Episode Transcript
[00:00:10] Acts, Chapter two. Okay, so before I jump in, one of my favorite. It's become one of my favorite things to do is hunting. Okay. I did not grow up hunting, but I love it now. So my father in law has kind of like adopted me into the hunting world, and I'm Lord willing, will get to start bringing my sons with me to do this. And. And it's just a glorious time. And so some of the things that I love so much about hunting is it's prolonged quiet.
[00:00:37] I just love that we don't get a whole lot of that in our life. Like, put the phone away, put the devices away, put the music away. Just sit out in the middle of a ranch. Quiet. You have to be quiet because deer are super skittish.
[00:00:51] So I had the opportunity to go hunting last week.
[00:00:55] We go once a year. And so I'm in a blind with a good friend of mine who's a South African guy, used to be a missionary in South Africa, and now he lives in West Texas. And so we're in this blind together, and we're just awaiting the deer. We're 75 yards from a deer feeder, which some would call cheating. But this, we eat the meat, so that's what justifies the kill.
[00:01:16] And so we're sitting in the blind, we're looking at the feeder, and we're there for three and a half hours, and nothing comes. And so two and a half hours in, it's starting to get dark, and we're like, man, I don't know that they're gonna come tonight. And so my friend has this really cool device that he pulls out of his bag. And it's a device that actually connects your cell phone to your binoculars. So he was gonna film my shot through his cell phone if I had the opportunity to have one, but I did not have a shot. So he puts it on, puts his phone to his binoculars, and we just start looking through and observing the wildlife.
[00:01:53] And one of the things that we saw was just this really beautiful bird that kind of came and perched down right by the feeder.
[00:02:00] And so we kind of noticed this. And it was a moment where Pastor Matt says this a lot. And I'm probably going to butcher the saying, but essentially the principle is this. When you. What is it, Matt? When you see something beautiful, stop and observe it.
[00:02:11] Something like that.
[00:02:13] When you see something pretty, stop and look at it. And so we saw something pretty from a distance, but when you actually.
[00:02:18] When you put the binoculars on and you see it up close, you really have the opportunity to observe the beauty of something that you might otherwise take for granted.
[00:02:26] And the reason I bring it up is to say for any of us who grew up in the church or familiar with the story from Acts, chapter two, the Story of Pentecost, it's really easy to just kind of read it and gloss over it as if it's just another day.
[00:02:39] But this is one of the most significant days in the history of the world.
[00:02:45] You have the creation of the world at the very beginning, right? God out of nothing, creates everything.
[00:02:53] Creator God creates all of the beauty that we see in the world.
[00:02:58] You have the resurrection of Jesus as another. Like majorly might be the most significant day in the history of the world where the Son of God, the perfect God, man, walks out of the grave. He's not sleeping, he's dead. And. And he walks out of the grave by the power of God, therefore defeating our greatest enemy, death.
[00:03:16] And then you have the day of Pentecost.
[00:03:19] You have the day of Pentecost where something unique in redemptive history happens that still affects you and I today.
[00:03:27] Like, by and large, you and I are here today in a unique time in redemptive history than even the saints of the Old Testament. You ever find yourself saying or thinking things like, if you. If I could have just been Moses, I would believe more than I believe today.
[00:03:44] If I could have just been David and saw Goliath fall, or I saw the Red Sea part, or if I could have just maybe been one of the disciples in the days of Jesus and walked alongside Jesus and held his hand and had him hug me when I needed to be consoled or whatever the case was. Like, I would just believe a little bit more than I did today. But here's the reality of things. You and I are actually in a more unique, more beautiful place than that Jesus said while he was on Earth, hey, it's actually better that I depart to go to be with the Father, because if I go to be with the Father in heaven, then I'll send the Helper to you.
[00:04:21] And the helper is not just an energy.
[00:04:25] The Helper is not a thing.
[00:04:27] The Helper is God Himself coming to live within his people forever.
[00:04:34] That's what Pentecost is about.
[00:04:37] Pentecost is about power.
[00:04:40] Pentecost is about God not just coming to dwell with his people, but in his people.
[00:04:45] Pentecost is about new life.
[00:04:48] It's about new birth.
[00:04:50] That's what Pentecost is about. It's about a new age by which the church of God, the people of God, no Longer walk as victims and slaves, but in victory.
