0:06 Ephesians five eighteen, as we stand in reverence to the word of God. The apostle Paul instructs believers of all ages by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery, but be filled with the spirit. Let's pray together. Father, we want to experience what we're gonna learn today. We're hungry.
0:33 We're thirsty. And, lord, we just pray that if there's anybody in here that does not know the fullness of the spirit, that today would be the turning point in their lives. Lord, we pray that as we continue to walk with you that we would remember this command, be filled with the Holy Spirit. And so, Lord, give us the ears to hear, the hearts to receive, and give us what is necessary to obey, not just for a day, but for the rest of our days. In the name of Jesus, we pray.
1:00 Amen. Hold on to your bibles as you sit down because we're gonna be exploring some scripture in the book of Acts especially to see how this command is lived out and the benefits of this understanding of being filled with the holy spirit. But before we do that, because we kinda gravitate towards that when we understand this verse, we go, be filled with the holy spirit, but we forgot the negative command in the beginning where it says, do not get drunk with wine. Whenever you read of drunkenness in the scripture, whenever you see an example of drunkenness in the bible, it is frequently associated with ugly imagery. The first time we read of a man engaging with a vineyard is Noah after the flood, and we find him intoxicated and laying naked.
1:53 Not too long after that, we see Lot and his daughters, and his daughters make him drink wine so that they can sleep with him. Drunkenness was a description of a man named Nabal who was the man who insulted David, and he was known as a fool. And his name reflected that. And drunkenness was described concerning his behavior. It was the very instrument that David used, alcohol, to try to influence Uriah to go and sleep with his wife so that he could cover his sin.
2:32 And so whenever you you read of drunkenness, I challenge you to find it in a positive light. Hosea four eleven says that whoredom, wine, and new wine, which take away the understanding. These verses are important because you would be amazed at how many believers try to convince you of trying to absorb substances that alter your judgment, And these scriptures contradict that. Hosea four eleven. Wine and new wine, including whoredom, take away understanding.
3:16 The prophet Isaiah in chapter 28 verse seven describes the state of the priests and the prophets, and they reel with wine, and they stagger with drink. And at the end of that verse, it says that they stumble. They stumble in giving judgment. God, the God of the Bible, the Holy One, champions sobriety. The God of the Bible desires for his people to stay away from any mind altering substance that would have any influence on their ability to make the right judgments.
4:04 Be sober minded is the plea and the constant state of mind in which God has required from his people. And so you and I, in our pursuit of holiness, must also be alert and be disciplined enough to stay away from anything that would have a grip on the steering wheel of your thinking and your behavior because God advocates self control. And I hope we don't really have to go too deep into that. I hope that is an obvious understanding, especially in light of what we're reading here because Paul is still going on these bullet points of how believers ought to live their lives. And he places this practice in the latter three chapters of the book of Ephesians because the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians, just for the sake of reminder, speaks about your position in Christ, where the gospel has placed you, what God has done by his grace, and what your status is because of his grace.
5:08 But that position, according to Paul and the Holy Spirit, through Paul, says that that position will lead to a certain practice, and that's where we're at right now. That's where we find ourselves. And he says, listen, we just talked about week after week, your speech and your attitude and your reactions and and your mindset, all of those things should be a reality in your life. And then he inserts this negative command. So don't get drunk off wine.
5:33 Don't do something that would have the opposite effect of what God is asking of you. In other words, the reason why Paul is placing this here is because he wants to tell us, if you want to fuel your flesh, just fill yourself with wine. Because alcohol has this seductive and this destructive influence, especially when it gets out of control. Drunkenness. Well, we're not here the sermon is not about whether Christians can drink alcohol or not.
6:03 What the Bible is clearly against is drunkenness and any substance that would alter your judgment or influence your ability to make the right choice. And it's not by accident that he puts this command here because it's greatly connected to his next instruction. Why is Paul putting here the negative command not to get drunk with wine with the following command? It's because the Holy Spirit, brothers and sisters, wants you and I to be under the influence of a different type of spirit, and that's the Holy Spirit. And so what Paul is saying here is, don't sip on substance that will lead you to debauchery, but fill yourself with the Holy Spirit and he'll lead you to Christ likeness.
6:54 And I believe that we are all in an age in which we are aware of the swaying power of drunkenness and where alcohol can take somebody in every aspect, whether it's their speech or their thought process or their actions or their reactions. We, we are all fully aware of that. And what Paul is saying is that the Holy Spirit has a holy influence on all those matters. And for you and I to experience that influence in all those matters of life, in all those daily activities, in all those little things even, we have to obey this command. Remember, this is not a suggestion.
7:37 This is a command. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. And so I want us to break down this message today by answering questions. I want us to understand this text because if you really wanna get revelation from any component of Scripture, the best thing that you can do is ask the Bible questions. So I look at that and I say, okay.
7:58 He's speaking to believers, so why is he asking them to be filled with the Holy Spirit? What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Well it implies one thing automatically. It implies that because of the audience, it is possible to be a Christian and not be filled with the Holy Spirit. That's already there.
