Life: What Foundations are You Building On?

The Holy Spirit in Me. God’s Source for Christian Living.

This sermon was prepared and preached by Pastor Mike Rose at First Federated Church in Des Moines, Iowa, on
Sunday, November 4, 2007.
Copyright © 2007, First Federated Church

Many say that living the Christian life is hard. I believe they’re talking about keeping track of and
obeying all the commands, both the do’s and don’ts.

I’ve been a Christian for 32 years, and like you, I’m called to doing the do’s and not doing the don’ts.

And frankly I must disagree with those who say that living the Christian life is HARD. After 32 years of
experience I say, It’s down right IMPOSSIBLE!

All of the things I’m supposed to DO like forgive, obey, be content, be honest, love my neighbor as
myself. And the things I’m NOT supposed to do, like covet, be selfish, lie, hold grudges, over eat …

For 32 years I’ve tried to DO and NOT DO all the right things and I confess, I’ve failed repeatedly.

Now I was taught as a child that “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” – so, when I’ve failed, I
recommitted my life to Christ and tried again, but ultimately I find myself failing again. So I’ve come to
the conclusion that living the Christian life is not HARD – it’s IMPOSSIBLE! Impossible that is IF
you are attempting to live it in your own power.

Praise God, after 32 years of trying and failing, I’m finally learning an important absolute truth – one that
I failed to build my Life upon in years past: God never intended for me to live the Christian life in my
own power! Instead He has given a Divine Power Source by which to live this life.

That source is the Holy Spirit. He is the power source for Christian living.

Acts 1:4-5 & 8 – helps us see that Jesus never intended His disciples to live the Christian life in their own
strength.
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And being assembled together with them, He (Jesus) commanded them not to depart from
Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from
Me; (John 14 & 16) - 5for John (The Baptist) truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized
with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” - 8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit
has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus is about to ascend into heaven, and He leaves His last instructions. Part of that instruction is found
in Matthew 28:19,20 - His disciples were to Evangelize and help new believers Grow to Maturity in the
faith

But, before they did that, they needed POWER from God to do it. That power would come in the form of
the Holy Spirit who would INDWELL and EMPOWER them.

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Why did Jesus’ disciples need Divine Power to live for Him? Because, beyond the challenges of being
first generation believers, they would face persecution from family, the religious establishment,
employers, government and many would lose their lives.

Jesus knew they could not withstand this in the power of their flesh, so He promised, when He returned to
the Father, He would send the Holy Spirit to help them do what they otherwise could not do.

Reading the New Testament, we discover, not only did they successfully live for Jesus, but they brought
hundreds of thousands into the Kingdom. This was accomplished through the Power of the Holy Spirit.

But the power of The Holy Spirit is not just for spreading of the Gospel – it is also for the life changes,
the transformation that needs to take place within us.

Galatians 5:16 – NKJV – 16I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. In
one sentence we discover the secret for living the Christian Life – it must be done IN THE HOLY
SPIRIT!

In that same chapter, verses 19-21, Paul identifies the outcomes of a life lived in the flesh:

¾ Sexual immorality
¾ Impure thoughts
¾ Eagerness for lustful pleasure
¾ Idolatry
¾ Participation in demonic activities
¾ Outbursts of anger
¾ Selfish ambition
¾ Divisions
¾ The feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group
¾ Envy
¾ Drunkenness
¾ Wild parties

The Apostle Paul understood this. Take note of Romans 7:15 – In the flesh I may know what I need to do,
but I find myself doing what I know I’m not supposed to do. The answer is: Live In The Power Of The
Holy Spirit!

Galatians 5:22-23 – NLT 22But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this kind of fruit
in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. Here
there is no conflict with the law.

The first list represents the do not’s, the second represents the do’s. Now Listen carefully, no matter
how much I agree with God concerning what I am to do and not do, if I attempt to comply in my power,
I will fail!

The same power that brought salvation to my soul, is the same power I must appropriate daily to live as
God has called me to live. So, how is that done?

I. Living In The Spirit

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Ephesians 5:18 – NLT – Paul writes: 18Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead,
let the Holy Spirit fill and control you.

The contrast is purposeful. Paul likens being filled with the Spirit, to a person intoxicated with alcohol.
When people become intoxicated, they change. They act in ways they would not if they were sober.

In that same vein, people who are filled with the Holy Spirit live differently than people who are not -
Reference the Galatians 5 passage we read a moment ago.

So, instead of giving ourselves to our base desires, Paul says give yourself to be filled and controlled by
the Holy Spirit of God.

II. Receiving The Holy Spirit

Before I talk about being filled with the Spirit, let’s understand truth about receiving the Holy Spirit.
Take note, every person who is born again, has received the Spirit of God.

Romans 8:9 – NASB 9However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God
dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

Understand, this issue of being “Filled with the Spirit” is not about getting the Holy Spirit in you. If
you are saved, you have Him. Receiving the Holy Spirit is known as baptism in/of the Spirit. It is a
one-time occurrence and happens automatically at conversion.

Being Filled with The Spirit however, is much like being filled with alcohol. It’s something you must
pursue. It’s about giving yourself to the control of the Holy Spirit.

That’s why Paul contrasted the filling of the Spirit with drunkenness; both have to do with someone
purposely, intentionally, actively, giving control to another

Drunkenness will ruin your life. The Holy Spirit will empower you to walk in the righteousness of Christ.

Practical things we need to know about being filled with the Spirit of God? Negative to positive.

III. Hindrances To The Filling of the Spirit

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1. Grieving the Holy Spirit – Ephesians 4:30 - NKJV And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by
whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

To grieve means to cause pain, to bring sorrow. It is a “love” word; you can anger your enemies, but you
can only grieve those who love you.

