This Sunday we had a guest speaker at our church. Dave is a lay preacher, and doesn’t even like to call what he does “preaching;” rather, he calls it “giving a talk.” He prayed, before he started, that God would lead him and speak through him.
The topic of his talk was “Being Filled with the Holy Spirit,” and he explained that his talk was aimed at a Christian audience. (We go to a very small church, and everyone has known everyone for a long time.)
He went over how Jesus became filled with the Holy Spirit at the beginning of his ministry after He was baptized by John the Baptist. (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:29-34) He said that if Jesus needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit, then we surely need to be filled, too!
He quoted Jesus from Luke 12:13 to show how we receive the Holy Spirit:
“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!”
We have to ask to be filled.
Imagine a glass, Dave said, but it is only filled an inch or so with water. If you are really thirsty after working outside, an inch in the glass is better than nothing, but a full glass would be much better!
Now imagine that same glass, with the same amount of water inside, only this time the glass is also filled with marbles. The water level goes up, so that it looks full, but it still only has a small amount of water in it.
We are the glass, the Holy Spirit is the water, and the marbles are the other things in our life that crowd out the Holy Spirit. It might be a good idea, he said, if we examine our lives to see if we are holding things, possibly things that are good in themselves, but that block out the Holy Spirit, or displace him.
Then he read John 14:15 – 26, a passage where Jesus explained the coming of the Holy Spirit., the “Comforter,” who will teach us all things, and will bring the words of Jesus back to our minds.
I wanted to thank our friend Dave for being obedient to God, and braving his dread of speaking in front of people. He spoke so clearly what the Lord obviously put on his heart! It touched our family and I hope it blesses you.
There was something about his message that was so compelling. It was very short, and he was careful to only say what God put on his heart. He based his message on scripture. His sincerity was beautiful, partly because he was clearly not comfortable speaking. He was obeying God, even though he didn’t feel like he was good enough.
But God will work through anyone who is obedient to him, and sometimes (or maybe most of the time), He chooses “weaker” vessels so that He can show His power through them. David was a shepherd boy. Gideon was the least in his house. Daniel was an exile. Noah was a laughing stock. Moses was a murderer with a speech impediment. We all have a lot to overcome. But God can transform lives and use us to do great things when we obey Him and let his power flow through us.
Teaching about the Holy Spirit is basic. It’s the ground-level for every new believer. We receive the Spirit when we follow Jesus, but He instructed us to ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Other things displace God in our limited attention span. There are so many things clamoring for attention most of the time. But it’s not selfish to take some time to be alone with God. We need it like water and food, like air.
We can be tricked by the urgent, by the flashy. We can easily become addicted to lots of things: games, sports, shows, social media, and also chemical addictions. It’s so easy to become addicted.
It happens a lot simply because of loneliness. But there is no better cure for loneliness than the Holy Spirit. He will not only be a balm for you, but He will send you exactly what you need for true healing. (A friend, a neighbor, or another lonely person who needs you!)
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)
Even seasoned believers can get sidetracked into the world, and when that happens, we need to get back to the basics once again, even if it means going “cold-turkey” without that thing to which we have become addicted. Then we can become sensitive.
Have you noticed how hard it is to break away, though? But remember that this physical world, including our own bodies, is just temporary. Our bodies are going to die. Our houses are going to burn or be torn down one day. Our cars are going to end up in a scrap pile. Our clothes will wear out or rot. Nothing lasts forever, right?
Wrong! You are going to last forever. Your friendships and relationships with others are going to last forever. When you make a friend now, that friend can continue to be your friend after death! The Bible tells us that love never fails, even though religious expressions (like prophecy and speaking in tongues) and even knowledge, itself, will one day vanish. (I Corinthians 13:8)
But LOVE remains. The Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) remains. We remain. And get this: The good things that we do for others in obedience to God will also remain. That is our righteousness, which is only possible because of Jesus, and it will become the white garments we will wear.
“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” (Revelations 19:7-8)
Clean and bright linen. A similar idea is expressed in beautiful sky-language in Daniel 12:3.
“Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.”
Wisdom comes from God (Proverbs 2:6) and He will help us understand righteousness (v.9). When wisdom enters into our hearts, it will preserve us, and keep us from evil. (Proverbs 2:12) And when we help others turn to righteousness, we will shine like the stars forever!
Remember that with the Holy Spirit comes power, in the name of Jesus. (Matthew 28: 18-20) It is not a power that can be bought or sold, or a power to dominate; rather, it is power to resist evil, to do good, and even to do greater works that Jesus, Himself, did on this earth.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (John 14:12)
Jesus raised people from the dead. He healed deaf, dumb, blind, bleeding, and demon-possessed people. He told us that we would do even greater things that He did. He gave us power when He sent the Holy Spirit to us, and we do not need to be afraid of anything except going against the will of our heavenly Father! Have you thought about the possibilities?
It’s time to get back to basics, and I, for one, am ready to do just that! May God bless you and keep you, my dear friends! Do good, choose life, and shine brightly with the light of God’s Spirit within you! Above all, trust God, and don’t give up!
The Fullers Four 