SERMON: FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

Preached by Gregory W. Lee
5 March 2006

-- turn in Bibles to 2 Timothy 3

1. But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
2. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3. without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
4. treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--
5. having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

-- for the past week, I kept hearing the same message from God -- it started with the message that Terry Tekyll presented at the District Rally last Sunday -- and if I heard it once this week, I heard it 100 times this week
-- it's not a new message -- it's not a fresh insight -- it's something that you've heard me preach before -- it's something that you've heard others preach before
-- it is the same message that Jeremiah cried out in Judah -- it is the same message that Isaiah cried out in Israel -- it is the same message that John the Baptist proclaimed in the desert -- and it is the same message that Christ carried with Him to the cross
-- we need the presence of God in our lives -- we need the manifest presence and power of the Lord God Almighty to be made real in our lives -- we need the Holy Spirit to be living in our lives in such a way that we live each day with God's power leading us and directing us into His will
-- Dr. Tekyll pointed out in a powerful way that our churches are devoid of power -- just as Paul warned Timothy the passage that we read from 2 Timothy 3 -- in those verses, Paul warned that in the last days there would be terrible times -- he said that people would be lovers of themselves -- lovers of money -- boastful -- proud -- abusive
-- he said that they would be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God -- having a form of godliness but denying its power
-- I fear that this may have been a word for our times -- I believe this is the message that God has laid upon me this morning
-- by and large, our churches in America are devoid of the power of God -- our focus is not on Him -- it is not on His presence -- it is not on realizing His manifest power in us and through us to affect a nation -- instead it is on people -- it is on programs -- it is on money

-- Dr. Tekyll echoed a comment last Sunday that I have said before -- if the Holy Spirit was missing from our churches, would we even know? -- if the power of God was to be taken from us -- if His hand was to pull back and take away His blessing and His divine favor and presence -- would we even know? -- or would our churches continue to function without any hiccup?
-- I worry about that a lot -- I worry that we are claiming the name of Christ without having Him in our midst -- I worry that we are calling ourself a church without having the presence of God in our midst -- I worry that I am trying to live my life in my own power and not in the power of God
-- we have a form of godliness -- we look like a church -- we talk like a church -- we act like a church -- but we deny the power of God -- this doesn't mean that we deny God is powerful -- this doesn't mean that we don't believe that God can work in us and through us to affect a nation -- but it does mean that we don't allow Him to do that -- we don't allow the power of God to be made manifest in us -- when God comes to us and says, "I want you to do this for Me," we politely say, "Thanks, but no thanks -- we're happy with what we've been doing"
-- by and large, the church in America is a hollow church -- an empty body -- having the form of a church but without the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit within us to make us into the true body of Christ

-- in the Book of Leviticus, as God was calling on Moses to prepare the Tabernacle -- He told Moses to bake twelve loaves of bread -- one for each tribe of Israel -- and He told Moses to make sure that this bread remained on the table in the Tent of Meeting -- in the Holy Place in the Tabernacle -- at all times
-- this bread represented the presence of God in the people of Israel -- this bread reminded the people of the manna that God was sent to them in the desert wilderness -- it reminded them of His power and His presence and His grace in their lives on a daily basis -- of their need for Him in their daily lives

-- in John 6:50-51, Jesus said, "Here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die -- I am the living bread that came down from heaven -- if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever -- this bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world"

-- last night we were in a store and we saw the most wonderful display of freshly baked bread -- it was glistening in the light -- you could almost smell it from where we were standing -- and even though we had just eaten, it made my mouth water -- I walked over and picked up a loaf -- and it was fake -- it was plastic -- it was imitation
-- it looked real -- sitting on that rack it looked like fresh baked bread -- but it wasn't -- and I commented to Kim that this was a lot like our churches nowadays
-- have we substituted the bread of life in our churches for an imitation baked by the world? -- if we are doing church on our own power and with our own strength, then that is exactly what we have done -- if we are living life on our own power and in our own strength, then that is exactly what we are doing -- if we merely have the form of God and none of His power, that is exactly what we are doing

