Rhythms of the Spirit Filled Life
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What are some things you think of when you hear the phrase Spirit Filled Life? Can you think of someone that you could say lives a Spirit Filled life? I can think of a few people in my life that I admire and I would say live a Spirit Filled Life.
Real quick, what are some of those qualities? Just call them out.
The Bible does give us a list of those qualities. They are labeled the Fruit of the Spirit and they are found in Galatians chapter 5. Let’s review them…These are some of the signs of a Spirit Filled Life:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
When I think of people I like to be around, those people have these qualities. I am not there yet, but I am wanting more of these qualities in my life.
Coming back from Sabbatical as well as finishing up the study we did on personal revival in our small group, I’ve recognized that being Spirit Filled doesn’t just happen once and you’re done, it is a continuous process of being filled day-by-day. Sometimes we pour out and need to be refilled. Sometimes we have a leak that needs to be plugged and then we need to be refilled.
We need rhythms in life that help us be continually filled with the Spirit. I’ve organized these four rhythms with the acronym HALT.
HALT is what we should do if we are Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. I’ve heard that phrase before and am always cautious about the activities that I take part in if I am any of those 4 things.
I believe the remedy to being Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tired are these 4 Rhythms I am going to share with you today.
Hungry?
Feed on and drink the Word of God
Matthew 4:1-4, John 7:37-39
Hungry - To keep yourself from being hungry or thirsty you should feed on and drink the Word of God.
The Bible is the source of our spiritual nutrition and drink. We can be tempted to eat and drink what the world has to offer, but only the Word of God can satisfy. Let’s look at what Jesus had to say about spiritual food and drink...
Turn with me to Matthew 4.
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Now turn ahead a few books to John 7 asd
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Spiritual food and drink that never goes bad. The Word of God is that for us. There are so many different ways people read God’s Word, but the key is to do it every day. Some can read multiple chapters, some will only be able to read a few verses.
What ever you are able to do, start with that. If you haven’t read much in the Bible, I recommend starting in the book of John. We have a great little study book that will help with reading it.
Here is something that I’ve started doing with my day. Before I read, I say a quick prayer - Lord, direct me to a word or phrase you would like to show me today. Then, I read a passage until I come to a word or phrase that jumps out at me.
Then I repeat the word or phrase over and over until it is stuck in my mind. I’ll look up the definition of the word. I’ll ask myself questions about the word. Then throughout the day, I’ll remind myself about the word of the day and ponder it again.
Sometimes, that same word is my word of the day for multiple days in a row. That’s OK. The key is to have a regular rhythm of God’s Word in our life.
The second letter in HALT is A…Angry
Angry
The remedy for anger is gratitude
Colossians 3:15-17
The early part of Colossians 3 talks about putting aside our old self and putting on our new self in Christ. It specifically mentions anger and number of other types of earthly behaviors. Verse 15 is the start of what is the key to our new self in Christ:
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
I have seen in my own heart a change in how I interact with the world around me when I am thankful. Our thankfulness starts with the Lord and what He has done for us. Then that thankfulness overflows to those around us.
Take note sometime of the people you thought of earlier who are living a Spirit Filled Life. You’ll begin to notice that thankfulness is part of their regular vocabulary. Some of that flows out of what God has done for them, but I also believe it is an intention rhythm of life to be thankful.
Gratitude for others has a way of filling us. Let me challenge you to take time and be thankful, first to the Lord for Jesus and then for the blessings all around you.
Our next letter in HALT is L - Lonely
Lonely
Gather with other Believers
Colossians 3:15-17, Ephesians 5:18-20
The passage in Colossians we just read talks about being together, let’s read it again. Every time the you is used, it is referring to a plural you as in the church at Colossae and we can apply it to us as a church or to a group of believers that gathers...
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
I also want to read a passage from Ephesians that specifically says to be filled with the Spirit...
18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Also notice the reference to being thankful.
This is all part of living a Spirit Filled Life. We can’t do that alone. We need each other. Not just to eat and hang out, but to speak to one another with psalms, to teach and admonish one another and to server the Lord together.
I have also seen the value in small groups of people gathering together for the purpose of helping each other grow in the Lord. Over the last several months, I witnessed that first hand in our small group. You heard that with the testimony given today.
I know it can be uncomfortable to join in with a small group of people, but it is a necessary rhythm of living the Spirit Filled Life. Please consider hosting, leading or joining a group this September.
Our last letter is T - Tired.
Tired
Sabbath is a gift of rest
Mark 6:12-13, 30-31, Matthew 11:28-30
I believe one of the enemies greatest tools in keeping Christians ineffective is busyness that leads to tiredness.
Sabbath means to cease, to stop, to rest. We work for six days and then we rest for a full day. God modelled this in the creation of the world and He included this in one of the ten commandments. It not only a commandment we have to do, it is a commandment we get to do.
Not taking the Sabbath rest is like poking holes in our soul allowing our Spirit Filled lives to drain away slowly. No matter how quickly you fill up with the other rhythms, if you are not rested, you cannot ever fully be Spirit Filled.
What should a Sabbath look like? What does rest look like? Jesus gives us a hint with what happens in Mark 6. First, He sends the disciples out in pairs to do ministry…Verse 12 -
12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
We don’t know how long they did this for, but then we see them coming back to Jesus in verse 30:
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
Rest looks like this:
Come with Jesus by yourselves
Sabbath can be done with others, in fact, that is the model we see in the Old Testament. Families would gather with each other on the Sabbath and they would hear from God’s Word
To a Quiet place
There is a whole set of rules and regulations that have been created over the years to properly follow the Sabbath. There are several conflicts that take place between the religious and Jesus when He does things against those rules.
The problem with all of the rules is that following them becomes work and not necessarily Sabbath rest.
The key piece of Sabbath is quiet with Jesus. because that is where we can
Get some rest
Jesus says this in Matthew 11...
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Rest is the place where we can empty ourselves of the burdens of this life. When we empty the burdens and give them to Jesus, we make room for the Holy Spirit to Fill us.
If there was a gauge that showed your level of Spirit filledness, what would that gauge say? We don’t have a visible gauge or a display that tells us how many more mile to empty, but we do have some signs of the Spirit Filled Life:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
The Bible teaches us that if we have believed in Jesus, we have received the Holy Spirit in us. The first step to a Spirit Filled like is trusting Jesus.
***Invitation***
Once you’ve trusted Jesus, these Rhythms will help keep our lives Spirit Filled. I am sure there are other rhythms, but these four will get us in the right direction:
Reading God’s Word
Being thankful
Gathering with other believers
Resting in Jesus
Let’s take a moment to respond quietly to how God would have us respond.