Be Filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:17-21)

if you could open your bible to ephesians chapter 5 and if you wouldn't mind just one more time as we read god's word if you're physically able would you stand with me as we just give god's word respect and attention tonight ephesians chapter 5 find your way to verse 17. and in verse 17 paul the apostle says this he says therefore do not be unwise but understand what the will of the lord is and do not be drunk with wine in which is dissipation but be filled with the spirit speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody in your heart to the lord giving thanks always for all things to god the father in the name of our lord jesus christ submitting to one another in the fear of god father as we just take time out of our week i i just love being able to do mid-week services because there are churches of course all over this country they don't do this anymore they don't gather in the middle of the week to open up your word and learn from you and so i'm thankful for this congregation i'm thankful for those that are like it that get together and are still committed to be people to be men and women of the book to be men and women of your word and so i pray god that that is what would happen tonight that your word would infiltrate our hearts you would adjust our priorities you would adjust our focus and god you would make us more like you tonight we do pray for pastor jeff and connie just bless them as they have some days off just refresh them and bind them together we pray in jesus precious name amen amen you may be seated you know i understand that you are a well-taught congregation and one of the reasons you go to a church just like this is you love studying through the word of god and and one of the things i love personally about studying through the word of god is you you end with one passage and it's pretty simple what you're going to do the next week i don't spend weeks trying to figure out what i'm preaching on next sunday or next wednesday it's usually the next passage right so it makes it real easy and we love to go to churches like this and then some guest speaker shows up and he just drops you in the middle of the bible somewhere detached from where you've been learning for weeks and weeks for this and you think what is going on what's the context of this passage so let's start there since i dropped you here in the middle of the book of ephesians what is paul writing why is he writing what is his purpose for communicating these things to us well most of you know that paul the apostle is the author of the book of ephesians he wrote ephesians at the very kind of end of his ministry life while he was under house arrest in rome paul was going to have his case you remember he was arrested in israel he spent three years in prison in israel toward the end of the book of acts and then he finds out that his case is going nowhere with the different roman governors that are over israel at that time so he says i appeal to caesar and the romans sent him on an all-expense paid trip to rome but not like paul ever thought he was going to go there he went as a prisoner and you've read the story it's in acts chapter 27 in acts chapter 28 it's not the best journey he he and the boat get lost at sea for some time he ends up shipwrecked on the island of malta and eventually eventually by god's grace he gets to the city of rome and while he's at rome though then he has to wait to have his case heard before caesar nero and some bible scholars think he waited up to seven years to have his case heard it might not have been that long but it was a chunk of time waiting for caesar to hear his case but just like you would imagine paul the apostle did not waste that time chained to a roman soldier he wrote the books of ephesians philippians colossians and philemon those are known as prison epistles and they're called prison epistles because they were written while paul was in prison there in the city of rome and he's writing here in ephesians to a church he spent more time at than anywhere else in his ministry career paul spent a year and a half at corinth but outside of that he would usually spend a few weeks maybe a few months raising up leaders teaching the word seeing people get saved but at corinth he spent a year and a half and at ephesus he spent three years three years teaching the word for five hours a day the book of acts tells us he spent time planting churches the seven churches of revelation plus the church of heropolis the church of colossi all written during paul's ministry in the city of ephesus he wrote first and second corinthians in galatians while he was in that city he spent three years until to this church that he spent more time than any other congregation with he writes this letter to the ephesians and here in chapter 5 like i know you know this is the chapter that he tells us how to live out our roles that god gives us in a family right it's where he gives his rule to the wife his rule to the husband his rule to single people to children to parents to employees and employers all whatever relationship we happen to be in god has a word for us at the end of chapter 5 and into chapter 6. but what i want to draw your attention tonight is before paul ever tells husbands to love their wife like christ loves the church before he ever tells a wife to submit to respect her husband before he ever says to children obey your parents before he ever says to to fathers raise your