8:25 Now he doesn't say receive the Holy Spirit. He doesn't say be sealed with the Holy Spirit. That already happens at salvation. We talked about Ephesians one thirteen. It says that you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.
8:39 We read it early on that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God in Ephesians four thirty, until the day of redemption. When you come to Christ, the Holy Spirit deposits himself within you. You are his property and he remains there. That's something that happens at conversion. Romans eight:nine tells us that if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.
9:05 You can't be a Christian without the Holy Spirit. The regenerating experience, you becoming born again is by the power of the Holy Spirit. And so to say that you're a believer without the Holy Spirit is contradictory to what the Bible says. But hold on, he's saying be filled with the Holy Spirit. And this is, this is where we have to be careful here.
9:27 The Holy Spirit is not a substance. He's a person. The Holy Spirit is not a substance. He's a person. And we'll get to that in a moment.
9:39 But what we need to understand that it is possible for a person to have fullness of him and another person to not. Actually, hear this out. You can actually distinguish believers with this. So if you want to open your Bibles, you can, but hear these verses in Acts six:five. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.
10:06 The Bible describes Barnabas in Acts eleven twenty four, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. I find that fascinating because the fullness of the Spirit in a person's life is not distinguishable between a believer and a nonbeliever. The fullness of the Holy Spirit is actually distinguishable between believers. And so don't get it twisted and think, oh, we're filled with the Holy Spirit because we're Christians and the world does not have the Holy Spirit. No.
10:35 Fullness of the holy spirit is actually something you can measure between Christians. And we might get the wrong idea here. This idea of filled with the holy spirit, as I said earlier. Because when we hear that, we can think that this person has one quarter of the Holy Spirit. This person has half of the Holy Spirit.
10:54 This person is three quarters full of the Holy Spirit, and that person has all of the Holy Spirit. That person needs to fill their tank with the Holy Spirit. But again, he's not a substance. He's a person. So when you receive the Holy Spirit at salvation, guess what?
11:10 You get all of the Holy Spirit. This is where things start turning. So okay. If I have all the Holy Spirit, it's not like I get half of him when I get saved, and then I have to get another half of him by obeying this command. What's the point of being filled with him if I have all of him?
11:30 You guys tracking with me? What's the point of being filled with him if you're telling me that he's not a substance? He he's not liquid. It's not like I have more of him now and less of him later. No.
11:40 No. No. I have all of him at salvation, so why be filled with him? Unless, unless, unless being filled with the Holy Spirit is less about me having more of him, and more about him having more of me. Big difference.
12:06 Don't get too deep into this comparison between drinking wine and alcohol to be intoxicated and drinking more of the Holy Spirit. If you want a good word to replace the word filled, replace it with the word control. That's a safe word. So you can read that and say, do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery, but be controlled, be led by the Holy Spirit every aspect of your life. See, being filled is not about having more of the Holy Spirit because you have all of him in you.
12:37 He is deposited within you, but it's him having his influence on your life and having more influence in your life. That's what we're talking about here when we talk about being filled with the Holy Spirit. It's about control, his control. It's about his leading, his influence, his authority, his will. Him sitting in the driver's seat.
13:02 See, you can be driving a car with somebody in it. He's technically with you in the car, but it's a whole different experience when that person is in the driver's seat. And that's what we're talking about here. And many Christians today have the Holy Spirit in their car, but they have their hands on the steering wheel. They have their foot on the gas pedal, and they can break whenever they want.
13:21 And what God is asking of you and me in this scripture is that the Holy Spirit you you what you have to do is pull over to the side, get out of the car, and let the Holy Spirit take the driver's seat, and you follow him. And you trust in him. And you let him lead your life. This is what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. But then I ask the second question, what's the purpose of it?
13:45 What is the purpose of me being filled with the Holy Spirit? What's the goal here, Lord? What do you want from me, from this? And when you think of a person who is intoxicated, and hopefully that's not a reality in your life, maybe it was in your past life before Christ redeemed you, when you think of people who pursue drunkenness, they pursue it for a reason. They pursue that experience for a reason.
14:14 For some people, it's for just a simple taste. They love the taste of it and they overindulge in it and it brings them to a place where they had a little bit too much, and they have a habit of doing that. For other people, they rely on it to forget their troubles. There's a therapeutic element to it and very unhealthy one at that and a sinful one at that to try to help them forget whether it's the future or the past problems and to numb their pain so they rely on this substance to tranquilize them. There are others who actually depend on alcohol for social reasons.
14:51 They're not sociable. They can't go up to people and talk to them. They can't go into an environment and be a person who meets others. So, you know, they just have to let loose and let another substance lower any feeling of self consciousness so that they can be more relaxed. And there's some people who just want that experience of being intoxicated.
15:14 And when you when you gather all those reasons, one of many, and you you put them together, you realize that people pursue drunkenness because drunkenness provides a sense of assistance and somewhat of an experience for that individual. So people rely on alcohol for assistance, and people pursue alcohol and drunkenness for an experience. And I wanna tell you this morning that being filled with the Holy Spirit enables you and grants you a holy assistance in a Christian experience that cannot be known unless you obey this command. And I want to be very careful with this word experience. What I mean by experience relating to being filled with the Holy Spirit is a revamping of your walk with Christ.
