How to Change Your World – Part 3
October 28, 2001
INTRODUCTION
Show clip from Star Wars where Luke is being taught how to use the Force.
Obviously, that was a scene from “Star Wars.” Obi Wan Kenobi is preparing Luke Skywalker for his life mission as a Jedi knight. He isn’t going to send Luke out on assignment unprepared. He shows him the resource that is available to him. Something called “The Force.” A mysterious, cosmic energy that he can tap into – when he surrenders to the Force, great things happen – things he would be unable to do on his own power – potential to defeat the dark ruling strongholds of the universe. The Force is something Luke can’t see, which makes Han Solo skeptical that it even exists. Luke just has to trust that it is there. That’s just fantasy – in real life, God gives us a resource that is even better.
God has called followers of Jesus Christ to be world-changers. A mighty tall order. He doesn’t send us out on the mission unequipped.
Ephesians 5:18 says…
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18)
God wants me to have extreme, world-changing resources through the power of the Holy Spirit.
TRANSITION: If this is to happen, I have to understand three facts. FACT #1…
I. If I am a believer, I already have the Holy Spirit.
Some might read Ephesians 5:18 and conclude that Paul was saying the Ephesian Christians didn’t have the Holy Spirit.
Acts 19 says Paul visited Ephesus and the believers there received the Holy Spirit after they were baptized.
Further, Ephesians Chapter 1:13-14 says…
And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. (NLT)
NIV says – you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)
The Holy Spirit comes to live inside us at conversion. That is, when we become Christians – when we embrace a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. We receive the Holy Spirit when our old self dies and is buried with Jesus, and through faith in Jesus, God raises us up to a new life. When that happens, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us.
That’s why shortly after Jesus died and went to heaven, the Apostle Peter in Acts chapter 2 could stand up before a huge crowd in Jerusalem and say with confidence, Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the Holy Spirit.
Peter knew that these people who placed their faith in Jesus would not be left empty-handed, so to speak. He knew God would place the Holy Spirit in them.
And we have that same assurance. When Jesus saves us, He puts the Holy Spirit inside us.
Romans 8:9 says…If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
All who belong to Christ have the Spirit.
The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives inside you!
Christians have the Holy Spirit.
TRANSITION: If I am to have the extreme, world-changing resources through the power of the Holy Spirit, I need to understand FACT #2…
II. I am to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
In Ephesians 5:18 Paul says those exact words, “Be filled with the Spirit.”
The emphasis of this command is being filled again and again. When Paul says, “Be filled,” he uses a present tense imperative, which means “Keep on being filled.” Again and again.
This is no one-time activity, as though we can be filled with the Spirit at a point in time and we’re done with forever and ever, Amen. No, this is a daily re-filling. Keep on being filled.
(Object lesson)
When we think of being filled, a picture that may come to mind is a glass – half empty or half full, depending on our outlook. We say this glass needs to be filled.
So when we hear the command to be filled with the Spirit, we may conclude, “I must be only ½ full of the Spirit, so fill me up!”
(Fill glass to the rim with grape juice)
But this is not an accurate picture. Let me explain why. The Holy Spirit is a person, not a thing. He is God, who exists as three persons in one being – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – the Trinity.
If we’re Christians, we already have all of the Spirit there is to get. He can’t be divided into 1/4s, 1/3s, or ½s. We either have all of Him living inside, or we don’t have Him at all. It’s that simple.
Instead Paul gives us a slightly different picture. Ephesians 5:18 starts off by saying, “Don’t get drunk with wine – that will ruin your life.” In other words, don’t fill yourself with wine.
Why not? I’ll show you. (Don’t worry…this only grape juice!)
DRINK GLASS OF GRAPE JUICE
If I’m filled with wine, it can control me. It can make me drunk. Christians are not be controlled by created things. In Genesis 1:26 God says that we are to have dominion over created things. The Holy Spirit is not created. The Holy Spirit is God. We cannot have dominion over the Spirit. Instead God commands us to let the Spirit dominate us.
Using the wine metaphor in Ephesians 5:18, we see that being filled is an issue of influence and control.
Don’t get drunk on wine – don’t be filled with wine - Instead let the Spirit control you – be filled with Him – be under His influence.
I like what Billy Graham says about this. He writes, “When we are filled with the Spirit, it is not a question of there being more of Him, as though his work in us were quantitative. It is not how much of the Spirit we have, but how much the Spirit has of us.” (Billy Graham, The Holy Spirit, p. 100)
Did you hear that? We don’t need more of Him. If we are Christians, we already have all of the Holy Spirit that there is to get.
I don’t need more of Him. He needs more of me!
Being filled is all about who is in control.