[00:05:02] That's what Pentecost is about. And so here's what I want to do this morning. I just want us to look at the passage, and I want us to walk through it like a story, putting ourself in the position of these early first century disciples. And then I just want to draw at the end three particular applications from Pentecost. So here's the first thing I would say about Pentecost before I hop into the text itself is Pentecost, in many ways is meant to be read descriptively, not prescriptively. You understand what I mean when I say that?
[00:05:31] Maybe not. That's okay. All right.
[00:05:33] So there are lots of things in the Book of Acts that are intended to be read by us as Christians in the 21st century descriptively, meaning that they're not just ongoing events that the church is to expect or try to duplicate throughout life. Does that make sense?
[00:05:52] So Pentecost is one of those things. When I say the word Pentecost, maybe some of you think you could think a variety of things. You could think tongues, you could think denominations. There could be a lot of things that you think. But here's something really important that you and I have to understand when we read this narrative is this is an event. This was an event that happened over 2,000 years ago. And it doesn't mean. There are certainly implications of this event that we'll talk about in a few moments. But this event is meant to be read descriptively. There are certain things in the Book of Acts that are meant to be read.
[00:06:25] I gotta catch my breath, man. I haven't preached in a little while, so I'm, like, super stoked.
[00:06:31] There are things in the book. Somebody just say, come on, that's awesome. You should do that. It's, like, never happened in our church. We need more of that. So there are things that are meant to be read prescriptively, like generosity.
[00:06:44] Generosity is a theme through the Book of Acts that the church is to read and say, yeah, we should be doing that all the time.
[00:06:50] Like, we should be a generous people. Because, as Pastor Matt said, Jesus is a generous God because he's been generous to you. You and I ought to be generous to other people. So generosity is one of those themes. Evangelism is one of those themes. Like, evangelism didn't stop in the first century. We are to share the gospel. Like, that's one of our primary roles on this side of heaven is to share the gospel with people who don't know Jesus, like, these are prescriptive things, and then they're descriptive things that we'll get into throughout the course of the series of the Book of Acts. Okay, so Pentecost was an event that happened over 2,000 years ago. So let's talk a little bit about what happened on that day, and then we'll draw the three implications of what it means for us today at the end of our time. So Acts chapter 2, verse 1 says when the day of Pentecost had come.
[00:07:42] All right, so what is that? When the day of Pentecost had come. So the word Pentecost just means 50th.
[00:07:50] Pentecost was a day that was in the Jewish calendar, the yearly Jewish calendar that was honored and observed and celebrated by the Jews during this time that came 50 days after the celebration or observance of the Passover. Okay, so the day of Passover, the day of Pentecost, which happened 50 days later, and then you had the Feast of Booths, which happened after that, all intended to remind the Jews of what God had done prior in rescuing them and saving them. So while the Passover was an opportunity for Jews to remember God's deliverance from the Egyptians, Pentecost was a time for the Jews to remember God's provision over all the world.
[00:08:40] God providing for his people. That's what Pentecost was.
[00:08:46] That's what Pentecost was. And on this particular day, in this particular year, it says when the day of Pentecost had come, they. That could mean the 12, or it could mean the 120 disciples that were gathered together were all together in one place.
[00:09:01] So if you can imagine in your mind Jerusalem as being in the center of what was all of the known world at the time. You had Jews, okay, law, observing Jews from all over the known world at the time who are coming into this one particular place for this one particular purpose at this one particular time to celebrate Pentecost to be reminded of God's provision. And so they all travel into Jerusalem at this time, and the disciples of Jesus, a small little band of Jewish Christians, are.
[00:09:36] Are all huddled together in one place. Jesus has died on the cross for their sins. Jesus has risen from the grave. He's appeared to the disciples for 40 days, and then he's ascended back to heaven to be at the right hand of the throne of God, where he now rules and reigns. And they're waiting.
[00:09:54] Jesus said, I want you to wait in Jerusalem until I send the Holy Spirit to you. And when the Holy Spirit, who is God, comes upon you, then you'll be my witnesses.
[00:10:06] So you'll live the rest of your life telling people that I'm alive and that I'm the king, that I'm God, that I'm the one mediator between God and man, that there is no other salvation outside of faith in me. That's what they're to be witnesses of.
[00:10:21] And so they're waiting.
[00:10:23] And as they're waiting, look at verse two. It says, suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
[00:10:38] So again, opportunity. Slow down, close your eyes if you have to, and put yourself in this position.