16:11 I'm talking about a greater sense of joy. I'm talking about a greater sense of victory, a greater sense, a sanctifying experience of fruit, and not momentarily, but something that can be ongoing. So people pursue drunkenness for the sake of assistance and experience. Listen. The Holy Spirit wants to let you and I know that we can pursue being filled and experience that in a sanctified way.
16:40 A holy assistance and a Christian experience that cannot be known unless we are possessed by the person of the Holy Spirit. See, if drunkenness can affect your behavior, so does being filled with the Holy Spirit. Drunkenness increases the possibility of actions and speech that will lead to what? Embarrassment, shame, guilt, regret. And long enough, even in a moment, could lead to destruction that will last a lifetime.
17:20 But see, when you're filled with the Holy Spirit, there's something else that's produced in your life, and that's Galatians five twenty two and twenty three. The fruit of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control, the fruit, the evidence of the Holy Spirit are those wonderful things, those fragrant fruits. This is something that we can expect as you continue to depend upon Him and allow Him to fill you. If drunkenness brings a person to a place in which they act like someone, not themselves, Being filled with the Holy Spirit will enable you to act like Christ. So we're talking about a real experience here.
18:05 We're not talking about theory. We're not talking about doctrine. We're not talking about just looking at this by faith. I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. We're talking about a real obvious experience that is seen not just by yourself, but by others.
18:20 If a drunk man walked into this room, I'm sure we would all be aware of it very quickly. And I want to tell you something. There is something obvious about a person who's filled with the Holy Spirit. It's obvious. If drunkenness affects your behavior, so does being filled.
18:36 If drunkenness has a social influence, so does being filled with the Holy Spirit. You know a person who has developed a habit of getting drunk? Whether they know it or not, they have developed a reputation with it. And more than anything, a drunkard does not usually improve social gatherings when they are present. They make things more awkward.
19:01 There's disorder. There's inappropriateness. There's a lack of sensitivity. There's a loss of control. This is what drunkards usually bring to the table when they are surrounded with people who have chosen self control.
19:13 And so usually, a person who is a drunkard finding himself with others who are not and are a class of people that don't find amusement and losing control, they're more of a burden than a blessing. But a person filled with the Holy Spirit has a social influence as well. And I could tell you something, it's a blessing. In fact, in the book of Acts, it was a demand. There was a demand for men and women to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
19:48 Open your Bibles to Acts chapter six verse three. We're familiar with this passage. They were looking for specific type of men to fulfill a specific type of ministry. And no, it was not crusades. It was not the worship team.
20:03 It was not teaching on Friday night bible studies. They needed some men to wait on tables. And look at the look at the application requirements here. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom. Full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom.
20:24 So what do we see here? That it is obviously distinguishable to find a person who is filled with the Holy Spirit. And we see in this that there was a demand for it. And I have to tell you today that there is a great demand not just for Christians, but Christians that are filled with the Holy Spirit. They bring something to the table.
20:44 They carry a fragrance. You know a drunk carries a fragrance? You can smell it off their breath. You can smell it off their clothes. I wanna tell you something.
20:51 To some degree, a person filled with the Holy Spirit carries a certain fragrance. And guess what? If you're a person that believes you're full of the Holy Spirit, you don't need to tell people you're full of the Holy Spirit. They'll know. You don't need to advertise yourself as a Spirit filled Christian.
21:08 All you have to do is stay long enough amongst others and they will notice that there's a different fragrance about you. You talk about Jesus differently. You take ministry seriously. You take His word with so much value. There's a gentleness.
21:21 There's this fruit about there's a fragrance. And the apostle said, go find such men. Go find such people. Fill the Holy Spirit. I'm convicted every time I read that scripture.
21:33 You know why? Because it was to fulfill a waiter's job. I think to myself, we're willing to take anybody that just has a gift. We just need a role filled, so let's just find anybody that has some kind of ability. You know what they said?
21:48 Find people filled with the holy spirit of wisdom. If that was a demand today, would you be able to qualify? We're gonna find out. If drunkenness has a social influence, so does being filled. If drunkenness attempts to increase joy, being filled with the spirit does.
22:14 I remember being in high school and college before before I came to Christ and, unfortunately, being around the wrong crowds of people and just even just hearing conversations. I remember so distinctly. I remember making this observation, actually saying it out loud to a group of guys at one point. I could not believe that every single time we had to do something on the weekends, every single time these guys wanted to hang out, there had to be alcohol or there wouldn't be fun. If people are not drinking, then we can enjoy ourselves.
22:45 Can you imagine coming to a place in life that you have to rely on a liquid to determine your joy in life? And I remember thinking I remember asking this. Do we always have to go and do do we have to go and purchase this? Do we always have to have this thing with us? Can we just have a conversation?
23:03 Can we just have a good time together? Can we just enjoy food? And no. There just had to be somebody that was intoxic at least one person so that there could be some level of entertainment and so that we can build memories, bro. Sad.
