Gerry van der Wende: Filled with the Spirit

Filled With the Spirit!

October 6, 2013

1 Cor 2:1-5

REFRESHING

Let's be quiet for a few minutes and listen for what the Holy Spirit is saying to the church

INTRODUCTION

What was it that got the early church started with such an explosion of new converts?
During the last weeks we have been examining the early church to find out how things started
Last week we talked about how prayer was the way the new church was started
What was prayer like?
Just spending time on our knees?
No, it was heartfelt, conversational two-way communication with God
We were encouraged to develop this conversational quality in our prayer
Today we are going to take a look at the role of the work of the Holy Spirit in the church!

READING

THE EXAMPLE OF PAUL

Paul in these verses explains what was the driving force in his ministry
It was not that Paul was such a great person, with a charismatic personality
He did not want to be known for oratory, or persuasiveness
But his preaching was accompanied by a display of the Spirit's power!
The Holy Spirit brings life wherever he goes
Paul knew this
He did not want dry preaching, but the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit
This is my goal for our church too
Sometimes we hear words spoken against places where the Holy Spirit is moving
Sometimes we wonder about some of the things that happen, and we are not sure if it is of God or if it is from the other source – there aren't a lot of choices!
The devil is negative – he comes to kill steal and to destroy
But the Holy Spirit brings life wherever he goes!

THE EARLY CHURCH

The early church was close to the Holy Spirit
They listened to him, they were obedient to what he said
As a consequence, the Holy Spirit was close with them too
This was the key to the miracles that happened in the ministry of the apostles, and of Paul, and others
Jesus sent the disciples out to preach the gospel, heal the sick and set people free
This was totally in line with the way the Holy Spirit operates
So naturally, people were healed, people were set free, and the preaching had results!

THE RIVER

Ezek 47:1-12, Rev 22:1-2
There is a river that flows from the Temple, from God's throne
This river is called the river of life
This river represents the Holy Spirit
We read that where this river goes, it transforms deadness into life
The Dead Sea teems with fish, because the deadness has been taken away and replaced by the life-giving qualities of the Holy Spirit
There will be fishermen casting out their nets, drawing in a harvest of fish of all kinds!
Matt 13:47-48 – kingdom like a net that gathers fish of all kinds
Where the Holy Spirit goes, there will be a harvest of souls for the kingdom
This river is a large river
At the edges it is shallow
Yesterday I went out with my son Matt and my grandsons Jordan and Jarred
We were looking for a good place to go fishing
But the places where we looked were too shallow, not a good place to fish
We can step into the river and let it get up to our ankles
That is good, but won't catch a lot of fish
We can go in up to our waist, that's better
But it is still too shallow for that big harvest
We need to go out into the deep part of the river, where we swim in it
Then the river gives life and we are able to be effective in reaching people with the gospel
In the coming months we will be starting a Bible study, where we will be drawing closer in intimacy with the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is our friend, our supporter, our confidant
He loves closeness with his people

CONCLUSION

The Holy Spirit brings life, and he will restore life to us!
This requires us to be totally filled with the Holy Spirit
I don't want to be wading at the edge of that river, I want to be swimming in it, over my head, breathing the breath of life from the Holy Spirit
If you would like to have a fresh filling with the Holy Spirit, please come forward now
Whether you would like to be filled for the very first time, or this would be the hundredth time, come and receive the river of living water
After the service we will be meeting and eating and training for the Billy Graham event in November. It should take around one hour

PRAYER

Gerry van der Wende