[00:10:47] Like what? What if this happened today?
[00:10:52] Like what if you and I are sitting here, I'm preaching, or we're singing, or we're taking communion, and all of a sudden a sound from heaven comes like a violent wind, and it fills the place that you're in.
[00:11:10] Says, and there appeared to them, tongues as of fire, distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
[00:11:30] Now, there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.
[00:11:46] So what we're seeing here is a reversal of the Tower of Babel.
[00:11:52] You see this unique moment in redemptive history.
[00:11:55] Whereas the Tower of Babel, the people seek to build themselves a tower reaching up into the heavens. And God comes down and he confuses their language so that the people have to disperse. Now, Jews from all over the place are coming into one place, and God does the opposite, doesn't he?
[00:12:13] So they could all hear them speaking in their own native language.
[00:12:19] They were amazed and astonished, saying, why are not all these who are speaking? Why are not all these speaking are Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born, Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Persia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene. And visitors from Rome, both Jews and Proselytes, Cretans and Arabs. We hear them in our own tongues, speaking of the mighty deeds of God. And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, what does this mean? All right, so that's our question.
[00:13:07] What does this miraculous God empowered changing of redemptive history moment what does it, what does it mean? Well, I just want to look at a few things before we get into our three kind of implications.
[00:13:25] So one, notice the noise of a violent rushing wind. The image of wind and fire is an image used throughout the Old Testament to denote the idea of God's presence.
[00:13:39] Wind, fire. We know that in the Old Testament, God would descend from heaven in a pillar of fire. He would lead his people by fire throughout, throughout their, their journey. So the noise of wind, the sight of fire, these are intended to indicate that God's presence is coming among and upon his.
[00:14:05] His people.
[00:14:06] They, the, the, the sound is so drastic and the event so dramatic that people from outside of where this particular gathering of Jesus followers are hear it and they flock to the place to see what's happening. And as they flock to the place, they hear these Galileans, these uneducated Galileans speaking in languages that they themselves can hear and understand. So Cindy and I did college ministry for several years prior to moving to Fort Worth in 2017.
[00:14:37] And one of our college students actually was able to take a trip. Where'd she take a trip to, Sid? You remember Guatemala, South Africa. Okay, so went to South Africa and knew nothing of the known language of South Africa. But as she was out doing hut to hut evangelism, she was actually able, in one particular instance, as she was talking to this person, that person was able to understand what she was saying in their language. And the Gospel was advanced that way.
[00:15:05] Like, that's amazing. And we're like, I don't know that that's true. Why, why, why couldn't God do something like that?
[00:15:12] And so here the, the people hear what's happening in their own native language. We see a reversal of, of Babel in this. We see that there, there is a, a new age in redemptive history. This is the ushering in of what the Bible calls the last days.
[00:15:33] When the New Testament talks about the last days, we tend to think about it like Jesus, when he's telling the disciples about the last days, he's like overlooking them and thinking about us in the 21st century. That's not what he's doing. He's talking directly to them. So these disciples in the book of Acts, they were living in the last days. We are living in the last days.
[00:15:52] The last days is not something that we're looking forward to as we notice all these signs and different things going on. Well, there's wars and rumors of wars. Well, there's always been wars and rumors of wars. Okay, so it's not that that Jesus is talking about. We are living in the last days. They were living in the last days. When Jesus ascended to heaven from earth to become, not to become, he was the king, but when he ascended to heaven at the right hand of God, where all authority was given over to him, so starts the last days, the age of the church, a new age.
[00:16:26] What all of the Old Testament, much of the Old Testament is pointing us to is the Old Testament points to Jesus the Messiah and what Jesus the Messiah would do. So let's. Let's talk about these kind of three implications from Pentecost. Okay? So the first thing to keep in mind is Pentecost is a fulfillment of prophecy.
[00:16:51] So if you look at the end of the verse 12, when these people ask, what does this mean? And then it says, others were mocking and saying, they're full of new wine or sweet wine. If you'll read down a little bit. I'm kind of getting ahead into next week's sermon, but it's necessary for interpretive reasons.