23:23 But being filled with the Holy Spirit, I can tell you this, it does produce a joy, a pure one. And it does bring into your life a sensation of pleasure. And if you wanna make memories bro, surround yourself with people filled with the Holy Spirit, and you will have wonderful testimonies that will not include regret and shame with it. What does the psalmist say in Psalms four verse seven? You have given me more joy than they when their wine and grain abound.
23:58 You've given me more joy than those who are prosperous and those that rely on wine and those that go to the clubs and those that go out every time and they need they need that shot and they need those more. Is that true for you? Or do the things of the world tempt you? Do you do you look at those pictures on your social media? Do you hear those stories from your non believer, family members and you say, man, they sound like they're having more fun than me in life.
24:26 Yet filled with the Holy Spirit. Drunkenness is a cheap replacement to what the Holy Spirit can offer. So I know what it means to be filled. I know what the purpose is. But how do I know if I'm filled?
24:49 How do I know if I'm a person full of the Holy Spirit and that I'm not just making it up in my mind or I'm not just confessing it over my life as I look in the mirror? I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. They're presented in the next three verses in Ephesians five. These following verses are evidences of a person who is filled with the Holy Spirit.
25:15 They bear these things as a testimony to that internal reality, and they are not just limited to these three things, but they do strongly include these things. And again, I'll say this. What you will notice in these three verses is that it starts internally, but it manifests externally. So I I make this argument again. You don't have to tell people you're filled with the spirit.
25:37 People will be able to notice it. Be filled with the spirit addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. A spirit filled person has a singing spirit. A spirit filled person has a singing spirit, and his songs of choice are to the Lord. His music of choice is to his master.
26:16 See, the Holy Spirit has been given to glorify Christ, and if you're filled with the Holy Spirit, you better find it within yourself that you're gonna him in song. In fact, it's something that you can't contain almost at times. But it's something that bubbles up inside of you, and it's not a singing that's forced. It's not a singing that's parroted by people that are reading off of a screen. No.
26:36 Because it's something that's coming from the heart. You're compelled by the Holy Spirit who's been given to glorify the master. And so you find yourself partnering with him and worshiping him in word, worshiping him with a melody, worshiping him in song. This is the type of person that loves to sing while doing dishes. You can hear this person filled with the Holy Spirit as they're walking from one room to the other, and they're they're humming a hymn.
27:05 This is an individual that finds himself in corporate worship, but when you look at them, they're undistracted because they are, again, so moved by the spirit within them to just adore the Christ. I remember one individual coming up to me who was in ministry and asked me this question, brother. And I witnessed this for myself so I can I knew where he was coming from? How do you how do we get people to sing? And I had been in one way too many meetings, apparently Christian meetings.
27:42 You know, it gets so frustrating sometimes. We talk about as believers convincing atheists that God is real. And a majority of the time at these Christian conferences, preachers have to spend more time convincing Christians that God is real. We can't even move past the basics, the elementary doctrines of the faith, Because all you have to do is scan through a room and see that, are these people really understanding who their God is? And here's the conclusion, brother, that your people, those people, all people, they need to get filled with the Holy Spirit.
28:24 He's dormant. He has no influence in their lives. They have not allowed him to take the driver's seat in the in their life. And so they don't find it within themselves to sing to the Lord. They need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
28:36 That's the solution. I'm sorry. There's no five steps to it. We'll find out the steps of how to getting filled, but there needs to come a place in their own lives where they realize that my heart should be moved and it's not moved, so what's going on? Now it's not saying that you're 20 gonna be singing, but this is an external evidence.
28:55 And it's not saying that when you get filled with the Holy Spirit and you allow him to fill you in your life, that you're gonna sing beautifully. But you will sing. You will sing. Verse 20. Giving thanks always and for everything.
29:15 Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. A man filled with the Holy Spirit has a thankful spirit. Not just a singing spirit, they have a thankful spirit. And this individual realizes that God is the source of all good and perfect gifts from above. That everything remember he says, you are able to give thanks at all times, not for some things, but for everything.
29:46 And this is where the rubber meets the road with a person filled with the Holy Spirit. You give thanks at all times, not just when times are good. This person that's compelled by the spirit can give thanks in situations that don't make sense to give thanks for. And circumstances that don't make sense for. But because the spirit has control over you, you are able to do things that are supernatural, including giving thanks when other people, including Christians that are not filled, would complain and murmur and grumble instead.
30:20 And so you have this keen awareness, you have this reality check that everything that I have, and this is by the Holy Spirit, everything that I'm experiencing, any good thing in my life is because of him. And you can look at the small things and the big things. And this is more than just a verbal affirmation. It's a heart posture where you are able to recognize God's hand on it, and it causes you to give thanks to him whether publicly or privately in your car or in your room, when you're sitting and you're eating that burger and you realize that this was given by him. I have a full stomach this afternoon because God provided for me.
30:54 And the Holy Spirit is just able to compel you to to just to give thanks. I believe thankfulness is not just experienced and expressed with words of thanks to God, but it's a spirit of contentment in all things. That you're able to be content in all things because there's someone else possessing you. And so it's not just recognizing those things, it's realizing that whether he gives or takes away, you are able to say thank you, Lord. That's a supernatural thing, guys.