children up in the fear and admonition of the lord raise him up don't provoke him to wrath before he ever says that way back here in chapter 5 verse 17 he says i don't want you to be unwise this church he loves this church he cares about he says i don't want you to be unwise i want you verse 17 to understand what the will of god is every one of us want to know god what do you want in my life what do you want to do with my life paul says i want you to know the will of god and what is it well verse 18 he says don't be drunk with wine and which is dissipation but be filled with the holy spirit be filled with the spirit before paul ever tells husbands how to be wives how to be children how to be parents how to be employees employers how to be he says before you can do any of that you must be filled with the spirit you have to be filled with the spirit you cannot be the christian god is calling you to be in the power of your flesh amen church you can't do the things god is asking us to do that we all know is so good for every one of us we can't do those things until we are men and women filled with the power of the holy spirit it has to start with that and friends tonight i want to focus in on this phrase be filled with the spirit because that little phrase there be filled with the spirit it's it's literally pregnant with information there's so much in that one little phrase in fact i will put this up on the screen so you can see it be filled is a plural greek verb in the present passive imperative tense now i know some of you are saying come on man it's wednesday night or thursday night i worked all day all right our services on wednesday night so i'm gonna make that mistake a few times tonight the reality is man i worked all day i didn't come here tonight for school like that sounds like school to me in fact it sounds worse than that it sounds like greek school and i don't speak greek so here's why it's important for you to wake yourself up a little bit and understand this because this understanding of how this phrase is in the greek helps you understand what paul is trying to communicate that you and i desperately need to understand what he is saying there number one is this phrase be filled is imperative and you know what that means it means it's a command this is not paul saying hey i got a good suggestion for you if you think you're having trouble being a husband you're having trouble being the wife maybe whatever you want to do you just go ahead and be filled with the spirit it is not a suggestion it is an absolute command have you ever been commanded by someone we've kind of lost that in our culture a little bit but maybe in your mind you can recall when you were commanded to do something and you knew it was not an option back when i was a high school pastor years and years and years ago at calvary chapel vista in north county san diego i had the privilege i was a high school pastor but i also got to be the assistant football coach there was a school attached to our church and we had a small eight-man football team and and i i got to be the assistant coach which meant i got to blow the whistle when the play was over that's what the coach let me do the coach was my assistant he was my assistant pastor so he technically worked for me but on the football field it was clear i worked for him well this one day i was sitting down discipling this kid and if you've you've ever worked with youth you know that some kids when you're disciplining them you're trying to encourage them in the lord it's like beating your head against the wall some kids some kids get it right away and you're so blessed by what they're getting but some kids you ask him like what did you read this week oh i'm going to reread my bible pastor i read psalm 1. i'm like that's great that's great and you meet a week later so where are you i'm still in psalm 1. okay okay okay and then next week where are you i'm still in psalm 1. it's eight verses get out of someone like come on like like that's the frustration we have as pastors as disciplers well this kid was one of those kids and yet this day he was getting it like god was speaking him through the word god was ministering to things in his heart i was loving it as a high school pastor literally years of work paying off we absolutely lost track of time and he looked at his watch and lost his mind i'm gonna be late for a football practice we gotta go right now and he's he's panicking and i'm telling him hey hey hey it's okay you're with me you're not at a girl's house you're not playing video games at home you're with your youth pastor we're going through the word i'll apologize for you it'll be just fine no it won't yes it will it'll be great so we get in the car we head to the field he's putting his helmet on getting just putting the jersey right over his clothes like he just is ready to go and when we pull into the practice field all of a sudden i realized he was right we were not okay the head coach comes running out to my car hands on the hood he's screaming at this kid how dare you disrespect your teammates how dare you think your time is more valuable than their time you you're gonna disrespect your teammates like that you're gonna run all practice and he took this kid and tossed him toward the field run all practice so i get out of the car and i say hey youth pastor phil how you doing hey man um i just want to remind you like like he was with me and we were going through the word and i get it team is important but you know