It was a dark time. Hatred, discord, rage, selfishness, factions, name calling, substance abuse, sexual perversions of all kinds, and even some forms of the occult were starting to flourish.
Sounds like today but it was the 1st century and it wasn’t central Indiana but an area known as Galatia in what would be today’s central Turkey.
Church leaders in Galatia were deeply concerned about the dropping morality and the lack of power and presence of God among the people of their churches, so, they made a bad decision. They told everybody to start following the law again. …the Jewish law.
· They told them to Start doing all the festivals and the animal sacrifice system, and start follow the over 600 rules and regulations that the law had morphed into.
They figured that would fix things. They were wrong. And that is why Paul wrote then a very stern letter…part of which you just heard.
Earlier in the letter he wrote You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Galatians 3:1
· You are not going to get yourselves right by following the Old Testament law again.
· You are not going to restore the power and presence of God to your lives and by legislated morality and heavy handed religion.
No, You will experience the power of and presence of God if you learn how to… Walk in the Spirit.
So, ironically literally nothing has changed in 2000 years…like the Galatians, we are a moral mess. And Like them, we must learn how to walk in the spirit if we want to experience the power and blessing of God.
Review:
We continuing in our series The Days of Wind and Fire.
The big idea of this whole series is investigating whether it’s possible that the supernatural could become natural …or normal in our midst. Whether God could bring revival to our lives, to central Indiana and beyond.
· To address those questions we’ve broken the series into 3 parts.
o Part 1 – A study of the Holy Spirit You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you…Jesus, Acts 1:8
§ If revival is going to come it will come through the Holy Spirit.
§ He is the catalyst for renewal…the locus of the power and presence of God.
o Part 2 – A study of prayer – the hydraulic fluid of the Kingdom…prayer is our access to God…it is the conduit of revival.
o Part 3 – A thorough study of the early church –
§ What happened? what were the sign of revival among them – what were the ways that the supernatural became natural.
§ Why did they love so well? Why was there so much conversion? healing? power over spirits? dreams and visions?
§ we will begin this on 9/11 – our 25th anniversary!
But, today, let’s wrap up our study of the Holy Spirit. Last week I addressed this question:
What is the process whereby human beings receive the power and presence of the Holy Spirit?
· How do you appropriate His power (“make it your own”)? How do you tap into His presence?
· The quality and effectiveness of your life rises and falls on how you respond to this question.
· The future of Grace Church hangs in the balance until WE answer it correctly.
The answer rests in these three biblical exhortations or admonitions:
Be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Be filled with the Spirit.
Walk in the Spirit.
Be baptized with the Holy Spirit. This is where your life with the Holy Spirit begins.
· this is your introduction to the Spirit
· this is your inauguration into the Spirit
· this is where you initially receive the Spirit
Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38
If you will surrender your life to Jesus today…right now…you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…he will enter into your very life and you will be filled with the power of God.
· and in just a few moments you can then dramatically illustrate that by allowing us to baptize you in water…a symbol of being baptized in the Holy Spirit.
Now, for those of you who in days past have surrendered your life to Jesus but today you are not experiencing the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. There is this exhortation…
Be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:15-18
· the word “be filled” means to complete what is only partial. To fill to the top.
· You are like a half filled container. The power of God has “leaked”
· Repent, turn back to God and pray to be filled again!
In a few moments you also will be given the opportunity to pray to be filled.
· Note: it is unnecessary to come forward – you can do this privately…anytime…as often as you feel you need to. BUT…if it would help then by all means let us p[ray over you to be filled with the Spirit.
Reminder. Here is the question we’re trying to answer: What is the process whereby human beings receive the power and presence of the Holy Spirit?
Be baptized with the Holy Spirit - initial
Be filled with the Spirit - as needed
But there’s one more way into the power and presence of God…Something daily or even moment by moment must occur. And that is best described by this phrase:
Be baptized with the Holy Spirit - initial
Be filled with the Spirit - as needed
Walk in the Spirit – daily
Galatians 5:16-26 ______________
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:13-25
O.K. so what does it mean to Walk in the spirit? Clearly it’s important.
· Do it daily and… love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control start to emerge.
But…how do you do it? This may be confusing but there are two other phrases in this section of scripture that actually explain how to go about walking in the Spirit:
To walk in the Spirit =
1. Be led by the Spirit (Vs 18)
2. Keep in step with the Spirit (Vs 25)
Let me illustrate both of them…dramatize what they mean…
#1 - This is walking in the Spirit. – me following in his footsteps and going everywhere he is going.
#2 - But watch what happens next
· Why am I not walking in the Spirit? I stopped being led by the Spirit because I stopped paying attention to where He was going! This is one of the keys to walking in the Spirit – I MUST PAY ATTENTION to be led by the Spirit!
· Jesus said in John 5 – My father is always at work. And the Father loves the son and shows him what he is doing.
o the Holy Spirit will do the exact same thing for you! He will tell you and show you what to do, say, where to go…But you must PAY ATTENTION!
· How?
o Listen. You will hear things. Words. Phrases. Thoughts. Images. Dreams. Visions. (especially as you read the Bible)
o Watch. Stuff will happen that is not coincidence.
o Feel. your conscience…what is it telling you.
I am convinced that this kind of knowing comes through a familiarity with God bred through the hundreds of common incidents in our lives. It is these encounters which God uses as vehicles of himself. Karen Mains, Karen, Karen
· if you pay attention you will see burning bushes…more and more often!
Divine attendance is the most important thing in the world. It is at this deep level where the real business of life is determined. Thomas Kelly, A Testament of Devotion
To walk in the Spirit =
1. Be led by the Spirit (Vs 18)
2. Keep in step with the Spirit (Vs 25)
OK…so if we are going to walking in the Spirit we must be led by the Spirit and for that to happen we must pay attention….but…watch this…there is another thing I must do…
#3 – I stop walking in the Spirit not because I am not seeing where he is going, but because I refuse to go. I willfully refuse to keep in step with him.
· he says go this way…I go that way…
· If I am going to walk in the Spirit I MUST OBEY HIM. I must surrender my will.
Never has a person come alive in the Spirit without agreeing almost immediately to surrender to whatever God has for that person. Calvin Miller
Walking in the Spirit means keeping in step with the spirit and keeping in step with the Spirit always means surrender and obedience.
When such a commitment comes to a human life, God breaks through, miracles are wrought, world-renewing divine forces are released and history changes. Thomas Kelly
If you want to walk in the Spirit you must pay attention (be led by) and then when he reveals things to you, you must keep in step with Him…practice obedience.
So now we have the complete answer: What is the process whereby human beings receive the power and presence of the Holy Spirit?
Be baptized with the Holy Spirit - initial
Be filled with the Spirit - as needed
Walk in the Spirit – daily
Now…let’s move out of the realm of the hypothetical and let’s practice what we’ve heard…
1. come and be baptized – initiate your relationship with the Holy Spirit.
2. come and be prayed for to be filled with the Holy Spirit
3. use this time to listen and obey – walk in the Spirit