31:26 This is not something where it's like, oh, well, that can happen. Yeah. No. We're talking about a supernatural experience, a supernatural evidence in a person's life. And it gets even more intense.
31:41 Not just a singing spirit, not just a thankful spirit, but what do we see in verse 21? Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. A spirit filled person has a submissive spirit. And what I mean by submissive, and what I believe the Bible means by submissive is the idea of one finding the sweet grace to be able to relate to other people in which you recognize them and their needs of more importance than yourself. And you'll be able to identify people.
32:17 You'll be able to see them where they're at. You'll be able to hear them, and you're able to come to a place where you say, how can I bless you? And how can I be a contribution for you to grow in Christ, to grow in grace, to grow in ease in your walk with the Lord? A person filled with the Holy Spirit oozes humility. I love these things.
32:45 I love how the Bible puts these things together. You know why? Because when you think of a spirit filled person, other things come to mind, you know. Other things come to mind. Like a person that just that person's spirit filled.
32:57 He's he's so serious all the time. Not necessarily. But here's a submissive spirit that accompanies a person that is spirit filled. They honor. They listen.
33:11 They take heed. They serve. They respect. They obey. They don't push their own way.
33:19 They don't manipulate situations to advance their own agenda. They're team players. Again, they look for the best in others. See, if you have the Holy Spirit compelling you and possessing you, that's how you're gonna act. So much so that as we continue in the series, don't think that this thought is separate, but verse 22 talks about wives submitting to their husbands.
33:47 That this idea of being filled with the Holy Spirit actually affects your marriage. It translate into your relationship, which gives me and should give you so much hope. That this idea of submitting to my husband, those who are married in here, guess what? The Holy Spirit recognizes that you need help. And so you need to be filled with him in order to know how to do that consistently and with joy.
34:14 Husbands, love your wives. Like Christ loved the church. Is there anything within that command that says I need your help? And he goes, that's why I'm here. I'm gonna fill you with myself so that you can, even in your marriage, experience true joy.
34:34 That's God's will. Joy in your marriage, life in your marriage, Mutual harmony in your marriage. So single people, if you're looking for a person to marry, find somebody that believes in being filled with the Holy Spirit. Find somebody that really, really believes that they need to depend upon the Holy Spirit to love and to serve. So if that was on their resume to find waiters, let that be on your application for somebody to marry.
35:04 How about that? They have a singing spirit. They have a thankful spirit. They have a submissive spirit. And there's something I want to touch on that's not found in this list here, but is so obvious and is so important, especially for those in here that long to serve Christ, that long to go out and do something for the Lord.
35:29 A person filled with the Holy Spirit is a person that will experience supernatural boldness. And we need to turn to Acts chapter four beginning in verse seven to see this. Hold on to your bibles as we scan through the book of Acts today. This is Peter and John being arrested for doing good. Welcome to the realm of persecution.
35:51 And here are the religious leaders, the same ones that Peter were was absolutely terrified of and the disciples were locking themselves in a room to hide themselves from, we read in verse seven. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired by what power or by what name did you do this? Then Peter remember we talked about Peter in his backsliding phase? Look at Peter now filled with the Holy Spirit. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, that's gonna get you in trouble, Peter, but he's filled with the Holy Spirit, whom you crucified.
36:42 Not, you know, everybody, we all have done no. No. No. You killed them. You nailed him to the cross, whom God raised from the dead.
36:54 By him, this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders which has become the cornerstone, and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. A preacher filled with the Holy Spirit makes all the difference in the sermons. And what happened? What observation did these men make?
37:25 Verse 13. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they saw boldness. They saw a fearless, they saw an unapologetic direct proclamation of the gospel. What's boldness? It's courage in the face of a threat.
37:47 And these men are preaching so direct that it jarred these others, and they realized that they had been with Jesus. There was something gripping. There was an authority that was there. And listen, I wanna encourage you, this is not limited to preachers. This is not limited to preachers.
38:06 Say, how can you say that? Because we talked about Stephen, a man who waited on tables. But this same man in Acts chapter six verse nine and ten, the same person who was assigned his role, you ask him what's your position? He goes, I clean up tables. That person, because he was filled with the Holy Spirit, look what happens in verse nine of chapter six.
38:24 Then some of those who belong to the synagogue of the freedmen, as it was called, and of the Cyrenians and of the Alexandrians and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. Leave the guy alone. He's a waiter. But no, no, no. There's something else that's compelling him, the gospel.
38:41 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking. This is not limited to pastors. It's not limited to seminarians. I could say this safely and you can probably even testify to this. It doesn't matter how much education you have.
39:05 These men did not have education, but they had boldness. They were filled with a different person that compelled them to preach and to be direct. And so I want to encourage those in here that know even within themselves that they suffer from something called timidity. God has given you a spirit, not of fear, but of power, love, and self control. Do you have trouble in any verbal expression?
39:41 Do you have trouble doing so because of fear of what people will think? I'm talking from anything of praying out loud in the prayer meeting to sharing your faith in your classroom. Let me say this lovingly, and let me say this hopefully that this will stir you. That's not God's will for you. That's not God's standard for you.
