Be Filled With the Spirit (sermon)

(preached at Brook Hill UMC, June 22, 2014)

Ephesians 5:15-20 (v.18 “…be filled with the Spirit”)

Francis Chan is a well-known Asian-American speaker and author. He was a pastor for many years. In 2009 he wrote a book called: Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit. Hear these words from his book:

“From my perspective, the Holy Spirit is tragically rejected and, for all practical purposes, forgotten… Millions of churchgoers across America.. cannot confidently say they have experienced His presence or action in their lives over the past year. And many… do not believe they can…

Success in church services has become more about attendance than the movement of the Holy Spirit. The ‘entertainment model’ of the church was largely adopted in the 1980s and ‘90s, and… it filled our churches with self-focused consumers rather than self-sacrificing servants attuned to the Holy Spirit…

If I were Satan… one of my main strategies would be to get churchgoers to ignore the Holy Spirit. The degree to which this has happened… is directly connected to the dissatisfaction most of us feel with… the church. We understand something very important is missing… This missing something is actually a missing Someone – namely, the Holy Spirit. Without Him, people operate in their own strength and only accomplish human-size results… But when believers live in the power of the Spirit, the evidence in their lives is supernatural. The church cannot help but be different, and the world cannot help but notice…

I can’t think of anything more essential for God’s church everywhere, and especially in the western hemisphere where it seems that the Holy Spirit is all but missing from most of our churches… I know that the body of Christ is vibrant and growing … on continents like Africa, South America, and Asia… I also believe that the Spirit is more obviously active in places where people are desperate for Him, humbled before Him, and not distracted by their pursuit of wealth or comforts (like we are).”

These are sobering words.

In one minute or one year I can’t school you in what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit. But here is a short summary:

The Holy Spirit is very God of very God. Together with God the Father and Jesus the Son, the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of the Holy Trinity – one God in three Persons.

Though he is called “the breath of God” and symbolized as a dove, He is not merely a metaphor or symbol. He is not some impersonal force.

He is neither male nor female in any human sense of the word, but since my brain and language are limited, let me use the pronoun “He” when I speak of the Holy Spirit this morning. 

He is all-powerful. All-knowing. Present in every place and every situation. He is eternal and holy. He has His own mind and will, and His own desires. He prays for us.

He has emotions, and He grieves when we walk away from God to go our own way.

The Holy Spirit was present and active when the world was created. He was active in a limited way in the Old Testament.

And (if you believe the Scriptures, as I do) He is active in a much more prominent way over the last 2000 years. During these two millenia, He lives within the followers of Jesus. If we give Him access to the hidden corners of our lives, He directs us, He speaks to us, He promotes the life and work and person of Jesus. In fact, we could call Him the Spirit of Jesus. He is God at work in the world today.

Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch Christian. From 1942 to 1944 she hid Jews in her home as they tried to escape the Nazi Holocaust. In 1944 she was caught and sent to Ravensbruck prison camp. After her liberation she traveled throughout the world with a powerful message of hope and forgiveness.

Corrie ten Boom wrote these words: “Trying to do the Lord's work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.” 

I believe that every true follower of Christ longs for the ministry of Jesus to flow out from their lives.

What does it mean to be “filled with the Spirit?” Nine times in the Book of Acts, the followers of Jesus are described as “filled with the Spirit” or “full of the Spirit”.

And here in the scripture which was read (Ephesians 5) we are encouraged or instructed or commanded or urged to be “filled with the Spirit.”

One translation puts it this way: “let the Spirit fill your life.”

The Amplified Bible says “ever be filled… with the Holy Spirit.”(or “be being filled”: an ongoing action)

A third translator says: “Don’t get your stimulus from wine…, but let the Spirit stimulate your souls.

The Message translation says: “Don’t drink too much wine, (but) Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him.”

The Living Bible says: “be filled… with the Holy Spirit and controlled by him.”

