Going Deeper

NOW THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING

GOING DEEPER

A while back I was having trouble with one of the programs that I use in relation to my business. It kept me giving me an error message. Try as I might, I couldn't figure out how to make it work.

Finally I admitted defeat and called technical support. The first question the support rep asked was, "Which version are you using?"

"I'm using version 3.9," I answered.

"3.9? Are you serious? We're on 5.2 now. Let's bring your software up to date and see if that solves the problem."

Sure enough, it did.

It's a pretty basic concept in business software: If you don't have the most recent version, you're bound to run into incompatibility problems from time to time. You need to be up to date with the latest information to keep things running smoothly.

Last week we began a series called Now This Changes Everything. We talked about the problem of living in today's world with yesterday's mindset. We now live in a New Covenant Reality — a Resurrection Reality — but if we try to live by old covenant standards, or if we live our lives as if Christ is still in the tomb and he really doesn't have power over sin and death, then we find ourselves frustrated, full of fear, and missing out on all that God has for us.

Now, today there are many people who are sincere followers of Christ, but they're not quite up to date with everything they know, and everything they believe, and everything they've experienced in their personal relationship with God. It's like their current version isn't quite up to date; they're still trying to get by on 3.9.

Today we'll look at a couple of stories in the book of Acts that illustrate a similar problem. There were people who believed in Jesus and were following Jesus — but they weren't quite up to date in their spiritual lives.

As we move our way into these stories, I will say that each of them open up some doctrinal questions and theological questions that we could spend a substantial amount of time debating, such as: Are we to be baptized in one name or three? What is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? Is there such thing as a second act of grace? What about speaking in tongues?

Of course, we have a position on each of these questions — and not all denominations agree with us all the way down the line. For those who like to hear sermons that give you ammunition to argue with people from other churches, today's message will disappoint you, because I'm not going there.

Instead, we'll look at these stories and say: How do the events of and 19 illustrate the experience that many believers have today in their spiritual lives?

Debating doctrine may be fun, but I believe that the lesson these two stories have for us today is that there are some among us who are missing out on the fullness of life in God — the abundant life that Jesus promised his followers — and they're missing out because of what they don't yet know, and what they haven't yet experienced.

If you have ever wondered, "Why doesn't the Christian life work for me the way I have seen it work for others?" If you have ever wondered, "Why don't I have the power in my life to do what I believe God wants me to do?" If you have ever said to yourself in despair, "There must be more than this!" ... Then today's message is for you. Today's sermon will get you started on the path to living your life in the fullness of God's presence.

Now, let's take a look at these two stories. They're two separate events, but they're tied together with a common theme, so we're looking at them together.

THE STORY OF APOLLOS

The first story is about a named Apollos. He was from Alexandria, which was known as the intellectual center of the ancient world. It would like saying today that someone is from Cambridge, or someone is from Wheaton.

Apollos was from Alexandria, but he was now living in Ephesus. The Bible says that he was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord Jesus, and he spoke about him with great knowledge and great passion and great boldness in the local synagogue.

But, the Bible says, Apollos knew only the baptism of John. This is the book of Acts' way of saying that Apollos didn't have full knowledge of all the teaching related to death and resurrection of Jesus, and he didn't know all about the new life that we can experience in him.

At this same time there was a married couple living in Ephesus named Priscilla and Aquila. They had probably been saved under the ministry of the Apostle Paul, and most certainly were discipled under him, and they became prominent leaders in the early church.

After Priscilla and Aquila heard Apollos speak, the Bible says that ...

... they invited him to their home and explained the way of God more adequately.

Other translations say, "more accurately." In other words, they brought him up to date.

Now, the result in Apollos' life was that God used him in an even greater way, and he became known throughout the church as a defender of the faith. He could, quite possibly, be the writer of the book of Hebrews.

THE STORY OF THE DISCIPLES IN EPHESUS

A short time later, Paul came through Ephesus and met up with some disciples there, and this is where our second story begins.

When he met them, he asked them: "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"

Their response was, "We have never even heard of the Holy Spirit."

Paul said, "What baptism did you receive?"

They said, "We received John's baptism." In other words, John the Baptist.

Apparently, at this time there were disciples scattered throughout the Roman world who, like Apollos, had been followers of John the Baptist, and had heard about Jesus — enough to know that he was the Messiah and that he is the one whom we should follow . Maybe they knew about his death, and maybe they had even heard about his resurrection, but they didn't have the full and complete story of what the death and resurrection of Jesus was all about.

Luke refers to them as disciples — in other words, believers — but it was, as yet, a less-than-complete form of discipleship.

And then Paul brought them up to date. He told them all about Jesus, all about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and he baptized them into the name of Jesus.

And then he laid his hands on them, and prayed for them, and they received the Holy Spirit, and they began to prophecy and speak in other languages.

Now, back in the day, churches used to split over verses like this one, because of the "speaking in other languages" part. I think we've outgrown that today, and we are able to respect those who views may be somewhat different than ours.

The real sign to note here is that these disciples experienced the power of God, and they began to prophecy in his name.

