Building God’s House
“Building a Spiritual Life”
{Audio File: https://mega.nz/#!Pc0BAaCK!44_G8C_noIHjYwijz1LiPY4QerOmBOSCl8gZSj5arWk}
When we come to church and hear a message that applies to our lives, we generally get all excited; ready to put into practice the principles we’ve learned from God’s word. The only problem is that by the time we get home and turn on the TV, or computer, the desire and fire are gone, and we find ourselves frustrated and disappointed once again in our Christian walk.
The reason may be because I haven’t done my job. You see, I may have given you all the right information, all the biblical steps and principles, but I may have missed the mark by not getting you connected to the fullness of what it means to build up the house of God within us as a spiritual house.
Without the fullness of the Holy Spirit operating in our lives, all of these steps and principles won’t work. What’s happening is that we are trying to put into practice spiritual principles through natural understanding.
As we proceed in our series on discipleship, that is, building up the house of God within us, it seems only logical to build up our spiritual lives, given that within us lays the temple of the Holy Spirit.
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19 NKJV)
And so today I would like to look at our need to build up our spiritual lives.
The question is how do we go about this process? The answer is we don’t, but God does, as the Lord said through the prophet Zachariah, “Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit.” (Zachariah 4:6)
And so the power doesn’t lie within us; rather it lies in God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Consider these biblical passages.
“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4 NKJV)
This means that the Holy Spirit residing within us is greater and mightier than Satan and his demonic hoard, along with anything and everything that can be thrown at us.
In Ephesians 3:16 the Apostle Paul says, “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.”
Paul is saying that within every believer there is tremendous power.
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” (Ephesians 3:20 NKJV)
The power that works within us is the power of the Holy Spirit, which enables us to walk on this journey of faith and live in victory.
“I say then, walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” (Galatians 5:16-17 NKJV)
To walk in the Spirit means to continue living life completely dependent upon the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, and when we do our sinful nature, along with the world’s enticements, and Satan’s temptations, will stop dominating us.
Maybe we can say it this way, that the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives allows us to live effective lives for God.
What sort of power am I referring to?
Power to Be An Effective Witness
Why is this important? It’s because of the Great Commission given by Jesus.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20a NKJV)
Holy Spirit power allows us to effectively share our faith with others so they can find this life-changing faith for their lives.
In Acts 1:8 Jesus said, “But 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.”
Fifty days after those words were spoken, the Holy Spirit came in power, filling the room the disciples had gathered in, lighting a fire over, and, figuratively speaking, under them. Afterwards they immediately hit the streets proclaiming the wonderful works of God (Acts 2).
Power to Help Enter God’s Presence
The Holy Spirit empowers our prayer life allowing us to enter into the presence of God in ways we never imagined.
In Romans 8:26 the Apostle Paul says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
When it comes to prayer, we naturally don’t know how to pray, or what we should be praying for. But being the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit knows the mind and will of the Father and Jesus toward us. Therefore, He effectively intercedes on our behalf.
The Holy Spirit also gives us the faith to believe, something we desperately need, because more often than we like to admit, we don’t feel like our prayers are being heard, or for that matter, answered. Because of this we feel disillusioned, disheartened, and depressed, wanting just to give up.
But the Holy Spirit gives us the faith to continue believing in God and His promises more than the circumstances that surround us.
And so we are to pray in the Spirit so our faith can grow.
“But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.” (Jude 1:20 NIV)
The Building Process
When it comes to building a house, there are logical steps. In other words, you don’t build the roof first. It begins with the foundation, which is then followed by the structure itself. But then there is the daily maintenance that needs to be done to keep it from falling apart.
Keeping with this formula, let’s look at the building of our spiritual lives beginning with the foundation.
Foundation: Being Filled with the Holy Spirit
Now, it is natural to question this as our foundation, and a person would be correct to question it, and that’s because our foundation is Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24 NKJV).
Therefore, building up God’s house within us begins with building our lives upon the solid rock foundation of belief in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
But to keep a foundation from crumbling, a sealant needs to be applied, and that sealant is the Holy Spirit.
The Apostle Paul twice brings this out.
"Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NKJV)
"In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.” (Ephesians 1:13 NKJV)
We become sealed and filled with the Holy Spirit when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. After Jesus’s resurrection, He showed Himself to the disciples.
“When Jesus appeared to the disciples He breathed on them saying, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:22 NKJV).
And it was in this breath that God gave them a new spiritual life.
The Apostle Paul said, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1 NKJV)
New life through the forgiveness of sins is at the heart of the New Covenant God enacted for His people through faith in Jesus Christ. It was a new way, because the old way, that is, the law, could never accomplish this.
Therefore, Jesus breathing upon them saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” is the start of the new spiritual life, because it is a new spiritual birth that has taken place, and it comes from the Holy Spirit, or “The Breath of God.”
It is not without significance that the word for “breath” in the Hebrew language is the same word for “wind,” and “spirit,” and is used every time the Spirit of God is mentioned.
And so when it says “the Spirit of God,” it can also be translated as “the Breath of God.”
Why do I bring this up, because of what is found in God’s command to Ezekiel to prophesy to the Breath in order to bring life to a bunch of dead dried up bones.
“‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, thus says the Lord God: come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.’ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.” (Ezekiel 37:9-10 NKJV)
When Ezekiel speaks these words, stuff begins to happen. All of a sudden bones start flying all over the place and start getting connected and muscle and skin become attached. But something was missing, the breath of life.
Isn’t this a lot like Christians today? They look good on the outside, but on the inside the Breath of God is missing. What is needed is for Jesus to breathe upon them the Breath of Life, the Holy Spirit.
How do we know that this is the Holy Spirit that enters? It’s because of what God goes on to say through Ezekiel, “I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live.” (Ezekiel 37:14a NKJV)
When we come to belief in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit enters, and we become His dwelling place, which we saw in the very beginning and which this whole series is built upon.
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ... Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19 NKJV)
Being filled with the Holy Spirit, therefore, is an important part of our spiritual life, because it is then we’ll discover the true source of supernatural power that can help us in our journey of faith until we enter into heaven.
Setting all controversy aside, I believe this is one of our greatest needs.
And while being filled is important, there’s a greater filling available, and that is, the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Structure: Being Baptized in the Holy Spirit
Remember they already received the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed on them. Jesus, however, tells them of a further filling that is required known as the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
“For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:5 NKJV)
This was actually prophesied by John the Baptist about Jesus saying, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11 NKJV)
Many Christians aren’t experiencing the fullness of the Holy Spirit, because they haven’t received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. There’s a special anointing, a special empowerment of the Holy Spirit that awaits all who come to faith in Jesus Christ.
The word “baptism” gives us this understanding. It’s a special anointing. The word means to be completely immersed. It’s as if Jesus is saying, “I want to completely immerse you in the power of the Holy Spirit, flooding every compartment of your life.”
We see this same meaning in what Jesus said in Luke 24:49. “I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
The word “endued” means to completely cover or to clothe oneself in. Jesus is saying He wants us to be clothed in the power of the Holy Spirit.
This isn’t some academic exercise that sounds good in church on Sunday, but has no application in real life, or on Monday. Rather, it’s the one thing that we as believers need above and beyond everything else, which is why Jesus told His disciples prior to His accession to wait for it.
We need the baptism of the Holy Spirit if we’re ever going to make a difference and an impact upon this present generation. We need the baptism of the Holy Spirit so we can be like a river of living water allowing the Holy Spirit to overflow our lives so we can overflow God’s grace and mercy in the lives of others.
But there’s still another step in this building process, and that is maintenance. It is maintaining the foundation and structure.
Maintenance: Being Refilled in the Holy Spirit
After being filled and baptized in the Holy Spirit, the disciples found it necessary to be continually refilled. After the Jewish authorities punished Peter and John telling them not to preach or teach in the name of Jesus, they went to the church and prayed with other believers.
“The place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31 NKJV)
They were refilled.
When full-service gas stations were around, we use to go in and say, “Fill ’er up,” and the attendant knew this meant two things. First, the gas in the car was getting close to empty, and second, we wanted our gas tank filled.
As believers, once we get filled and baptized, we need to be continually refilled.
We need a fresh anointing and refilling of the Holy Spirit to meet the new complexities and challenges of life. This was something God’s people knew and wanted from the very beginning.
I love the way the prophet Isaiah calls out for this fresh anointing.
“Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence ... When You did awesome things for which we did not look, You came down, the mountains shook at Your presence.” (Isaiah 64:1, 3)
We always need to be yielding ourselves to the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit wants to work within us, filling us, controlling us, and directing our lives so that we can be everything God has created us to be.
Living in the fullness of the Holy Spirit is not some holy suggestion nor is it optional on the part of believers.
About being filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive (John 7:37-39a NKJV)
Jesus likened the Holy Spirit to living waters. Now, living water was water that is always moving. It’s always new and fresh, and never stale nor stagnate.
The fullness of the Holy Spirit, therefore, is a fresh flow of power in a believer’s life. It’s like seeing “fresh daily,” in the supermarket. The filling of the Holy Spirit needs to be refreshed daily in our lives as well.
Therefore, we need to be open and available for the Holy Spirit to fill us, and continue to refill us, to do this fantastic work within us.
Conclusion
How can we begin to build a spiritual life, a life filled with the Holy Spirit? It’s simple, we ask God.
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Luke 11:9-10 NKJV)
Jesus then goes on to say that this wonderful blessing and gift of the Holy Spirit is ours for the asking.
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13 NKJV)
The Father and Son want to give to us the Holy Spirit without measure, fully and completely so we can be His church. So we need to ask, but without doubting. The Apostle James brings this out quite forcefully and succinctly.
In our lesson on building a life of wisdom we saw that if we need wisdom, we need to ask God (James 1:5), but then James add this, and I believe it applies to everything we ask of God.
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:6-7 NKJV)
In John’s gospel, Jesus said that while Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy, He had come for the exact opposite reason, and that is to give abundant life (John 10:10 NKJV).
To avail ourselves of this abundant life, not only do we need to come into the faith of Jesus Christ, and be filled with the Holy Spirit, but also we need the baptism of the Holy Spirit, along with being continually refilled and renewed by the Holy Spirit.
Living in the fullness of the Holy Spirit rests entirely upon our being willing to receive the Holy Spirit and being open for God to pour His Spirit within us.
And so, we need to build up God’s house within us as a spiritual house, and we do so by living in the power of the Holy Spirit.