-- I believe that God is calling us today to turn back to Him -- to seek His face and His presence in our lives, because what we are doing is not what He called us to do -- God created His church for a reason -- He created His body and placed in it His very presence in the form of the Holy Spirit for a purpose -- and if we are going to fulfill God's purpose and will in our lives and in our churches, then we have to take the fake bread off the table in God's house -- the bread of man's power and wisdom and strength -- and replace it with the Living Bread -- the manna from Heaven -- that fills us with His power and His wisdom and His strength to accomplish His purposes

-- flip over to the Old Testament to the Book of Jeremiah -- Jeremiah Chapter 1 -- here we see the calling of Jeremiah to be a prophet of God -- while this was written for Jeremiah, I think it stands as a promise for the church as well -- look at verse 4 in this passage

4. The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
5. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

-- before we were formed -- before you or I were ever conceived -- God knew us -- He knew us intimately -- He decided where and when we would be born -- who our parents would be -- where we would grow up -- and He did this for a reason
-- God tells Jeremiah here that He set Him apart for a purpose -- He planned Jeremiah's life and Jeremiah's calling with a purpose in mind -- Jeremiah was appointed to be a prophet to the nations -- to call God's people to repentance -- to proclaim the presence of God in their midst and to help the people feast on the living bread of life
-- Jeremiah's call is no different from ours -- we may not all be called to be prophets or pastors -- but we are all called to proclaim the message of God to this world -- the Bible tells us that we are all ministers of reconciliation -- Peter calls us a royal priesthood of believers -- men and women who are filled with the power of God through the Holy Spirit who are called to go forth in His name to proclaim His name to the world
-- but we have forgotten this, haven't we? -- we can get so caught up in plans and programs and paying apportionments that we forget our calling as Christians -- we forget our purpose as a church
-- we look around at our empty pews and we think, "What can we do to reach the people? -- what programs can we start to draw people in? -- what can we change about the worship service so that people will be attracted to our church?" -- I've done it -- you've done it -- we've all done that
-- we've forgotten our purpose -- we've forgotten our focus -- we've taken our eyes off our Creator -- off the One who called us and appointed us to go and proclaim His presence -- and we've focused on people and programs instead of Him -- it's time that we turn back to our calling and seek God rather than people

-- verse 6

6. "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."
7. But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, `I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.

-- when God speaks to Jeremiah, Jeremiah starts to come up with excuses -- "I don't know how to speak" -- "I am only a child" -- that sounds like us, doesn't it? -- when it comes to doing something in church -- when it comes to speaking to someone about Christ -- when it comes to doing something for God -- we throw up excuses
-- I can't do that -- I don't know how to do that -- I don't see how that is possible -- surely you can't mean me?
-- and so we resort back to what we do know and what we can do -- instead of stepping out in faith in the area that God is calling us, we try to do what we can for Him in our own power and in our own strength -- we don't refuse to go, but we say through our actions that God has it wrong -- He didn't realize that there was no way for us to do that -- He forgot that we are only a small church -- He forgot that we don't have much money in the bank -- He didn't really mean for us to go out and reach people in that way -- we'll do this instead -- this is something that we know that we can do -- this is something that we're good at -- and so we arm our churches with lots of programs and projects and ministries that are good, but safe -- things that we can do in our own strength and in our own way
-- but that is not what God wants -- look at what God says in response to Jeremiah's protests here -- God rebukes him and says, "Don't say that you are only a child, but go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you" -- now there's something important there that you can miss if you're not careful
-- God did not deny that Jeremiah was only a child -- He didn't deny that Jeremiah couldn't speak -- He didn't rebuke Jeremiah for what he was and what he couldn't do -- He rebuked him for allowing himself to be limited in that way
-- in the eyes of the world, Jeremiah was only a child -- in the eyes of the world, Jeremiah couldn't speak -- but we're not talking about the world -- we're not talking about the power of the world -- we're talking about the calling of God -- we're talking about the presence of God -- we're talking about the power of God

-- look at verse 8

8. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.
9. Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth.
10. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."

