each other. Each of us manifesting gifts of the Spirit to assemble like legos into a body with Christ as the head.

To be filled with the Holy Spirit is a moment that you are walking by the Spirit and the Spirit stirs up in you to do, to say or to pray. And you have the choice to say yes or no.

The Spirit knows there is a need. Whether it is in the church body or a car in line at food distribution or someone about to get a tooth pulled or someone pumping gas next to you or whatever. The Spirit knows the need and chooses you to be His instrument to show Jesus to someone.

In that moment, you have to choice to trust Him to lead, speak, or whatever through you for the good of someone else. Its not about you!

That is why there must be a sanctification process beforehand. So that you can be walking in a manner worthy of His calling to do what He asks of you.

Ephesians 4:1–3 ESV

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:7 ESV

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

Ephesians 4:11–12 ESV

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

Do you see the progression in there?

Walk in a manner worthy of Him calling you to action.

Walk in humility and the fruit of the Spirit. Gentleness, patience, love, and peace.

And Christ’s grace is shown to us to receive a measure of His gifts.

To equip the saints for the work of the ministry and for the building up of the body.

This, this church is what we are supposed to look like.

We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation.

We are called to pursue holy living and Christ-likeness. To go through a journey of thinking about God and learning to listen to the Spirit’s leading.

There will come a point in that process of submitting to the Spirit and obeying Jesus that He will shift your focus from yourself to others.

And He will start bringing to your attention those around you that need more Jesus in their lives or need to be encouraged or prayed for.

And you will be at a place of walking and trusting in Him, that you will recognize His voice when He speaks and you will trust Him with whatever happens.

And when you say yes to Him, it at that moment, that the Holy Spirit will empower you with something that is supernatural. Something that can only be explained as manifestation of God Himself.

And you will be used for the glory of God in ways you never thought possible. and after it is over, there is no way that you can take credit for it because it can only be explained as a God moment.

Oh how I wish each and every one of you would know what that feels like. To be used by Him in a way that the fruit can not be denied.

Church, remember 1 Corinthians 14:1

1 Corinthians 14:1 ESV

Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

We are not pursuing the gifts of the Spirit. We are pursuing a deep love of God in our lives. We are pursuing to know Him in deeper and more passionate ways. We are striving for Christ-likeness.

To love God and love others.

We can desire the gifts. But Christ is our pursuit.

Remain seated and close your eyes for me. while the band comes forward.

I know that this is deep and new territory for some of you.

It honestly breaks my heart that some of you may never experience the depth of surrender, submission and relationship with God that He can use you for others.

We have a pandemic in the American church. The disease of self-focused, comfort seeking living. Many today, will get that hell pass and never die to self. Will never walk by the Spirit allow Him to sanctify your life to look like Christ. You won’t allow the Spirit to do anything through you because you won’t allow the Spirit to do anything to you.

If you are here this morning and you have think that you are a Christian but you have never felt the Holy Spirit trying to get you to live better or more like Christ, I would seriously ask yourself the question, do you know Him? That is the Spirit’s job. To convict.

If you are here and you know that you know Him because you feel His conviction, and you know that He is calling your to pursue to look like Christ. By giving this up or that up. Or putting disciplines in your life. Would you repent and turn those parts of your life over to Him? Would you ask Him to sanctify you to look more like Him?

Some of you here, are at a place in your life and you recognize His voice and you believe you are ready to be used by Him for others. Would you ask Him, if there is something that He is asking you to do? Would you ask Him to use you for the good of others?