ILLUS - When someone is pulled over by a police officer because of being intoxicated, he is cited with something called a D.U.I., which, of course, means the person was driving under the influence. Under the influence of alcohol.
God wants us to receive a different kind of citation. He wants people to look at us and issue an L.U.I…. For people who are living under the influence. Living under the influence of the Holy Spirit, that is. If your life were inspected today, would you be found to be full of the Holy Spirit? Controlled by Him? Living under his influence?
Paul encourages the Roman Christians with these words in Romans 8… You are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you.
So, if we are to keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit, does that mean there are times when we are not “filled” with the Spirit. Yes!
Those are the times when are not fully yielding to his control. But is this a big deal?
TRANSITION: It is, because God wants me to have extreme, world-changing resources through the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s why I need to understand FACT #3…
III. The Holy Spirit gives me power for God’s purposes.
In Acts chapter one, just as Jesus is preparing to ascend back into heaven, he meets with the disciples one last time. And he gave them this instruction….
Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. (Acts 1:4)
Catch that? He said, WAIT!! I’m giving you a world-changing mission, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.” But don’t start until you’re properly equipped. You’ll need some extreme resources to be able to carry out this task.
The disciples by this time were very much aware of their own weaknesses and failings. So it probably seemed incredible to them that they would be called on to be world-changers. They wouldn’t be able to do it alone, and yet Jesus was leaving them.
So Jesus further assures them in Acts 1…You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you…and you will be my witnesses…
Charles Stanley writes, “The power of the Holy Spirit was given for a very specific purpose – to enable us to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ.” (Charles Stanley, The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life, p. 114)
Power for a purpose. Be my witnesses – change the world. And, Jesus says, I’m giving you the extreme resources you’ll need to carry out this mission.
Sometimes we may say to ourselves, “My life feels a little stale.”
Various thoughts may accompany that feeling…Thoughts like…
I find it easier to imitate the world than to imitate Jesus.
I’m not really growing in my faith.
I’ve sort of lost the fire I once had to see the spiritually needy in my community come to know Christ.
My quiet time with God is frequently neglected.
Prayer seems more like a duty than a joy.
I have sins I’ve grown content to leave un-confessed.
“So, how can I tap into this the power of this Spirit-filled life?”
I want to feel God’s presence in me. I want to be a world-changer for Him. But how?
The answer is to yield daily. To lay down our lives and let God take total control – to be filled with Him. The power comes from being filled.
So are you daily laying down your life? Are you surrendering yourself to him through extreme intimacy?
Some of us have put off being baptized for one reason or another. If this is you, you know you need to do it – God asks you to submit and surrender to him through baptism, but still you haven’t done it. I want to really challenge you today to consider whether you are truly as filled with the as you could be Holy Spirit if you’ve been neglecting to lay down your life in this most foundational way. Are you genuinely receiving all of the power the Spirit wants to place in your life? If we take God’s Word seriously on this issue, there ought to be some baptisms today.
Some of us have been persistent with a particular act of disobedience. You know God asks you to surrender this sin, but you haven’t done it. I’d like to encourage you to think about what the Spirit wants to do in your life if you’d give him full control. If we take this seriously, there ought to be some prayers of repentance and confession today.
Some of us are still wrestling with what we talked about last week. Being intimate with God on a daily basis. But the power comes from being filled – from deep times of communion in private with God where we lay it all down before him. If we take God seriously, there ought to be some who drop to their knees before bed tonight.
TRANSITION: Fact is, God gives his Holy Spirit power for a purpose – a world changing purpose. And if we’re not receiving all of that power, the world may just stay the way it is.
WRAP-UP
ILLUS - Horace Grant was a member of the Chicago Bulls when they won their first three NBA titles in ’91, ’92 and ’93. In 1995, Horace Grant was a member of the Orlando Magic, a team that made it to the NBA finals against the Houston Rockets. I remember watching a game in that series where the camera focused in on some Orlando fans holding a banner that read, “Chicago never won a championship with Horace Grant.”
Now, Horace Grant is a fine basketball player. He was a member of last year’s title winning Los Angeles Lakers . But this was 1995. And while it was true that Chicago had never won a championship without Horace Grant, everyone in the world knew it was more true that Horace Grant had never won a championship without Michael Jordan.
You have to give credit where credit is due.
Some might be inclined to say, “The world can only be changed for the better by Christians.” When actually what needs to be said is, “Christians can only change the world by the power of the Holy Spirit.” That’s where credit is due. That is what’s true. We can do nothing of significance without Him.
Big Idea: To be a world changer, I need to…
L – Lay down my life…daily…through…
I – Intimacy with God…to receive…
N – New Power
Next week, we’re going to cap it off by having a special time of commitment, where everyone here gets a link.
