A Spirit-Filled Life
Notes
Transcript
Intro; We now come to our fourth topic in the Abundant Life category of our Christian Life Study by Porter Barrington. I want us to be reminded that all believers have life in Christ, but not all have abundant life. We are living beneath our privilege as Christians if we are not enjoying the abundant life. So far we have looked at what Abundant Life consists of;
It is a “Yielded” life to Christ.
It is a life of “Service” to Christ
It is a “Separated” life in Christ
And the next logical step is what we will look at tonight.
“The Abundant Life is a Spirit-Filled Life”.
Text; Eph. 5:18-21
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Prayer
When a person comes to faith in Christ, you are indwelt by the Spirit, and he will never leave you.
John 14:16–17 (NKJV)
16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
But being filled by the Spirit is different. A person filled by the Spirit is under the Spirit’s influence, controlled by the Holy Spirit.
John 16:13 (NKJV)
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
Let’s look at a truly Spirit-Filled Life!
1. Be Emptied; 18a
1. Be Emptied; 18a
Before a believer can be filled with the Spirit he must first be empty of the world!
Do not be drunk with wine- Paul is not talking about being intoxicated with alcohol, but of things of the world.
Chapter 4 is a call for unity in the church, purpose of spiritual gifts, putting off the old man and putting on the new, and to grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. And then in chapter 5 Paul urges the church to rid itself of pagan practices. [Eph. 5:7-8]
Drunk- intoxicated, without moral restraint. It takes a full 24 hours for alcohol to leave the system of a drunk. But is that person is drinking daily it never leaves his system. He might not always be drunk but he is never completely empty of the influence of alcohol!
Dissipation- prodigal living, wasteful and reckless behavior
A believer that is not completely empty of the world cannot walk as a Child of Light.
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.
Once we are empty of the drunkeness of the world then and only then can one be filled with the Spirit!
2. Be Spirit-Filled; 18b
2. Be Spirit-Filled; 18b
Filled- [pler-oo] occupied, taken control of by military conquest or surrender.
There are three thoughts concerning this word filled [pler-oo]
First- it is used of wind filling the sails of a ship carrying it forward. to be filled with the Spirit is to be moved forward in our christian walk by God Himself as He did the writers of scripture.
21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Second- it is used of permeation as salt permeating meat to flavor and preserve it. The Holy Spirit is to permeate the lives of believers that everything we think, say and do will reflect His divine presence in our lives.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
Third- it is used of total control. When a person is filled with sorrow, that emotion controls and consumes them. It is the same when a person is filled with fear, anger or malice but it also the same with faith. The believer is to be dominated by the Spirit!
John 15:5 (NKJV)
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
To be Spirit-Filled requires confession of sin, surrender of will, intellect, body, time, talent, possessions and desires. When we daily die to self, the Lord daily fills with His Spirit.
3. Abundant Spirit-Filled Living; 19-21
3. Abundant Spirit-Filled Living; 19-21
When a believer is Spirit-Filled, they are walking in an Abundant Life that is clearly seen and embraced by others.
[19] A Spirit-Filled person has a Christ-like attitude towards others
Speaking- We talk to others about things of the Lord instead of always focusing upon the things of the world.
Singing- Spirit-filled people come together to worship to praise God and minister in His name
[20] Spirit-filled believers are always giving thanks to God for His blessings
[21] Spirit-filled believers submit to Christ and to one another
These things are a necessity for a Spirit-Filled growing church! But that’s not all the Spirit-Filled believer will do in an abundant life.
We are filled with the Spirit for service
3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;
We are filled with the Spirit’s power to be a witness
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
We are Spirit-filled for the times of persecution
54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.
55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord;
58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
We are Spirit-filled to walk by the Spirit
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
We are filled with the Spirit so He can lead us
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Close;
There are many Christians today who are not functioning as God requires us to because we are not being filled with the Spirit daily. An empty glove is powerless and useless until you fill it with your hand. An empty Christian is powerless and useless to the kingdom of God until he is filled with the Spirit!
The way to live “The Abundant Spirit-Filled Life” is to be empty of the ways of the world!