To be full of the Holy Spirit means at least that we are controlled or governed by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:6 tells us that “the mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 

What does it mean to be “filled with the Spirit?” And how does a follower of Jesus become “filled with the Spirit’? And then, how does a Christian continue in an ongoing state of being “full of the Spirit” – filled again and again, day after day?

And how does a person like me – with all of my personal baggage and bruises, who has been seeking to follow Jesus for almost 50 years – how can I live a life that is “full of the Spirit”?

Well, what is my soul full of today? What is my mind full of? What occupies my time and attention and interest? To what have I devoted myself for years and years?

(My story) I asked Jesus to come into my life in October of 1966. I was in seventh grade. I had come to believe in the reality of hell, and I didn’t want to go there. One night in my bed I asked God to forgive my sins and come into my life, and help me live a life pleasing to Him. There was a definite change in my life. God was in my life, but He didn’t have control of my life.

Like most teenage boys I was full of myself – full of pride and ambition and insecurity. Full of chess and music and a love of the ocean. Once I lied to someone, and wouldn’t ‘fess up for a year or two. I eventually came to see that there could be only one Master of my life. It could be Jesus, or it could be me. Most of the time, it was me.

Then in 1972, when I was 18, I had a great wrestling match with God that went on for days. I was facing the most important decision in life: would I be the boss of my life, or would I turn over the reins of my life to Jesus and let Him be my Master?

I remember the day in July when I fully surrendered everything to God. When I said yes it felt like God took a giant vacuum cleaner to my life and sucked out all the sin. For several hours I was in a daze, realizing that this was a major turning-point. That was the day I first settled the Lordship question.

(When you surrender everything to Jesus, you may not have the “vacuum cleaner experience”.)

Well, it’s been 42 years, and I’ve messed up many times. Almost every day I come back to God. I ask Him to forgive my sins. I ask Him to cleanse my nature so that I’m less inclined to sin.

And I’ve never regretted that decision I made as a teenager. God has blessed me and made a way for me. He gave me a wife who has a similar passion for Jesus. He’s given me two godly daughters, and grandchildren to love. If I die today, God has cheated me out of nothing.

Dwight L. Moody was a great evangelist of the 1800s. With regard to being filled with the Holy Spirit, he wrote: “The moment our hearts are emptied of selfishness and ambition and self-seeking and everything that is contrary to God's law, the Holy Spirit will come and fill every corner of our hearts; but if we are full of pride and conceit, ambition and self-seeking…, there is no room for the Spirit of God… Many a man is praying to God to fill him, when he is full already with something else. Before we pray that God would fill us, …we ought to pray that He would empty us. There must be an emptying before there can be a filling; …and everything that is contrary to God is turned out, then the Spirit will come...” 

Where are you in your journey with Christ today? Ask God to empty you of your self-centeredness, and be filled with the Spirit of God.

sermon: Suffering With Christ?

(Preached June 1, 2014 at  Brook Hill United Methodist Church, Frederick, MD)

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 (The Message) 

     Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.

     If you’re abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate. It’s the Spirit of God and his glory in you that brought you to the notice of others…

     So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.

     Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.

The theme of suffering runs through this first letter of Peter. The Greek words meaning “suffer” and “suffering” are used at least 15 times in this epistle.

We don’t need to look far to see suffering in this world. We’ve had a window into the life of the Sanders family during Dale’s long illness. It was beautiful this week to see him graduate (via Skype) from Tuscarora High School with high honors. His sister Claudia accepted his diploma for him, and Dale as able to see it live.

This week we also celebrated the home-going of our friend John Ferguson.

And Jenn Kendro sent me a link to a blog-post by Mindy Sauer. Mindy’s 5-year-old son Ben left this earth 50 days ago after a long illness. In her blog Mindy wrote: “…heaven makes all the difference… Because we serve a Living God who loves us even more than we can imagine, we can have confidence in His ability to care for our loved ones after they take their last breath. Because of heaven, I know that I will be reunited with my Benjamin again someday…” It’s a powerful story of faith and hope in spite of loss.