40:04 If you find yourself not being able to proclaim truths of God, opening your mouth to sharing something, that doesn't mean that if you're filled with the Holy Spirit you're gonna be able to come up here and preach to thousands. That's, that's something else. God has callings and gifts, but there is something that has been given to all sons and daughters, old men and young men, to be able to fearlessly declare the truths of God. That's your inheritance. That's available to you.
40:33 And so I want to encourage you, if you find yourself fearful of men, fearful of opening your mouth and saying something, don't believe it. Reject it. And take these promises, take these examples, and bring them before God saying, God, if this was something that was available to Steven, do it to me. That doesn't mean that you won't experience fear. That that doesn't mean that you won't experience sweat on your palm sometimes, or you or you you feel like your mind is going crazy.
41:00 But I will tell you something, that the holy spirit, when you call upon him and you depend upon him, will swallow up all those things in a moment. And you will find yourself in a place sharing, serving, declaring, praying, interceding in such a way where you will step outside of yourself saying, I I know that's not me. And I could tell you preachers even by the time they go from that seat to the pulpit, they are trembling and they come up here. And because they have been soaking themselves in prayer, they will declare no matter who's in the crowd, they will share the truths no matter how harsh it may be. And they could tell you that the moment they finish, it's as though they're they just, their knees are like jello all over again.
41:42 It's as though the holy spirit in that moment assisted them. That's possible. That's available. That's your inheritance. So kill the fear by being filled with the Holy Spirit, and your life can continually display these glorious things that were just described.
42:04 That you can consistently display what was just mentioned. But here's the reality. It's possible to dilute the Spirit's influence in your heart. That's why the command is given. That's why the command is given.
42:21 Continually be filled. Why? Because there's some times where you're gonna leak. There's some moments that will cause you to leak. And so I wanna conclude with this.
42:34 How does one get filled and stay filled with the Holy Spirit? And if there's anything that will help, I hope this helps in reminding you not just for a few weeks but for the rest of your life with three simple p's concerning how I can get filled, stay filled. The obvious one is the first p, pray for the filling of the holy spirit. Pray for the filling of the holy spirit. You go back to Acts chapter four.
43:10 You see later on that after that bold message and after even proclaiming after that, there was a threat given to the apostles that if they continue to do this, they'll be in trouble. And so what do these men do in response to the threat to their boldness? You know, your boldness will be threatened. Your spirit filled life. Do you think Satan will will allow you to remain spirit filled when there is such a demand for it, when there's such a power to it, when there's such an influence in the church and outside the church?
43:45 Do you think he's gonna let you no. He'll do anything and everything. And one of the ways he does it is he tries to make you fearful and replacing that boldness with anxiety and the fear of man and the fear of your life. And these men were faced with that fear. What was their instinct?
44:05 Let's rally up the troops and pray. And when they come before God, they prayed this powerful prayer, but I wanna look at the result in verse 31. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And what was the result of that? And continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
44:29 Now notice this, that as they're seeking the Lord to continue in the ministry in which God has called them, something happened. Boldness was increased. But something else happened. The place was shaken. There was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit in that place.
44:51 And I want to give you a very, I hope, helpful word of wisdom. When you are seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit as is is commanded, it's not suggested, stop looking for the experience and expect the evidence. I believe more people are looking for experiences and they are not expecting and believing for the evidences. This is less about you experiencing something with the Holy Spirit and more about you carrying the evidence of him filling you in your life. So as you are asking the Lord, Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit.
45:34 If he wants to accompany that with an experience, that's up to him. But you and I need to be mature enough to say, Lord, I'm not looking for a tingly feeling. I'm not looking for my heart to be strangely warmed. I'm not looking for some rapturous moment. I just need to get bold again.
45:55 And I just need to be more thankful, and and I don't find a melody on my heart. I can't seem to sing praises to you. I don't I don't have this this this love for you in song. I'm not submissive to my husband. I'm not serving my brothers and sisters.
46:10 And so Lord, I'm not looking for any experience here. I'm looking for the evidence of you in my life. That's what we need to be looking for. And so many people look for the shaking walls more than the humility that comes with it. And so this this hopefully brings light to this understanding that when you walk with the Holy Spirit, things won't be shaking all the time.
46:35 Things won't be tingling all the time. The hair won't be standing up. The goosebumps won't come. But what benefit is that compared to the evidence that comes with it? Now what the Holy Spirit wants to do is provide Christ likeness through your life.
46:55 Pray for the filling. This is commanded and this is what's suggested by the book of Acts. But I thought to myself this morning, I said, pray for the pray for yeah. Absolutely. I understand that.
47:07 Always develop this this habit of saying, Lord, fill me. I'm going into a meeting today. Fill me with Christ likeness. I'm meeting with a non believer. Fill me.
47:14 Lord, I'm going to a hostile situation. Fill me with the Holy Spirit. But when I read the book of acts, I see moments in which men were filled with the Holy Spirit and they didn't pray for it. How does that work? Let me give you two examples.
47:32 Go to Acts seven fifty five. This is this is Stephen again. And what does it say in verse 55 after he preaches another sermon? Let's look at verse 54. But now when they heard these things, they were enraged and they ground their teeth at him.