-- here we see it all coming together -- God knew Jeremiah was a child -- He knew that Jeremiah could not speak well in his own power -- but He told Jeremiah -- "do not be afraid, for I am with you" -- and that is the key to this whole passage -- that is the key to our predicament as the church
-- God was with Jeremiah -- the presence of God in his life enabled him to speak to nations the Word of God with power -- the presence of God in his life gave him the power to uproot and tear down the things of the world -- to destroy and overthrow the things of man -- and to build and plant the kingdom of God in the hearts of the people of his day
-- apart from God, Jeremiah was just a child -- apart from God, Jeremiah could not speak -- but with God -- with the Living Bread in his life -- with the power of God filling him from the inside out -- Jeremiah was able to go forth and preach a message of repentance and restoration to the nation of Judah

-- in John 15:4-5, Jesus said, Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. -- "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. "

-- I think that for too long, the church of Christ in America has been separated from Him -- I think we have been trying to live out our own purposes in our own strength -- and, as a result, accomplishing little or nothing for the cause of Christ
-- we have the form of godliness -- we are staying busy doing church -- we are staying busy doing programs and planning worship events and coming up with ways to bring people into the church -- we are staying busy doing Bible studies and Sunday School and planning outreaches to the community, but we seem to be doing it in our own strength -- focusing on people rather than on God -- trusting in the ways of the world rather than in the power of God

-- when God calls you to do something -- whether it's as an individual or as a church -- then it will be something that is bigger than yourself -- it will be something that you cannot do on your own -- it will be something that if you tried to do it apart from Him, you would fail and fall flat on your face
-- when God calls us to do something, it will be something that we can do only through Him -- through His power -- we may be a child -- we may be unable to speak -- but when God's power and presence falls in our life, then God will empower a child to change the world -- He will empower a child to speak with power and elegance -- when God is involved, whatever He calls us to do will be accomplished -- it will be done -- not through our power or our strength or our programs -- but through His power alone

-- I have shared this illustration with you before, but I think we need to consider it again this morning, because it speaks to the heart of this message -- as you all know, D.L. Moody was one of the greatest evangelists in the 19th century -- he preached to hundreds of thousands of people and sparked revivals in churches in America and in England -- but that is not how his ministry started
-- Moody was moderately successful in Chicago, preaching to a couple of thousand people each Sunday and starting Sunday School classes throughout the country
-- but, despite Moody's success in the ministry, he felt a pressing need to know more of the Holy Spirit's empowerment -- he felt like he needed more in his life -- more power -- more focus -- than what he currently had
-- one Sunday while he was there preaching, two godly women were present in the congreation -- Moody said that he could tell by the expression o their faces that they were praying for him -- at the end of the service, they came up and said, "we have been praying for you" -- he said, "Why don't you pray for the people?" -- they answered, "You need power"
-- Moody said that stopped him cold -- "I need power -- why? -- I thought I had power"
The second involved two godly women who attended Moody's services in Chicago.
-- after the Chicago fire destroyed Moody's meeting place, he traveled to New York to raise funds to rebuild his church -- but God had something else in mind -- Moody said that his heart was not in the work of begging -- he couldn't appeal to people for money to fund his programs and his building project -- he began to cry out that God would fill him with His Spirit -- and God responded -- Moody wrote, "Oh, what a day! I cannot describe it -- I seldom refer to it -- it is almost too sacred an experience to name -- I can only say that God revealed Himself to me and I had such an experience of His loe that I had to ask Him to stay His hand"
-- Moody started preaching again -- the sermons were not different -- he said that he didn't present any new truths, yet hundreds were converted -- he wrote, "I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you should give me all the world -- it would be as dust in the balance"

-- God wants us to experience exactly what Moody experienced that day in New York -- He wants us to experience what Jeremiah experienced as he stood before the kings of his day preaching the word of God
-- God wants us to stop focusing on our projects and our plans and our activities and turn our eyes back on Him -- to focus on Him and His ways -- and to pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit in our lives
-- if the church is going to do what God has called us to do, then we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit -- we need to seek His face and seek His power in our lives -- we need to earnestly pray for His power and His Spirit to fall afresh on us, empowering us to do more than we ever thought possible