Being Filled With The Spirit ~ Ephesians 5:15-21!

Palm Sunday: April 13, 2014 ~ New City Church of Calgary ~ Pastor John Ferguson! Intro: The Princess Bride, Inigo Montoya: I wonder if he is using the same wind we are using.!

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Many Christians look around at other believers and wonder to themselves, I wonder if she is using the same wind I am using. They hear stories of Christians with great faith, they see others taking bold risks to tell others about the good news of who Jesus is, they see believers who seem to be growing and making advances in their spiritual life, and get discouraged thinking, I will never be like them. I wonder what their secret is. ! Is it possible that part of the reason why others seem to be progressing along so much and that you are stuck dead in the water has to do with the fact that you have not hoisted your sail? Is it possible that there is a power available to you and you have not learned to harness that power? !

Exploring: You will learn that when you become a Christian, the Spirit of God actually gives you that new life in Christ, and then empowers you to live as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. ! Believer: You will be reminded of the fact that God has indeed given you a power that you can tap into to live the kind of life that Jesus died to give you. ! So, whether you are here simply exploring Christianity or if you are here as a believer wanting to learn what it means to follow Christ more faithfully, we invite you to listen in on some instructions that the Apostle Paul gave to some early followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in it, well learn the secret to living the life Jesus calls people into. !

! Being Filled With The Spirit ~ Ephesians 5:15-21! ! 1 Important Command; 2 Key Features; 3 Helpful Illustrations; 4 Guidelines! ! One Important Command! ! be lled with the Spirit.! ! 1. Review: The Spirit is the promised, personal presence of God who takes up residence in every believer. ! ! ! ! ! ! !
! 2. Note, this is not some good or advice that you are free to take or to leave according to your whims. This is not a helpful suggestion to give you a boost when you feel like it. Its not merely one option out of many to choose from, or something that may be desirable but not essential to the Christian life. ! Note that this is a command. (Grammar: the imperative mood.) Its not a suggestion. Its a command. ! Question: In your day to day life, how conscious are you of your calling as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ to be lled with the Holy Spirit?! 3. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery, but be lled with the Spirit.!

Two Key Features of the Spirits Filling!

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1. It is for all of Gods people.! 2nd person plural, Let all of you be lled with the Spirit. Let yall be lled with the Spirit.!

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Wiki: Yall is primarily associated with Southern American English. Its also found in the Englishspeaking islands of the West Indies as well as in the Canadian province of Alberta (!).! IOW, this is not for a privilege for only a select few, nor an experience that only super-Christians have access to; nor is it an unreachable ideal. ! Every person who is a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ should be lled with the Holy Spirit.! 2. Its a continual, present tense action = keep on being lled or be continually lled with the Spirit.! Paul is speaking to Christians who had already received the Holy Spirit (one time action).! ! Eph. 1:13, In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance! Paul is speaking to these same Spirit-sealed Christians that they are to be Spirit-lled Christians.! Which seems to imply that some Christians may actually live their lives without being lled with the Spirit. !

! Summary: To be continually lled with the Holy Spirit is Gods will for every follower of Christ. ! ! Three Helpful Illustrations! ! 1. Cup / Bucket:! ! When DL Moody was asked if he was lled with the Holy Spirit, he answered, Yes, but I leak.! ! 2. Windmill: designed to harness the power of the wind and convert it to energy. ! ! 3. Sailboat: designed to move by the power of the wind.! ! ! Four Guidelines* to Harnessing the Spirits Power (*Guidelines for hoisting your sail to harness power)! ! 1. Desire to be lled with the Spirit.! ! Jesus died to give you His Holy Spirit to empower you to live the kind of life He died to give you.! ! ! ! ! ! !
Or, are you frustrated with trying to live the Christian life in your own power? !

Do you want to experience more of the Holy Spirits power in your life? Or is there something in you saying, I dont want to open myself up in that way. I want to remain in control of my life?!

Luke 11:11-13, What father among you, if his son asks for a sh, will instead of a sh give him a serpent: or if he asks for an egg will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?! The Spirit is seeking to empower those who want to be empowered to live lives of obedience.! 2. Devote yourself fully to the Lord. ! Gen. 39:9, How can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? !
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Jesus tells us that a primary role of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus (John 16:14). IOW, the work of the Spirit is to make Jesus weighty in your life. More signicant than anything else this world has to offer, so that our lives revolve around him, and his will for our lives. ! The Spirit is seeking to empower those who want to center their lives on the glory of God in Jesus.! 3. Deal with your sin quickly & decisively. ! Eph. 4:30, And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.! Our sin can grieve the Holy Spirit, it doesnt disqualify us from experiencing the Spirits power. ! But we do need to deal with it. We need to confess it, and turn from it. ! E.g., Davids sin, Psalm 51:11-12, Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.! The Spirit is seeking to empower not perfect people, but repentant people. ! 4. Develop your prayer life. ! 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Pray without ceasing. ! Does this mean that we do nothing but pray? No, but it does mean that we should do nothing without prayer. To be a Spirit-lled Christian means that we are always looking to God. It means were always hoisting our sails. ! Learn to make short & frequent prayers to God.! Lord, help me resist this temptation.! Lord, enable me to love this person well. ! Lord, empower me to have this difcult conversation that I need to have. !

! When you do this, you are hoisting your sails so the Spirit can ll you.! ! Conclusion: ! ! ! Why cant that be said of you? ! !

Scripture speaks of people who are full of the Holy Spirit (e.g., Acts 6:3). This describes people who are not just momentarily lled with the Spirit, but whose lives are characteristically lled with the Spirit. IOW, their sails are continually hoisted to harness the power of the Spirit in their lives. !

! Hoist your sails to harness the power of the Holy Spirit in your life!! !

For you, dear Christian, the Lord Jesus entered Jerusalemsuffered and diedrose again from the dead. ! For you, dear Christian, the Lord Jesus gave the gift of the Holy Spirit.! !

Exploring Xianity? When you become a follower of Jesus, he will give you the power to do what he says.

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