47:52 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. It's not just there. Go to Acts 13. Flip your pages to Acts 13 verse eight. This is now the Apostle Paul.
48:16 But Elymas, the magician, for that is the meaning of his name, opposed them seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, now you better be filled with the Holy Spirit if you're gonna say something like this. You son of the devil. You enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy. Will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?
48:43 I don't want to focus on that as much as this observation that there is clearly a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of people who, it doesn't seem recorded here, are asking for in the moment. So they're facing these dangerous situations and it's not like they're saying, Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit and I really need you. He seems to come and assist them in a moment of need, which brings me to the second p. Being filled with the Holy Spirit does not just come with praying, it comes with posturing yourself to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Posturing yourself to be filled.
49:17 You're saying, what do you mean posturing yourself? I see a commonality in these examples that these men have actively obeyed the Lord and have positioned themselves in a place and have found themselves in circumstances that, and I say this with reverence, that have put a demand on the Holy Spirit to fill them in order to be effective. Let me say it this way. If you wanna experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit, you and I have to get busy, and we have to put ourselves in situations that would require his power. And so these men have postured themselves to be in a place in which the Holy Spirit saw them in their obedience and came in and filled them and assisted them in order to be effective in their obedience.
50:00 And if there's any example of this in my own life that I've seen it happen so much so that it made these scriptures come to life, is in the obedience of sharing our faith. Not my life looking at different people's lives, and you heard me say this, but I'll say it again. I cannot tell you I'm forever marked by the reality of when people from different ages and different personalities and different cultural backgrounds and different ways of expressing themselves, if they just set themselves to obey the great commission. How they will see something else, a different person possess their personality. And I can tell you story after story of people of different heights and weights and educational backgrounds that just obey this in the rawest form.
50:50 And coming after a night of evangelism is sitting down, and they themselves even express and maybe they don't notice it, but they're sharing a testimony. I'm thinking as I'm listening to them, that is not you, sir. Wait a minute. I sometimes even stop myself and saying, you said that to that guy? And I said, yeah.
51:04 I don't know how it happened. I just said it that way. I said, wow. Gals, guys, all all I remember one time, we were we were doing this on a consistent basis and we were going downtown Toronto consistently. And so we wanted to kinda find a different location, and so we went to a different square that was in a place called Mississauga.
51:24 And we had planned this date, we didn't know what was on this date, but we planned that date and we were praying into that date and everything else. And I remember a week before that to look it up to see the directions to the place. I didn't even know the address. We just knew the place. It's a it's a very known square.
51:38 And so I looked it up a week before and boom, comes up the front page, Muslim fest. And on that same day we were going, it was gonna be Muslim fest. I thought to myself, great. And all these thoughts start coming to my mind. Do people even know anything about Islam?
51:56 Are people gonna be able to defend the faith? Are people gonna be? Have no idea how this is gonna work. And I remember, I'm being very honest here. I remember pacing back and forth and thinking, should we cancel it?
52:06 Should we go somewhere else? There was a threat presented just like these men. There was a threat presented. And so I just found myself talking to a couple of people praying about it, saying, you know, we've prayed into this way too much, and we just need to trust the Lord that he's gonna be able to guide us and not be intimidated and people not being intimidated because we'd never faced this. We faced evangelism on the streets and homeless and all that.
52:29 Yeah. But this, it's like going into the lion's den. Sure enough, we went, we came together, and there was an army of believers. And I can tell you this from the beginning we stepped into there, late afternoon, till they were descend they were removing and people were just scattering. There's a trickle of people left.
52:49 People were there sharing and declaring. I remember middle midway through that, there was an individual, I won't say his name, but somebody came up to me and said, did you did you hear so and so? Where so and so is? I said, no. And it was there was thousands of people and there was a stage.
53:02 And they said, well, maybe you didn't know this, but he went to the stage because he's gonna completely taught me a lesson that no matter what you're facing, no matter what threat, no matter what obstacle, the Holy Spirit is greater than that. And there's a boldness that accompanies you when you just step out in obedience. Now he didn't get on the stage by the way, didn't let him. But the fact that the Holy Spirit can so work in a person's heart and I know this person. He doesn't have a charismatic personality.
53:45 He doesn't have that sense of of stature in which he can gain people's attention. But there is something inside of him that compelled him to say that I can stand before all these people and they can they can kill me if they want, but I wanna declare the gospel of Jesus Christ. Posture for the filling. So we pray for the filling, we posture for the filling, and finally we protect the filling of the Holy Spirit. I've said this three times probably already, and I'll say it one last time.
54:15 The Holy Spirit is a person. He's not a substance. And if you want another word for filling, think of control. But listen, you and I have to protect that spiritual state in that place of being filled because we learned earlier that it's possible to grieve him. Ephesians four thirty tells us you can grieve the Holy Spirit.
54:40 And so it requires you and I to so want to remain in that consistent place of spiritual victory, of spiritual maturity, of spiritual power that we are willing to continually on our radar of our conscience, push away anything that would threaten the fullness of the Holy Spirit possessing our person. And that includes when the Holy Spirit in your life points something out in your life that needs to go, that convicts you about a certain sin or a certain habit. And when he convicts you, when he convicts you, this is what he's saying. I want control in your life. I want full influence in your life, but this has to go because it's grieving me.
