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Sunday notes

“Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:15-20)

The Holy Spirit [part 1 review]

1) He is a Divine Person (Rom 8:9, 14-15; Eph 4:30; Jn 14:26)
2) He brings God’s presence (John 14:26)
3) He brings supernatural power (Acts 4:31)
4) He has a holy purpose (John 16:14)

The baptism of the Holy Spirit, a one-time event that places us into the Body of Christ and fills us initially. (Matt 3:11-12; Acts 1:4-6; 2:4; 11:15-16; 1 Cor 12:13)

“No one may ask a believer whether he has been baptized with the Spirit. The very fact that a man (or a woman) is in the body of Christ demonstrates that he (or she) has been baptized of the Spirit, for there is no other way of entering the body.” (Donald Grey Barnhouse)
The filling with the Spirit should be an ongoing event in the Christian life. (Acts 4:31; Eph 5:15-20)

1) What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit?

a. It is a command.
b. It is a plural (or corporate) command.
c. It is in the passive voice
d. It is in the present tense
Paraphrased: “You Christians, all of you, allow the Holy Spirit to go on and on filling you.”

2) How are we filled with the Spirit?

a. We must desire to be filled.
b. We must confess and forsake our sin. We cannot be filled with the Spirit until we are emptied of sin and of self.
“If we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and self-seeking and pleasure and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God, and I believe that many a man is praying to God to fill him when he is already full with something else.” (D. L. Moody)

"Being filled with the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean I have more of the Spirit; it means the Spirit has more of me." (Ray Pritchard)

c. We must fill ourselves with God’s word. Compare the parallel passage: Colossians 3:16-17.
d. We must trust God to do His work of filling us. (Romans 15:13)
e. We must be willing to do this daily.

“This is your day, Lord; I want to be at your disposal. I have no idea what these next 24 hours will bring. But before I begin, before I get my first cup of coffee, and even before I get dressed, I want you to know that from this moment on throughout the day I am yours, Lord. Help me to be a branch that abides in the vine, to lean on you, draw strength from you, and to have you fill my mind and thoughts. Take control of my senses so that I am literally filled with your presence and power and dynamic. I want to be your tool, your vessel today. I can’t make it happen. Without you I can accomplish nothing. And so I am saying “Lord fill me with your Spirit today.” (Chuck Swindoll, from his book “Flying Closer to the Flame”, on how he often begins the day by the side of his bed.)


3) What are the Consequences of being filled with the Spirit? (Ephesians 5:15-20)

a. It increases our fellowship “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.”
b. It enriches our worship: “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
c. It increases our thankfulness: “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
d. It gives us new power in prayer: Eph 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”
e. It enables us to submit to one another: Eph 5:21 “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
f. It gives us power to live for Christ
g. It allows God to give us spiritual gifts
h. It allows the fruit of the Spirit to grow in our lives.

David's sermon here.

The Spirit-filled life explained here by Bill Bright.


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