Holy Spirit Renovation

Introduction

SERMON: All Flame & Fully Alive 

Text: Ephesians 3:16-19

Today the church celebrates the Spirit’s descent on the day on the Day of Pentecost. In the book of Acts chapter 2 we read that the Spirit fell on the Apostles in the upper room, and he appeared to them as divided tongues of fire, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began speaking and proclaiming the gospel in other languages. The outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was prophesied by John the Baptist, who said, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11). Jesus is the one who poured out the Spirit on the church and set fire to the world. Today I want to talk about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. What does it mean to be fire baptized? I believe Saint Paul in our passage today explains what it is.

BECOMING ALL FLAME 

In the Methodist tradition, Spirit Baptism has always been connected with sanctification and receiving divine power for holy living. In the 1800’s during the Second Great Awakening, the American Methodists really picked up on this idea, but we also find going back to John and Charles Wesley. John wrote in his Journal: “Many years ago my brother (Charles) frequently said, “Your day of Pentecost is not fully come; but I doubt not it will: and you will then hear of persons sanctified, as frequently as you do now of persons justified.” John Wesley talked about a Second Blessing—a powerful experience of sanctification where our hearts become so full of God’s love that even sin loses its appeal. John Wesley wrote in his sermon, On the Scripture Way of Salvation: “It is thus that we wait for entire sanctification, for a full salvation from all our sins, from pride, self-will, anger, unbelief, or, as the Apostle expresses it, ‘Go on to perfection.’ But what is perfection? The word has various senses. Here it means perfect love. It is love excluding sin, love filling the heart, taking up the whole capacity of the soul. It is love ‘rejoicing evermore, praying without ceasing, in everything giving thanks.’” In our tradition, we talk about being justified (forgiven from sin’s penalty), but also stress the importance of being sanctified or becoming holy (delivered from sin’s power). That deliverance isn’t accomplished by our white knuckling it. We are delivered from sin by God’s love through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Holiness is more than clean living. Holiness is not just doing all the right things. Don’t cuss, or chew, or hang with those who do—that’s not holiness. Externally, you can look like a very good Christian, but internally your can heart be filled with bitterness, jealousy, and hatred. It’s possible to be a whitewashed tomb, as Christ called the Pharisees—clean and pristine on the outside, but filled with dead men's bones. It’s possible to wash the outside of the cup, but the inside be rancid and yucky. Holiness is more than just reading our Bibles. Holiness is more than making sure we pray enough. Holiness is more than just policing our actions. The invitation to be holy—to be baptized in the Spirit— is to discover, as Saint Paul says, what is the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ’s love which is beyond knowing.  Holiness is about being “filled with the fullness of God,”

St. Paul prayed that the Ephesian church would be filled with the Spirit, so Christ would dwell in them richly through faith, and that they would be rooted and grounded in love. Holiness is being rooted and grounded in love  Holiness is having love at the center of our beings. Maybe you’re thinking, “We’ll pastor, that’s good and all—but I’m struggling to love! There’s people who have hurt me! I’m angry. How am I supposed to love?” If you’re struggling in this area, if you feel weak in this area, there’s good news. Paul said, “I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit.” If we are weak in love, the Holy Spirit will strengthen us in our inner beings. That is why Paul says, we before can be rooted and grounded in love, Christ must dwell in our hearts by faith.

I want you to imagine that Jesus is moving into your house. It’s 9:00 in the morning and Jesus pulls up to your drive way with his moving truck and a dolly. When we first get saved, we don’t expect that Jesus has a big old moving truck full of stuff he wants to bring into our house. Sometimes, this is how we treat Jesus, “Oh, hey Jesus, listen I have a room here just for you!” (Now is that enough space?) We think that Christ will take the spare room. Or, maybe he’ll live up in the attic? Christ dwells in your heart by faith, but does he lives in that part of the house you never visit? Sometimes, we’re fine keeping Jesus over here in his own little come, but don’t come over here Jesus, because this is where I keep my stuff—my junk.

Jesus has this tendency to spread out. We try to confine him to the spare room, but really, he wants the entire house. Jesus tells you, “Hey, I know you wanted to give me the spare room, but my Father and the Holy Spirit want to live here too. There’s just not enough space in this room. Plus, I have a whole moving truck to unpack, and the problem is your house is really junked up.” Who here agrees it’s shameful for a church sanctuary to look like this? How often do our hearts look the same way? It’s dirty, the trash on the floor. At the same time, it’s awfully empty.