55:29 Imagine having a person driving in your seat, but you're hurting them as they're driving. It's just not gonna work. But it's being in harmony and saying, if if I want you to display Christ through me and if that power is available, I will get rid of anything that would hinder that experience. And so I will do what I need to do and Lord, would you show me what needs to go and what needs to stay? I I encourage you whenever the holy spirit convicts you of something, respond to it.
56:00 Respond to it, lest you grieve him. And it's amazing how when you walk in disobedience, isn't it amazing that when you even maybe yourself or you see somebody who walks in disobedience, there's there's so little joy. It's hard for them to sing because they know that there's something in their life that the holy spirit doesn't want. You're robbing yourself of being filled with the holy spirit because you're not protecting the person. He's sensitive and he wants all of you, but it requires it requires a constant state of awareness of things that would hinder his moving in you.
56:40 I'll end with this final question. How often should I be filled with the holy spirit? Three words. All the time. Be filled with the Holy Spirit is not a recommendation, is not optional.
57:10 It's God's standard. It's God's invitation. But notice that though the Holy Spirit desires to do it, the decision relies on you. So imagine him wanting to do it. He wants you to know what a singing spirit is like.
57:27 He wants you to know what a thankful spirit looks like. He wants you to know what true submission looks like. He wants you to experience boldness, and you say, it's alright. Or you don't ask for it. You don't posture yourself forever.
57:38 You don't protect it. You and I have to make a choice today. Do I wanna be one of those believers that even in the book of Acts, people can look and say that person's filled with the Holy Spirit? What I do I wanna be a hollow saint? Let me encourage you.
57:55 We have enough of those in our day. We need people so possessed just by their simple obedience to this command that instead of being like a drunkard, a burden, you would be a blessing and a benefit to your church, to your family, to those around you. So this is how we're gonna end today, by just taking step one, praying for the Holy Spirit. Would you close your eyes with me? And as you posture yourself to pray, there's one more verse here that I wanna that I wanna read.
58:30 It's in Acts thirteen fifty two, and it says, and the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit, plural. We looked at individuals, but I see here in a verse that there is a plurality of disciples that were filled with the holy spirit. And here's our prayer today for this church, that we would be a church filled with the holy spirit. And what are we expecting now as we pray? Are we expecting for walls to shake?
58:54 No. We're expecting fruit to develop. That he would so have his way in us that we would be a group that knows how to sing and a group that knows how to give thanks, and a group that knows how to submit to one another, and a group that knows how to fearlessly share their faith, fearlessly defend the faith, go into territories that would even maybe demand your life, but because you are so compelled by the spirit of God, you can't help yourself. Just in your heart, would you say, Lord, I want the fullness of your spirit. Lord, we ask that you would help us really experience the holy assistance that comes with being filled with the holy spirit.
59:46 And, Lord, we're not looking for a sensation. We're looking for demonstration. And so we pray that our lives our lives, like these men who are hired to serve, That any ministry that we engage in would be a result of the holy spirit working in and through us. Lord, that all that we say, all that we do, all that we engage in, it would be spirit led. The way we speak, the way we share, spirit led.
1:00:22 Thank you that you've made it so possible for us to just say, Lord, I need you. I got I got threats before me. I have I have persecution before me. I have my job perhaps could be lost from this. I have my family that could totally disregard me.
1:00:41 I need your I need your holy spirit, not just boldness. I need the wisdom that comes with it. And so, Lord, we want to be a church filled with your Holy Spirit. We are not a church that is afraid of your Holy Spirit. We are a church that embraces the Holy Spirit.
1:00:56 And so, Lord, we pray that you would, again, not just today, but, lord, in our car rides, lord, in our in our day to day activities that we would know how to lean in the holy spirit. And, lord, we pray for the faith to believe that as we go out in active obedience, that as we find ourselves in positions and we find ourselves in circumstances that would be so discomforting that we would know the touch of the comforter, that we would know, lord, true boldness, and we would experience verses and arguments and and boldness that would come from us that would cause us to even worship you knowing that that's not for me. And so, Lord, lead us by your Holy Spirit to posture ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And, Lord, again, we protect we protect our minds. We protect our hearts.
1:01:41 We say, Lord, far be it from us to know anything but the fullness of the Holy Spirit. We don't want a halfhearted. We don't want, Lord, a a Holy Spirit in us, but not a Holy Spirit through us. And so, Lord, we worship you. Give us that singing spirit, Lord.
1:01:57 Give us the ability to sing these songs to you undistracted to the Lord from the heart, saying, Lord, you are worthy. You are awesome. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for his blood. Thank you for his blessings.
1:02:10 Lord, bring us to that place effortlessly effortlessly. Lord, if there's anybody in here that's not filled with the Holy Spirit, that you would give them that jump start today, That they would find themselves in a different level of their faith. That they would walk out of here. They would walk out of here full of yourself and less of themselves. We pray these things in Jesus' name.