[00:17:12] Verse 14 says, But Peter, taking his stand with the 11, raised his voice and declared to them, men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. And for these men are not drunk as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel. So what happens at Pentecost is a fulfillment from the prophet Joel of the Old Testament. And this is what Joel prophesied many, many, many, many years prior to the coming of Christ from heaven to earth. Joel says, and it shall be in the last days, God says, that I will pour forth of my spirit on all mankind. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams even on my bond slaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of my spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will grant wonders in the sky above, signs, on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor and smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
[00:18:27] So what's the first implication of Pentecost? It's this, that Jesus Christ is Lord.
[00:18:35] Jesus Christ is Lord.
[00:18:38] We said this last week that the Book of Acts is not primarily about the apostles.
[00:18:43] It's not primarily about the person of the Holy Spirit.
[00:18:46] The book of Acts is about the reign of Jesus from heaven to the glory of God the Father. The Book of Acts is about God.
[00:18:55] It's about God's redemptive plan continuing from the Old Testament, which promised Jesus the Messiah. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John show us the coming of the Messiah. Who lived the perfect life that you and I could never live, who died on the cross in our place for our sins, taking on the wrath of God that you and I deserved upon himself. Though he had no sin, he became sin on our behalf, so that through faith in him, we might become the righteousness of God. He's buried in the ground three days later, by the power of God, he's raised into newness of glorious life. And then he ascends at the beginning of Acts back to the right hand of the Father. And the Book of Acts is about the continuation of his reign from heaven on earth. Does this make sense?
[00:19:42] So in fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel, the day of Pentecost shows us that God is faithful to keep his promises and that Jesus Christ is. Is Lord.
[00:19:55] He's Lord. Jesus promised that after he was glorified, he would send his spirit. And this is the day that it happens.
[00:20:04] Jesus is glorified on the cross, resurrection and ascension. And then he sends his spirit out not to come along side his people, but to live in his people.
[00:20:15] So Jesus Christ is Lord is the first implication.
[00:20:20] The second to notice through this particular event at Pentecost is that the fire of the Holy Spirit. So when it says that they saw, and I don't even really fully know what this means, honestly, but they saw tongues of fire being distributed to each one individually.
[00:20:41] That that fire that came down from heaven did not come down from heaven to destroy them, but to refine them.
[00:20:53] This is a. Almost.
[00:20:55] It is a wild parallel to what happened on Mount Sinai in the giving of the law to Moses.
[00:21:01] So if you think back at Exodus, Exodus 19, it says now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire.
[00:21:17] Similar thing, the Lord had descended upon the mountain in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
[00:21:29] So fire coming down on Mount Sinai in the giving of the law of Moses to the people of God was.
[00:21:37] Was during the age of the law.
[00:21:41] And so if we think about it like this, with Mount Sinai, with the law of Moses comes condemnation. Why?
[00:21:49] Because the law is bad? No, the law is not bad.
[00:21:53] Hey, the law reflects the holy and good character of God.
[00:21:57] It's. It brings condemnation not because of the nature of the law, but because of what the law reveals in you and I.
[00:22:05] The holy, righteous and good law of God, which reflects the holy, righteous nature of the character of God, highlights to you and I like a mirror that you and I are not wholly righteous and good.
[00:22:15] That's what it does. And so it brings with it condemnation, not life, not forgiveness, not grace, not restoration and reconciliation.
[00:22:26] Mount Sinai equals condemnation for sinners.
[00:22:31] Pentecost, where the fire from heaven in a similar way comes down upon the people of God, does not come to bring condemnation, but refinement.
[00:22:42] So if Mount Sinai brings condemnation, Pentecost means salvation for all who look to Jesus by faith.
[00:22:50] Where the law condemns, Jesus brings life.
[00:22:56] Where the law reveals to you and I that we need a Savior. Jesus comes as that Savior.
[00:23:03] And so the fire from heaven. One of my sons asked me this last night as we read this passage. He said, dad, why, if the fire came upon them, why did it not consume them or destroy them? And I was like, man, that's a great question.
[00:23:18] You think about when God spoke to Moses for the first time in the burning bush, what happened to the bush?
[00:23:24] Right. The fire surrounded the bush.
[00:23:29] God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush, but the bush was not consumed.
[00:23:36] And so this fire from heaven doesn't come to destroy, doesn't come to condemn.
[00:23:42] It comes to refine us from the inside out, to make us a new humanity.
[00:23:48] Christianity is not a religion about do's and don'ts.
[00:23:53] It's not a religion about being a better person, not being a heathen, not whatever the old Baptist saying is. We don't drink, smoke, cuss or chew or go out with girls who do whatever.