You tell Jesus, “Well Jesus, I know all my furniture is broken and my CD player don’t work, but I just don’t know if I can get rid of it. This is my stuff. Sure it might be dangerous, dirty, and uncomfortable, but they’re my my things. I really like them.” Jesus says, “I have better things for you.” “Really, Jesus? You have better things for me?” Jesus says, “I do. Everything I want to give you is nicer than your old broken down furniture.” You think about it, and you tell Jesus, “Ok, I want what you want to give me.” This is the pivotal moment, because Christ dwells in our hearts by faith. In the same way we are saved and forgiven by faith, we are sanctified by faith. John Wesley says, “none is sanctified but he that believes; with out faith no man is sanctified. And it is the only condition: this alone is sufficient for sanctification. every one that believes is sanctified, whatever else he has or has not.”

To you faith, Jesus says, “That’s great! let’s move my stuff in!” Jesus begins sweeping up all the garbage on the floor. You start helping the Jesus clean things up. Then you get to the big pieces of furniture, and you just don’t have it in you. See, you’ve had this piece for a very long time. You acquired it when you were just a child when your dad used to hit you. You always hated him for it and even though he’s been dead for thirty years, you still can’t forgive him. Or maybe, this piece of furniture showed up when your mother started comparing you to your sibling. Your mother used to tell you, “Why can’t you be more like your sister? Your sister gets good grades. Your sister has friends.” Your mother used to compliment your sister’s beauty all the time, but she never gave you any compliments. As you grew up, your mother all bragged on your sister’s accomplishments: she married the right As Paul said, you feel strengthened in your inner being by the Spirit, so you begin helping the Spirit remove things from your life. , had the nicer house, and the better behaved children. As a result, you began to envy your sister and harbor resentment towards your mother. You tell Jesus, “I want the good things you have for me, but I just don’t have the strength or energy to move this furniture.” Jesus says, “That’s no problem, I can take care of that.” Jesus calls the Holy Spirit, and they takes it out of the house. Then, Jesus begins unpacking his moving truck. Inside, is all of this beautiful ornate furniture, gorgeous pieces of religious artwork painted by the world’s greatest artists. As Paul said, you feel strengthened in your inner being by the Spirit, so you begin helping Jesus and the Spirit move his good things into your house.

You realize, “I don’t even miss my old busted furniture, because what Jesus has given me is so much nicer.” Then you look, and your heart is no longer cluttered with broken things and garbage, but it is a place fit for worship. It’s no longer empty, but now its filled with the fullness of God. No longer is Jesus confined to the spare room, but there is plenty of room for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the Spirit’s work of sanctification in our lives. This is why Jesus sent the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

On the Day of Pentecost when the Disciples were filled with the Spirit, the Holy Spirit rearranged their furniture. Prior to the Day of Pentecost, these were men who were fearful and full of doubts. But when they were filled with the Spirit, he pushed all those things out. Peter who previously denied the Lord, stood up and boldly proclaimed Jesus and 3,000 souls were added to the church. The Spirit replaced his fear with courage. Why did Peter deny the Lord—Yes, he was afraid—but his love was lacking. Why did Peter boldly stand up and preach the Gospel in front of the same Jesus authorities who plotted against Jesus, in front of a crowd that ridiculed him—because his love had been perfected. The Bible says that “Perfect love casts out fear.” This is why we need the baptism of the Holy Spirit—the infilling of the Spirit. Our own love and our own strength is not enough. As Paul says in our passage today, we need to be strengthened by the Spirit in the Inner Person. We need Christ to dwell in our hearts by faith. We need to discover how limitless the love of God is. We need to be filled with the fullness of God, then we will be able and empowered to live the Christian life.

CONCLUSION

I love what Charles Wesley said to John, “Your day of Pentecost is not fully come; but I doubt not it will.” Have you had your own personal Day of Pentecost? Have you experienced the love of God in Sanctification? Who needs to be sanctified? I do. We all do. We all need to experience the sanctifying love of God. We all need to be baptized in the Spirit and strengthened in our inner being. We all need Christ to dwell in our hearts by faith. We all need to discover the what is the height and depth of Christ’s love. We all need to be filled with the fullness of God.