we're we're five six minutes late and and he was with me and all of a sudden coach mckay phil mckay looked at me and he said you think i'm being unfair i do now i do right now right now i do think you're being unfair and he says if you think i'm being unfair then you run all practice now remember this guy works for me all hours of the week other than we're on the football field i want you to go run all practice so you know what i did for the rest of practice i ran because his nordic eyes just looking at me here's what i do it wasn't a suggestion it wasn't uh you're looking a little fluffy you need to run that wasn't the idea it was a command i needed to obey and the reason i'm telling you this story tonight is not to waste your time is to get you to understand the emphasis of the greek text paul is not angry he's not yelling he's not screaming but he is also not suggesting he's not saying hey buddy this might be a good idea he is saying man woman christian if you want to be all that god wants you to be you must you must you must be filled with the holy spirit this phrase is imperative number one meaning it is a command secondly note secondly this phrase be filled is plural meaning it is a command that applies to everyone you know there's something in our human nature where we hear a study and we think that was really good my husband needs to hear this bible study oh you're listening to the to the radio and you think man that was a great word my kids need to hear that study and those things might be absolutely true your husband or wife probably did need to hear it your kids need to hear it but guess what so do you you and i need to hear these things as well so when we hear the phrase be filled it's not just an exhortation for pastors it's not just an exhortation for missionaries or worship leaders this is an exhortation for you mom and dad this expectation for you grandparents this exhortation for you single person here tonight this is an exhortation for you this is plural meaning it is a command not just for a select few it is a command for every single one of us thirdly thirdly we see here that be filled is passive and what that means is you can't do this yourself you can't just decide okay i want to be filled with the spirit so i'm going to go in a field i'm going to contemplate my navel and maybe everything will work out that's not how it works you can't fill yourself but here's the good news jesus wants to fill you with his spirit jesus himself said this in luke chapter 11. he said so i say to you ask it will be given to you seek and you will find knock and it will be opened to you for everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be open if a son asks for bread from any father among you will he give him a stone or if he asks for a fish will you give him a serpent instead of a fish or if he asks for an egg will you offer him a scorpion if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your heavenly father give notice the holy spirit to him who asks you see the reality is jesus says i know you need the holy spirit and just like you as parents if your kids came to you and said i i'd like some bread dad if my son asked me for some bread i'm not going to give him a rock to chew on i paid way too much for their teeth to be straight i don't want them to chew on a rock and mess up the huge financial commitment i've made to my children and for them to have straight teeth if my kid wants an egg i'm not going to give them a snake again i just don't want to pay for the medical bills like like and jesus kind of knows that he says and you're an evil dad and you wouldn't do that how much more will the heavenly father give the holy spirit to those that ask i want you to see that because some of us some of us we come from a theological background i know i was i was raised at a baptist school and occasionally the teachers there would say you know the holy spirit that's not something you want to pray for that's not something you want to open yourself up to because you just don't know you just don't know what might happen if you say holy spirit fill me you never know you might even get an unclean spirit what listen to what jesus said in light of the context of that if you want if your kids want bread you give them bread they want an egg you give him egg what you don't give him is a scorpion cause you're a father you're a mother and your heavenly father that's perfect he says i'm not gonna give you something dangerous i'm not gonna give you something that will harm you if you finally come to your senses and say god i can't do this husband thing i can't do this wife thing i can't do this employee thing i can't do what you're calling me to do by myself jesus says i've been waiting for you to come to me and ask me this i want to fill you with my spirit so you go to him and you ask you go to him and he says if you ask you know this verse gets gets kind of misquoted on chris christian tv all the time doesn't it ask and it'll be given to you seek and you shall find i don't know why the prosperity people have to talk like that but they do they just do but they read this and they're like so ask for the lamborghini ask for the million dollar mansion that is not that is not the context of this verse jesus says i'll put it up there again he says you being evil know how to give good gifts your children how much more your heavenly father give the holy spirit to him who asks jesus knows you need his spirit jesus is waiting for you to come to him and say god