[00:24:04] Like that's, that's not like Christianity. The Gospel is a message that says God has created in himself through the sending of his Son and by the power of his Spirit, a new humanity.
[00:24:23] The fire comes not to destroy, but to refine. This is a fulfillment of prophecies in Ezekiel 36 and Jeremiah 31, where God promises his people. He says, there's coming a day where I'm going to take my law, that good, holy, righteous law that's on tablets of stone. And I'm going to write them on the tablet of your human heart because of Jesus, Perfect life, death, resurrection and ascension. The Holy Spirit of God proceeds from the Father and from the Son to indwell the people of God. That the law of God that was once apart from us is now embedded in our heart. And for those who put their faith in Jesus and because of the person of the Holy Spirit. Our desire now is to obey Jesus.
[00:25:16] It's to follow Jesus. It's to do all that Jesus commanded, not because we have to, but because the Spirit of God has written that desire on your heart.
[00:25:25] So again, we say this a lot. You're like, how do I know if I'm saved?
[00:25:30] Like, how do I know if I'm really a Christian? Well, the bottom line answer to that question is what you do with Jesus?
[00:25:40] Will you believe upon Jesus as your Savior and Lord? The scriptures say that anyone who confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in their heart that God raised him from the dead will be saved. No if, ands or buts about it. That's God's promise. If that's not true, then God's a liar, and God's not a liar.
[00:25:58] So you can bank your life and your assurance on that promise because of what Jesus has done on our behalf. And you can look at your desires.
[00:26:07] None of us obey perfectly.
[00:26:09] None of us always do the right thing. We're all desperately flawed people. And it will be the case until you and I get to glory and see Jesus face and be fully and finally transformed.
[00:26:20] But the heart of a follower of Jesus who's been changed, chosen and changed, who's been changed by the power of the Holy Spirit, is one where the movement and the direction of our heart is one of going toward Jesus and not away from Jesus, because the Spirit of God has written the law of God onto your heart. And we see this happen on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit comes from heaven. Flames of fire come upon the disciples. And then the final thing is Pentecost shows us that God gives his people with the greatest gift that you and I could ever fully imagine, which is the gift of his presence.
[00:27:11] God gifts his people with the gift of his presence. It says in verse four that they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
[00:27:21] When Jesus talks about prayer and he says that our Father, our heavenly Father, is a good Father who delights to give good things to his children, what he's primarily talking about in that text in Luke is the person of the Holy Spirit.
[00:27:41] There's no health and longevity and wealth and success and marriage and kids and a good job and a successful ministry are all good and fine things.
[00:27:59] But the resounding message of the New Testament, of the Bible as a whole, for that matter, is that the greatest gift God gives is the gift of himself.
[00:28:12] And on the day of Pentecost, something new happens in redemptive history by which these disciples aren't just temporarily filled with the Holy Spirit, as in the days of old, to perform a particular task.
[00:28:24] So if you think about Exodus 31 and Bezalel was filled with the Spirit in order to help construct the tabernacle where numbers 11, Moses had to choose men to help him in the calling that God had put on his life. And Moses said, I just. I want them to have the gift of the Spirit, the person of the Spirit to perform these things. Or 1st Samuel 10, when the Holy Spirit comes upon King Saul in order to be the king that God had called him to be, which he was not.
[00:28:57] These are all temporary moments and experiences that are fundamentally different from what we see at Pentecost.
[00:29:06] At Pentecost, God the Holy Spirit doesn't just come upon people to perform a particular task and then may or may not leave.
[00:29:16] God gives the Holy Spirit. He gives the gift of himself through the person of the Holy Spirit to indwell these followers of Jesus and all who would call upon the name of the Lord Jesus for salvation forever.
[00:29:29] Spirit will never leave.
[00:29:31] This is why Romans 8 is so glorious.
[00:29:35] Nothing will be able to separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Neither height nor death.
[00:29:41] Nothing will be able to separate you from his love because you have the person of God himself dwelling inside of you.
[00:29:52] So God gives the gift of himself.
[00:29:56] So I want to just my last couple of minutes close with a couple of questions for you to consider for a couple of different groups of people.
[00:30:06] Okay?