About 90 days ago, 276 girls were kidnapped from a secondary school in Borno State, Nigeria. The kidnappers were Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist organization based in northeast Nigeria. These girls (from Christian families) are being forced into Islam and into marriage with members of Boko Haram, with a reputed "bride price" of $12.50 each. This horrible event is a kind of persecution of Christian families.

And the main thrust of Peter’s letter seems to be encouragement for Christians who were going through persecution because they were followers of Jesus. These Nigerian girls and their families are suffering.

About a year ago, 27-year-old Matthew Warren committed suicide after years of mental illness. He was the son of Rick and Kay Warren, and (as many of you know) Rick Warren is pastor of Saddleback Church, one of America’s largest. He is the author of The Purpose-Driven Life.

After a 16-week sabbatical, Rick and Kay Warren returned to the pulpit with a sermon series called “How to Get Through What You’re Going Through.”  I highly recommend this sermon series, which you can watch online at the Saddleback Church website.One family (out of millions) struggling with grief. Suffering, but prevailing.

To get the flavor of what Peter says about suffering, let’s read these three verses together:

“…you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith… may be proved genuine.” (1 Peter 1:6-7)

 “…do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ…”

(1 Peter 4:12-13)

“Resist [the devil], standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:9)

The time will come in your life (if it hasn’t already) when you will suffer. The question is: Will your suffering be wasted on you, or will you learn something from it?

One of the things that Rick and Kay Warren learned in the aftermath of their son’s suicide was: “Life doesn’t make sense, but we can have peace because we know God is with us and loves us.”

I’m no expert on suffering, and I hope not to become one, but I’d like to quickly share with you four principles that will help us put suffering into context.

Principle 1: Suffering is a spiritual refining process. (4:13 – The Message)

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1:2-4 – The Message)

As we think about this process of spiritual refining, Colleen Street shares with us this quote: "Never be ashamed of the scars that life has left you. A scar means the hurt is over, the wound is closed. You endured the pain and GOD has healed you!”

And Shirley Pritchard says: “Going through a test means you will have a testimony.”

When you have gone through a devastating experience, you have tremendous authority to encourage others who are going through similar suffering.

Principle 2: When Christians suffer, we participate in the sufferings of Christ.

“we are in the very thick of what Christ experienced.” (4:13 – The Message)

Jesus suffered before us, and we should not be surprised that, in following Him, there will be trials and tests and suffering.

Principle 3: In your suffering, come to God again and again, throwing your worries on Him.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (5:7 – NIV)

In this context Dottie Winter encourages us to remind ourselves of the 23rd Psalm – “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me…”

Principle 4: Glory is just around the corner. (4:13 – The Message)

The day is coming when God will set everything right. The Bible says that the heavens and earth will be consumed with fire, and God will usher in a new heaven and earth, where we will live without aches and pains, and we will be beautiful and immortal.

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Last Wednesday night (after Restaurant Night at Lakeside Pizzeria) I was physically exhausted.

By 7:30 I was in bed with my eyes closed, when I heard a loud, firm knock on the front door. Then again. And again. I pulled my pants on and went down to open the door.

It was my friend Chuck, who with his wife Carlene had attended Faithpoint United Methodist Church when I worked there.

About a year ago, Carlene was in labor, ready to give birth to their second child, when something went horribly wrong, and Carlene died in childbirth at the age of 32.

Chuck was left with two small children and a boatload of grief. He is still dealing with grief at a profound level.

Connie and I sat and talked with him, and I was struck by one of the things he said: “I would never have wished for this to happen, but my faith in Jesus Christ is so much stronger, going through what I’ve gone through.”

Some of my agnostic and atheist friends would roll their eyes at this statement, but many Christians will nod their heads and say a loud “Amen.”

Thank You, Lord, that you are with us in our suffering. Thank You for Your promise never to leave us or forsake us, but that You are an ever-present help in trouble. Strengthen us as we go through sufferings, and grant that our faith will be strengthened as we go through the trials of life.