The Holy Spirit who indwells you, loves you, so when you do things that are contrary to God, it grieves
the Holy Spirit.

How do I know when I’m grieving the Holy Spirit? When I sense His voice asking me,“Why are you
going there? Why are you watching that? Why are you saying that?”

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The Holy Spirit never leads us to go against the will of God, so when I begin to move in that direction it
means I have taken the reins of my life from His control. This grieves the Spirit.

2. Quenching the Holy Spirit – Paul warned the Thessalonian Christians 19Do not quench the Spirit. 1
Thessalonians 5:19 – NKJV

I grieve the Holy Spirit by DOING what is wrong. I quench the Holy Spirit by NOT DOING what is
right.

Picture a fire. When you throw a bucket of water on it, you quench the fire. The Holy Spirit is the Fire of
God burning within our hearts. When He prompts us to move in a direction, or accept a responsibility, or
avoid some behavior, and we say NO, we are quenching the Spirit. When we do that, we are forfeiting
His filling.

Let me illustrate it this way: You’re in the Word of God, and the Spirit impresses upon your heart
something you need to take care of. You struggle with Him and decide, not now!

In that moment, you’ve decided to quench the Spirit, and until you choose to obey Him you will continue
quenching the Spirit, thus forfeiting His filling and the power to live the Christian life.

3. Rejecting the Spirit – In 1 Thessalonians 4:3 Paul writes “For this is the will of God, your
sanctification…”

Sanctification is that process by which the Holy Spirit works within you, changing you step-by-step to
more closely reflect the image of Christ.

Following verse 3, Paul begins to list the things that God wants to change in us. God wants us to:

¾ Be holy
¾ Be free from sexual sin
¾ Learn to be in control of our bodies
¾ Not be given to lustful passions

Notice verse 8 – NKJV - 8Therefore he who rejects this (the sanctification work of the Holy Spirit) does
not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.

Listen carefully. It’s one thing to grieve the Spirit. It’s another to quench Him. But, if we continue in that
path on any issue, we come to the place where we aren’t grieving or quenching – we are rejecting!

To continually refuse the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is to reject God who sent Him to us. When
we live there, we live in spiritual powerlessness and defeat.

So how do I ensure that I am continually filled with the Spirit so I can have the power to live the Christian
life?

IV. Steps to the Filling Of the Spirit

1. Confess All Known Sin – Unconfessed/tolerated sin is like a break in an electrical line. When that
happens, power is not available.

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Listen, you can attend church, read your Bible, say your prayers, teach Sunday School, sing with the
choir, but if you’re harboring sin in your life, either doing what you ought not or not doing what you
ought, then the Spirit is in you, but the power is turned off.

And like a severed power cord, it can be fixed, but you must fix it for the power to flow once again.
Fixing the Spiritual power interruption begins by confession of all known sin.

2. Ask the Holy Spirit to Fill You – Jesus said in Luke 11:9-10 – NKJV, …ask, and it will be given to
you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and
he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

James 4:3 – You have not because you ask not. – The Holy Spirit wants to empower you, but He will not
take control from you. He wants you to voluntarily give control to Him.

That’s what being filled with the Spirit is all about. It’s about voluntarily and purposefully offering
myself to Him so that He may empower me to do what God wills for me to do.

3. By Faith Believe that You Have Received the Spirit’s Filling – This is much more than simply
saying, I believe I’m filled, I believe I’m filled.

To believe that you are filled is to first know that you have dealt with known sin. It is to know that you
have asked for the filling of the Spirit. But then, it is to step out in faith, trusting that what you have asked
for, God is giving.

This is an important point – You almost never recognize the filling of the Spirit before you need it – the
realization comes in the midst or after you do something you could not have done without the filling.

Illustration: Two years ago, I was ministering in Romania. I was asked to meet with the leadership of
the Bethel Baptist Church. It was supposed to be an easy meeting, chatting about our respective
ministries. But one man, Brother Rishano, former head of the Romanian Baptist denomination, had a
different agenda. He wanted to grill me to ensure that I was trustworthy.

Picture it - I was in a foreign country, I could not speak their language, there were only two of the 10
men in the meeting who could speak my language.

I was at the mercy of my interrupter to understand their questions and communicate my responses. And if
that wasn’t enough, I had to formulate answers immediately to many difficult and possibly explosive
questions.

I was not up for the task! But prior to the meeting, I had committed myself to the Holy Spirit and asked
Him to fill me and speak through me.

When the meeting was over, it was evident to all that our communications were successful. Not because
of my abilities, but because of the Holy Spirit working through me.

I say that, to say this: I did not go into that meeting feeling strong, like I could tackle the situation
because I had what it takes. I went into the meeting like a scared puppy, but I went in FAITH.

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I came out however, recognizing that I had just done what I normally could not do, and it happened
because of the Filling of the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion

The same filling of the Spirit that was available to me in Romania is available to all believers to empower
them to do mighty acts for the glory of God and to overcome the sins that seek to enslave us.

Absolute No. 5 is this: The Holy Spirit In Me -- He is the power source for Christian living.

In His strength, you can do all God asks of you. You can endure all that God places on you. You can
overcome all obstacles that keep you from glorifying Him.

Without His power, you are a sitting duck for the attacks of Satan, and you will live in defeat and misery.

Therefore, I say with Paul – Be Filled With The Spirit!

The First Federated Church copyright, above, is for the sermon itself, not for any items quoted in the sermon, unless
otherwise stated. All quoted items are done so in good faith, and the source is attributed when it is known.

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