[00:30:07] So the first is if we understand the event of Pentecost that happened over 2,000 years ago to be a fulfillment of the prophet Joel. He in Joel Chapter two, at the end of that prophecy, he says, there's coming a day where everyone, no matter who you are, no matter what you've done, whether you're churched or unchurched, whatever your ethnicity, whatever your background, whoever you are, everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
[00:30:38] Friends, that's an invitation for you.
[00:30:42] Like, if there are people in the room today. I became a Christian at 21 and I was a wild donkey of a man.
[00:30:52] Like, salvation is available to everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord. You're like, but I'm not good enough. No kidding.
[00:31:05] That's why we're so glad you're here. You're not good enough.
[00:31:08] I'm not good enough.
[00:31:10] You're not good enoughness is the very thing that Jesus came to save you from.
[00:31:16] Like that.
[00:31:18] That is the thing that qualifies you to come to Jesus, not your righteousness or Your attempts thereof.
[00:31:25] It's your unrighteousness, it's your filth, it's your brokenness, it's the dirty thoughts, it's the habitual sin, it's the addiction. It's. That's the thing.
[00:31:36] That's the thing that the cross is for.
[00:31:39] And so Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
[00:31:45] And Pentecost reminds us of this wonderful reality that anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved and filled with the Spirit.
[00:31:54] The presence of God will come upon you like fire and will refine your desires.
[00:32:03] Not just forgive you of sin, if that were. If that weren't good enough, but refine you with fire is available to all in the room who have not yet called upon the name of the Lord.
[00:32:17] Call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. Stop trying to earn your salvation. You're never going to do it.
[00:32:24] Stop striving to be good enough. Call upon the name of the Lord.
[00:32:28] Stop waking up every day and saying, I'm going to be a better Christian day. Call upon the name of the Lord and the promise is you will be saved.
[00:32:38] And finally, for those of us who are Christians, I want us to think about this. It is possible for you and I to be sealed with the Spirit and not live lives filled with the Spirit.
[00:32:52] So it is possible for you to possess the person of the Holy Spirit of God.
[00:32:59] And for a variety of reasons and in a variety of ways, quench the person of the Holy Spirit of God in your life and live a life according to your flesh rather than the Spirit who already dwells inside of you.
[00:33:15] This is why the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 5, verse 19, don't get drunk with wine, for that's debauchery.
[00:33:23] Rather be filled with the spirit. And he says, this is how you know if you're being filled with the spirit. He gives three things. He says, one, a person who's filled with the spirit is going to be a sing, a singing person, singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. That doesn't mean that you're just going to walk around singing all the time. But you think about what motivates and accompanies singing is joy.
[00:33:52] A person filled with the spirit not being controlled by alcohol or whatever other substance you want to replace that with. He's not saying alcohol is bad.
[00:34:01] He's saying anything that controls you, rather than the spirit controlling you is something that you should turn from.
[00:34:11] You'll be accompanied with singing. He says you'll be accompanied with gratitude.
[00:34:18] Gratitude will be at the epicenter of your life.
[00:34:22] And then the final one is humility, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
[00:34:28] A person who has a disposition of you first is a person that is filled with the Spirit of God.
[00:34:38] So my closing question for us is this. If you are a Christian, you have been sealed with the Spirit of God.
[00:34:45] The Holy Spirit of God testifies that you're a child of God. Praise God for that. The Holy Spirit has equipped you for ministry. Praise God for that. He's equipped you for life. Praise God for that. But the question that I have for you is, is something or someone other than the Holy Spirit controlling you this morning?
[00:35:02] And if that's the case, let's spend our time in reflection, not just thanking God for the work that he's already done in saving us. For those of us who have called upon the name of Jesus, you're saved.
[00:35:13] But to walk more fully in this abundant life that Jesus came to give, you and I, we must be filled with the Spirit. And so if there's something or someone other than the Spirit that has control over you, let's confess that together this morning.
[00:35:28] So just for a few minutes, you can come to the steps, the altar, you can pray. There's nothing weird or shameful about that. If you want to go to the back and talk to one of our prayer team, they'd love to talk with you. I would love to talk talk with you. Pastor Sean would love to talk with you. Any of the Christians in the room. If you just. If you need prayer, what or who is controlling you, let's confess those things. And in light of the cross of Jesus Christ, that you have already been cleansed, you've already been forgiven, you've already been declared righteous in the sight of God. Let's ask God to fill us afresh with His Holy Spirit, that we might be a people controlled by Him. Amen. Let's pray.
[00:36:30] Sam, Sa.
