Filled With The Word

New Series: Filled With The Spirit

Scripture Theme:

Ephesians 3:14–20 “14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,”

Live life full of the Spirit!

We are way too satisfied with too little of God.

Question, if the Holy Spirit suddenly withdrew from your life, how much of your life would continue unabated?

The flesh counts for nothing

It’s the Spirit of the Living God in us.

Zechariah 4:6 “6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

But primarily - it’s not just what we are to do but also, filled so we can properly worship.

“We stand in desperate need of revival. Will we dare to submit our lives to the giver of the Spirit, regardless of what price the Spirit may call us to pay to reach our contemporaries for Christ? On the answer to that question hangs the fate of our generation.”

In light of the previous serious on the Name of God which reveals the character of God and his absolute greatness and majesty… We need His Spirit working within us to create genuine, sincere praise appropriate to His majesty. We should seek the Spirit’s presence and empowerment for our worship of God today, for he dwells near the sincere and humble heart that desires His honor above all.

This will lead us to revival!

1. What are you filled with?

When you are squeezed (tested) what you are filled with will come out.

Romans 14:17 “17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,”

Peace:

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Joy:

John 15:9-11 ““As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

Common denominator in John: “I have told you this” John also said, “these are written that you may believe.”

The Bible is not like any other book. Because the Word of God is alive. It’s living. It’s transformative. All because it reveals the character and nature of God.

To be full of the Spirit, full of joy, full of peace and righteousness is to be intimate with the character of the Spirit of God.

How did God sovereignly choose to reveal Himself to us? Through history, Jesus, acts, responses - all revealed in His Word!

To be full of the Spirit is equal to be full of His Word!

There is no dichotomy between Word and Spirit (We’re a Word church, we’re a spirit filled church)

To spend time in the Word is to spend time with the spirit. To spend time with the Spirit is to spend time with His Word.

Cults can experience existential feelings and goosebumps. We are to test the Spirit

Jesus said: John 6:63 “63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.”

When there are problems in our lives, things we want to change, we immediately try hard to fix them. The issues of life come from the heart.

Psalm 119:9–12 “9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. 10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 12 Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees.”

Hidden like a farmer hiding seed in the ground.

2. Before it’s fruit, it is a seed.

What was man made from? Dust of the earth. Where do seeds go?

Adam and Eve who came from the ground, were to tend the sacred temple garden, enjoying the fruit of the trees that God planted.

They failed

Again, no coincidence that Jesus was mistaken by Mary to be a gardener after his resurrection. To tend the new temple Garden of our hearts where the Spirit has come to dwell.

cherubim The Hebrew term used here is plural. The noun comes from the term karub, which refers to a divine throne guardian. These guardians are often depicted in sculptures as sphinx-like—having the body of a lion and the head of a man. They are commonly depicted as guarding the throne of a deity.

To produce fruit in us that brings God glory. John 15:8 “8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

He, the Word, provides the seed that is to be planted in our hearts. The ground doesn’t do it, it’s the power in the seed and the care of the gardener - Jesus.

Mark 4:14-20 NKJV “The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.

Satan is after the Word.

16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble.

Satan is not afraid of you, he is afraid of the Word in you.

18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Lose their love, their pursuit of God.

20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

From the other synoptic gospels we know that the good ground “understood and persevered with patience”… They didn’t give up.

3. Seed, Time, and Harvest

It's called seed, time, and harvest.

Inevitably people are going to go home, stirred up, get in the word and wake up tomorrow looking for fruit.

It’s the time part that differentiates the good soil from the bad soil

It looks like nothing. Just like God's promises

Perhaps you have heard this before and God has spoken to you, given you revelation, given you dreams, given you seed, scriptures you have been standing on but you haven't seen the fruit yet. And you are growing weary… maybe about to give up on church, on God, on friends because you haven’t seen the fruit yet!

But it's all about perspective. Many of you may have mistaken your seed as being buried but only dead things get buried. God's word can't be buried, it isn't dead, it is alive and it has been planted, and whether it takes 1 day, 1 week, 1 year, 1 century, God's word is alive and it will produce fruit! Do not quit!

Abraham received a promise from God that he would have a son. That Word did not bear fruit year after year after year but that word wasn't buried, it was planted. And 25 years later he had his son.

Joseph received seed in the form of a dream, after being almost killed, sold as a slave, wrongfully imprisoned, that dream seemed dead and buried. But the word wasn't buried… IT WAS PLANTED. 13 years later, he would be made ruler in Egypt and rescue God’s people.

See, the seeds aren’t even just about you! They are about your children and their children and their children . It’s about the community. Pasadena needs the fruit from the seeds God has put in your heart.

David received seed of God's Word that he would be king of Israel as a teenage boy. He killed goliath, they sang songs about him and it looked like he was on the fast track to the thone. But for the next 13 - 15 years as he ran for his life from the current king Saul it looked like that word was dead and buried. But the word wasn't buried… IT WAS PLANTED. Then one day it happened, and ruled as a king after God's own heart.

In Genesis 3:15 humanity received seed of God's word that the seed of woman would crush Satan's head. And for 4000 years it looked like Satan won, God was losing, man failing, the word dead and buried. But that word wasn't buried it was planted and one day the virgin Mary would give birth to the Seed, The Word who would grow up to suffer and appear to be buried - but the word cant be buried, it can only be planted.

Reading Comprehension

Study with others

By others I mean Orthodox Christians (who have stood the test of time) over the last 2,000 years.

Memorize and Meditate