Now, in this story, as in the story of Apollos, we see an example of disciples who were living in a state of not-quite-there-yet. They were trying to live an incomplete kind of Christianity.

I would say that today there are many church people like Apollos, who know some of the story — and like Apollos they're even fervent in what they know — but they do not yet know the rest of the story.

And I would say that today there are some in the church who are like the disciples that Paul encountered in Ephesus. They know some of the story — enough to call themselves disciples — but they have yet to experience the fullness of the Spirit-filled life.

The result is that they often find themselves asking, "What is missing? Where is the power I need to get by? Why isn't the Christian life working for me the way I have seen it work for others?"

Today I want to present three choices you can make that will help you discover a satisfactory answer to these questions. These three steps will resolve once and for all the what-is-missing-from-my-spiritual-life dilemma. In fact, I would say that no matter where you are in your Christian experience, these three steps will work for you. They'll help you move forward in your life as follower of Jesus Christ.

Here's the first choice.

1. It's time to go deeper in your knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Apollos knew the Bible, and he knew it well. Keep in mind, of course, we're talking about the Old Testament. The New Testament was still being written. However, the Old Testament has much to say about Jesus, and Apollos had already been instructed, Acts says, in the way of the Lord. He knew a great deal about Jesus — Acts says that he "taught about Jesus accurately."

It also says that he spoke with "great fervor." Fervor, in the Greek, means boiling. In other words, he was passionate.

But he didn't yet know all that he needed to know. It was time to go deeper. And that's where Priscilla and Aquila come in. They taught him the way of God "more adequately."

This brings us to an important quality that we need to learn to imitate.

Apollos was not only knowledgeable, he was teachable.

This is a rare combination.

In every church I have served there have been at least one or two who had just enough knowledge about spiritual things to think that they knew all that they needed to know. I've known church people who cannot learn from their pastor, cannot learn from their Sunday School teacher, cannot learn from their Bible study leader — because they think they know more than anyone else. End of story.

This is why Paul said in that "knowledge puffs up." It leads to arrogance — unless you have the character to remain teachable, in spite of what you know.

Here's what I'm saying. Whatever you know about the Christian life, there's more to know. Whatever you know about the salvation we receive through our Lord Jesus Christ, there's more to know, there's more to learn.

So I'm challenging you to make it your lifelong mission to grow deeper in your knowledge of Jesus, in your knowledge of Scripture, in your knowledge of doctrine and theology — because what you don't know could be holding you back.

I talked to a woman recently who was firm in her belief that she could never be fully forgiven for certain sins she had committed years ago. This is what her church teaches, she said, though I'm not sure she is right about that. But the bottom line is that it doesn't matter what her church teaches, because her church doesn't have the final say in matters like this.

Who has the final say? Jesus has the final say. And he said it in his Word.

And so I have urged this woman: Go deeper in your knowledge of the Bible. Go deeper in your knowledge of Jesus Christ. You can't understand the meaning of God's grace if you haven't learned what the Word teaches about grace.

I urge you to do the same — in every area of the Christian life.

It begins with just opening your Bible in the morning and reading a few verses — maybe a chapter — and thinking about what you've read. You can also read a Bible commentary, or a study guide, or a book on doctrine.

I'm saying: Never be satisfied with what you know about the Bible, about Jesus, about living the Christian life. You should always maintain a teachable spirit, where you're eager to learn more — because when it comes to experiencing the fullness of the Christian life, what you don't know could be holding you back.

2. It's time to go deeper in the Spirit-filled life.

At the conclusion of the story of Apollos, Luke — who wrote the book of Acts — doesn't say that Apollos was re-baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, though no doubt that's what happened, because that step was evidently lacking in his spiritual walk.

Luke didn't go into those details with Apollos, because he was about to tell the story of how Paul met with the disciples in Ephesus and introduced them to the Spirit-filled life.

The lesson we learn from both of these accounts is that, in addition to coming to a "more adequate" knowledge of the Word of God, we need to have a personal, one-on-one encounter with the Holy Spirit.

As I mentioned earlier in this message, we can easily get bogged down here with the theological implications of what was happening in . Was this a conversion experience? Was this a second act of grace? And so on. These questions can all be explored and discussed and debated — and in the meantime, there's a lesson here for us to learn: God wants all believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

How does that happen?

When you're saved, you receive the Holy Spirit. You become a new creation in Christ, your sins are forgiven, and the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in your spirit. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you have the Holy Spirit.

But there is an experience beyond salvation that can take you deeper in your spiritual life. It's not that you get more of the Holy Spirit, it's that the Holy Spirit gets more of you. It means that you surrender yourself completely to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and you surrender yourself completely to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

And when this happens, when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, what is the result?

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you...()

For everyone who has ever said, "Where is the power in my life? What is missing?" Here's the answer. If you're fighting a losing battle with life — and I know that some of us are — then the power you need for victory is available only through the Holy Spirit.

If you feel like there is something missing in your life, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that that "missing something" is the power of the Holy Spirit.

