[Text]
(John 14:15-29): Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
19-24; 25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.
(Acts 2:17-18): Promised Holy Spirit came at Pentecost
2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.
5-13; 14-21: Peter Addresses the Crowd
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No,
this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
[Intro]
We are living in last days.
The days between Jesus first coming and second coming.
What do we need the most these days?
1) Spirit of God, 2) Spirit of God, 3) Spirit of God
We are living in the age of the Holy Spirit.
It does not mean that only Spirit exists: Father GOD, Son of GOD, and Spirit of GOD exist at all all time.
In order to be saved, we need Holy Spirit’s quickening:
In (Acts 2:38) Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Then after we are saved, we still need to Live our Christians life according to Holy Spirit. (Galatians 3:1-3)
“3 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? (Who fooled you?) Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?”
(Ephesians 5:18) says to all Christians,
“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”
The verb “be filled” is famously a present tense verb which means to do it regularly, continually.
Then it is an imperative verb, which means that it is a command and not a suggestion.
Last it is a passive verb, which means that while the command is given to us, God is the One who must “fill” us.
We put ourselves out there to be filled, but then we must trust Him to fill us.
Here is the 7 reasons why should we be Filled with the Spirit
[Body]
1. We need his help.
A conviction essential for us to have as Christians is that we need help. The most important help God gives to us is the Holy Spirit. In fact, he is called “the Helper” in (John 14:26), “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
2. We need his revelation.
Apart from God’s Spirit we {C} cannot know spiritual things. Paul tells us that “no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:11). This is one of the key reasons God gave to us his Spirit: “we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (v. 12). We need God’s Spirit to understand his Word, his truth, and all things that pertain to him.
3. We need his wisdom.
Life is so often about the gray and not the black-and-white, about the choice between two good options, not between the good and the bad options. We needs God’s Spirit to give us wisdom for the moment.
4. We need the fruit of the Spirit.
During Jesus and his disciple on earthly ministry, disciple cannot bear much fruit without Jesus:
(John 15:5-8) “5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Likewise, now Holy Spirt, instead of Jesus, is with and in us, which means we cannot bear much fruit of the Spirit without Holy Spirit.
In Galatians 5:22-23 Paul lists many character traits, and he calls them “the fruit of the Spirit”: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
I need God’s Spirit to produce in me (the meaning of “fruit”) these character traits. My hard work and self-discipline will not ultimately produce the “love” I need and the “joy” I desire. God must do that. My efforts position me to receive his Spirit, but ultimately it is his Spirit that does it. This means that while sometimes my hard work will see his Spirit work in me progressively (the normal occurrence), there are times when God’s Spirit will work instantaneously in me to produce new character and fruit that all my hard work could never accomplish.
5. We need his purity.
The Spirit is called the “Holy Spirit,” and this reminds us of what he will do in our lives, build the holiness which God demands. We are thus “being transformed into the same image [of Christ] from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:17-18). As we said, sometimes he does this gradually, but sometimes he does in a moment what we couldn’t do in 50 years of effort.
6. We need his power.
In Galatians 3:1-3 Paul reminds us that we are to continue in the way we began the Christian life. “Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” Our Christian life began with the initial receiving of the Spirit (cf. Rom. 8:9-11). Yet, we are to continue the Christian life through the Spirit, not merely our works: “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” There is still more, for the Spirit desires even to work “miracles among you,” not by our “works of the law,” but “by hearing with faith.” Paul’s point is faith in all aspects of the Christian life, but he is also reminding us that the power of the Spirit which saves us is to continue throughout the Christian life, even to the extent that we see “miracles.” Let us never thing that we get beyond our need for the power of God in our lives that comes through the Spirit.
7. We need his presence.
Moses cried out to God, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here” (Ex. 33:15). We are to have that same passion for the presence of God. Part of the way that we experience the presence of God is through the practice of spiritual gifts in our meetings. These are called “the manifestation of the Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:7). When we encounter spiritual gifts through other believers we are encountering God, and that is what our souls crave above all things.
[Conclusion]
How do we be filled with HOLY SPIRIT?
1. PRAY (together) to GOD.
2. (speaking and) JHEAR (the MESSAGE of GOD)
Peter at Cornelius’s House (Acts 10: 23-44)
(v 23-43) . . .
44 While Peter was still speaking these words,
the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.
3. WAIT for the LORD to fill you with THE SPIRIT OF JESUS
Remember:
Filled with SPIRIT = Filled with WORD of GOD