i can't do this on my own and he will he will he will fill you with his spirit because that's who he is this phrase be filled it's it's imperative meaning it's a command it's plural meaning it's a command for everyone it's passive meaning you can't do it yourself but good news jesus wants to fill you with his spirit so just ask him and finally this phrase be filled is in the present tense and that means it's continual it's something we are to continually do we are to continually go to the lord and say god would you fill me with your spirit it is something we need to continue to do now i realize that some of you say wait wait wait a second wait wait a second i thought i i thought being taught by somebody sometime that when i receive the lord as my savior the holy spirit takes up residence in my heart don't you believe that pastor you bet i do the bible is really clear when you and i receive the lord jesus the holy spirit takes up residence in our heart look look well i'm not we don't know where that quote went from peter but anyways the idea is the holy spirit takes up residence in your heart right away and he is absolutely there to stay yes he is so so if the minute i receive jesus is my savior the holy spirit takes up residence in my heart yes and he's there to stay yes then why would i need to continually ask to be filled with the spirit that's a great question and it deserves a really good answer and i'm sure you've heard this before because i learned it from my first pastor pastor chuck smith and pastor chuck smith would teach often that there are three greek prepositions that describe the three relationships the holy spirit wants to have with man maybe you've heard this before the first two you should because i'm totally ripping him off the first two come from this verse in john 14 17 where jesus says the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him but you know him for he dwells with you and he will be in you there's the first two relationships the holy spirit wants to have with mankind he starts out being with you it's the greek word para it means to come alongside he's alongside i believe everybody in the world doing what convicting them of sin do you remember when you didn't know the lord do you remember when you were not a christian do you remember how there was this constant voice always telling you i'm not okay oh you put on your strong face you hear people preaching the gospel to you at work and you're like i don't need that religious crutch you know you would you would say all that kind of stuff i'm not a wimp like you i don't need no jesus to lean on but as soon as that person would walk away in your heart was like yes you do you're not okay i can remember a time when i wasn't a christian and i remember having this attitude that i was just fine didn't need no one or nothing and i also remember laying my head on the pillow almost every night thinking there is something wrong with me and i don't know what it is there is something wrong in the core of who i am you can call it your conscience you can call it the little angel that sits on your shoulder let's be biblical it's the holy spirit the holy spirit saying you are not okay you need jesus and the minute you gave in to that conviction of the holy spirit the holy spirit went from being with you from being para alongside you to the second greek word there he came and became in you n is the greek word in and it means in [Music] he is dwelling now in you and he is there to stay this is where that quote from peter came i knew it was in the note somewhere then peter said to them repent let every one of you be baptized in the name of the lord jesus christ for the remission of sins and you will receive the gift of the holy spirit right there you receive the lord and the holy spirit now takes up residence in your heart and he is there to stay okay great i got it got it you're passionate tonight but but here's the deal now that the holy spirit's there and there to stay why do i why do i need to continually be filled with the spirit because there's one more preposition it comes from acts chapter 1 verse 8 where again jesus is talking i love to take jesus opinion on the holy spirit because they're kind of one and the same jesus says but you receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in jerusalem and judea and samaria and to the ends of the earth jesus tells his disciples that's who he's talking to in acts chapter one he tells them to wait to tarry in jerusalem until i endue you with power from on high now the reality is the disciples were already saved they already had the holy spirit inside them but jesus says before you're going to go out and do ministry before you're going to represent me to a lost and dying world the holy spirit needs to come upon you and it's this third preposition that is the in english upon in greek it is a p and it has this idea of the holy spirit overflowing you it's almost like if you can picture if you can picture a pitcher of water up here on the stage and an empty cup you get this pitcher of water in this empty cup and and right there the water is with it's long side it's para the empty cup and the cup's like i'm not okay you're right you're not okay and it receives the lord and then the water goes into the cup now it's in the cup but if i keep pouring eventually that water overflows that cup gets water all over the stage which is why i didn't do this in reality tonight but you can picture it in your mind the holy spirit who is in you