Last week I said that you receive the power you need for daily living when you walk daily in the presence of Jesus. That's exactly what being filled with the Holy Spirit is: walking daily in the presence of Jesus.

When I talk about experiencing the fullness of the Spirit, I'm not talking about a one-time emotional outburst. I'm talking about an every day experience, an all-throughout-the-day experience, where you yield yourself again and again to the Holy Spirit's power. And when you need his power, it is there.

So I'm challenging you today to seek a deeper walk in the Spirit-filled life. This means, simply, that you begin every day by saying:

Holy Spirit, fill me now. I cannot live in my own power. I need your power. I surrender myself to the Lordship of Jesus, and yield myself to do your will.

You pray this prayer at the beginning of each day, and you pray it again and again throughout the day. And in the process you learn how to walk in the fullness of the Spirit.

Now, one more thing I want you to note about our experience with the Holy Spirit.

God wants each believer to be filled with the Holy Spirit ... to the extent that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are at work in your life.

When Paul prayed for the disciples in Ephesus and they received the Holy Spirit, they began to demonstrate gifts of the Spirit — in this case, speaking in other languages and prophesying. These are visible gifts; you can spot them right away. Other gifts are not as visible and not as "showy." The Bible teaches that there are all kinds of gifts, and all Spirit-filled believers have received a spiritual gift (or gifts) that they can put to use.

There are all kinds of gifts, and they all have one thing in common. One common denominator. Do you know what it is?

They benefit someone else. God has given you a spiritual gift that you are to use for the benefit of others.

This leads me to the third key idea that I want you to hear. If you wonder what's missing from your Christian experience...

3. It's time to go deeper in using your God-given gifts to serve others.

Jesus said...

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." ()

This power that you receive is not just "inventory" that you'll store away in a spiritual warehouse, just in case you someday need it. It's power that you will put to use right away in serving others, in helping others, in ministering to others, in leading others, in building up others, in teaching others, in comforting others, in healing others, in encouraging others, in strengthening others, and on and on.

About ten years ago my oldest son worked as a computer technician. He was called one day to a man's house to help him set up a new computer and get him connected to the internet. This man was past the age of retirement, living alone in a dilapidated old house. The wood on the front porch was rotted out and there was junk everywhere outside and clutter everywhere inside, but he had a new computer sitting at the kitchen table, and he wanted to be able to go online. So my son set it up for him.

At that point, the man handed my son a stack of envelopes. He said, "The bank says you can connect me to their website and I can do all my banking online, so I want you to set that up, too."

In setting up his bank accounts, my son saw that this man was worth more than five million dollars. And yet, he lived in practical poverty. He could afford a new porch. He could afford a handy man and a maid. And with that amount of money, he could afford to do a great deal of good for many people and many organizations in his community.

He could have been doing so much, but, in his eyes, his wealth was just storage in a warehouse — not for anyone else, not even for himself. And so he lived his life way beneath his means — never allowing himself to enjoy a blessing, never challenging himself to be a blessing.

Do you know what I see? There are many Christians living desperately beneath their spiritual means. God has promised us so much more. Jesus said that he has come to give us life abundant — and yet many Christians live an incomplete brand of Christianity that has them missing out on God's best.

It is here — at this point of putting your gifts into practice — that Christians miss it the most. God wants you to be filled with the Holy Spirit to the extent your life becomes all about serving others, and all about being a blessing to others.

If you feel like there is something missing from your life, take a close look at what you are doing with the gifts God has given you. Who do you serve?

CONCLUSION

I mentioned earlier the software program that was giving me trouble. Do you know what the problem was? Since it was out of date, it was no longer compatible with the other programs on my server that it was designed to work with. And so it had become "disconnected" from the rest of the network.

The spiritual life works the same way. When you try to live an incomplete version of Christianity, a shallow behind-the-times version of Christianity, your life doesn't function like God intends it to function, and you become disconnected from those you're called to serve. As a result, you miss out on the fullness of life that he has for you. And you find yourself asking, "Where is the power? Where is the joy? Where is the meaning?"

If you're asking that question today, I'll tell you where you can find it.

You need to bring yourself "up to date", so to speak, in every area of the Christian life. This means that it is time to go deeper.

Go deeper in your knowledge of Jesus Christ. Go deeper in your knowledge of the Word, so that you know the promises of God, so that you know what the Christian life is supposed to be about, so that youknow the steps you need to take to get there.

Go deeper in your experience with the Holy Spirit. I'm not talking about some emotional outburst, I'm talking about surrendering your life every day to the Lordship of Christ and yielding yourself every day to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, so that he can fill your life with power.

And you need to go deeper in putting your God-given gifts to use. God has gifted you so that you can be a blessing to others. As you're a blessing to others, God's power continues to come your way.

What was it that changed everything for Apollos and the disciples who met with Paul in Ephesus? It was the decision to go deeper. Deeper into the Word. Deeper into their faith in Christ. Deeper into the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

And that's what will change everything for you. When you decide: I will not stay where I am one day longer. I'm going deeper.