wants to overflow you why that your life could now touch others affect others minister to others so you can be the husband god is calling you to be so you can be the wife god is calling you to be so you can be the single person god is calling you to be so you can be the boss or the employee god is calling you to be we live in this world with so many temptations pulling us here and pulling us there we need to walk in the overflowing presence of god's holy spirit we just do now this idea to be filled it isn't just to overflow it also has this idea of the holy spirit controlling you actually turning you into a different person it's why paul links being filled with the holy spirit with being drunk with wine back there in ephesians 5 18. when i first read ephesians as a brand new christian i just thought paul was like the typical pastor he looks at the clock in the back he realizes he only has a few more minutes so he's got to summarize his last few points and he's like what i want to tell these people okay don't get drunk and be filled with the spirit amen let's go get a donut that's not what's going on here that's not what's going on here at all he's linking the two because the two are linked in concept just like all of us know because all of us either ourselves or we know someone in our close family probably where drugs and alcohol have turned them into a different person a person they never wanted to be a person we never wanted them to be most of us have had a front row seat watching drugs and alcohol destroy people's lives some of us had a front row seat watching them destroy our own lives they transformed us into a different person well on the flip side of that in a much better context the holy spirit has the ability to turn you into a different man into a different woman not destroying your life like alcohol and drugs can do but turning your life into something that is beneficial for you your family your kids your church your community and your sphere of influence the holy spirit has been transforming people forever that's what this idea of being filled really means we know that because in luke chapter 4 jesus is preaching in a synagogue and when he's preaching the synagogue like he always did he talked about the fact that he was the messiah and most of the jews as they would listen to him preach it would go in one ear and out the other right they wouldn't listen to him but in luke chapter 4 you can read it tonight later he adds to his sermon that not only is he the messiah of the jews but jesus says i'm also the gentiles messiah too and if you know anything about the jewish mindset in the first century that was the wrong thing to say that was the wrong thing to say that was like showing up at the republican convention and saying you hate trump it's like the wrong thing to say jesus got there and he says i i i'm the gentiles messiah as well and it says there in luke 4. listen to me church family it says that the people were filled with wrath the same word that's being used here in ephesians 5 filled with wrath and it says that what the next thing they did is they tried to throw jesus off a cliff once synagogue was over now listen you and i have this issue we read our bibles with our latte in our hand and are danish and we're like oh that's interesting oh they wanted to throw him off a cliff that's not appropriate after church behavior can we agree on that i mean we're a group of human beings i say things in my church i know i'm sure that as wonderful as pastor jeff is he says things and you go i don't know if i agree with that that's okay that's called human nature and when we kind of go hopefully we're mature enough to go hey let's agree to disagree we're all friends and love jesus we're all going to the same place amen some churches can't handle that but you guys can right we're all going to the same place it's okay we get it we get it and we agree to disagree none of you none of you have said i cannot believe he taught that let's throw him on i-405 freeway after the service and let them get run over by a big rig that's totally inappropriate behavior from christians after service amen amen if you don't agree please see a security guard after after the service is over because you've got some issues but the reality is we all agree on this that's not appropriate behavior well yes i know it was in church it was synagogue i know they were christian they were jews it was still inappropriate to kill someone after a religious service but wrath had turned them into different people because they were filled with it it turned them into different people so too again the holy spirit if i'm gonna say god fill me with your spirit the holy spirit has the ability to turn you into a different man or a different woman that you desperately need to be friends the holy spirit has been doing that since the beginning of time since the beginning of time you know we as christians we we love to kind of hold up the the idea of of the holy apostles right and they were they were tremendous men who set the foundation for the church obviously after jesus christ amazing men of god but not always right and not early on there's some stories in the gospels about them that's rather embarrassing do you know that one in luke chapter 9 where they're going to the city of samaria and they're preaching and sharing with the samaritans and james and the samaritans reject the message of jesus they reject the message of the disciples so do you remember what james and john did after the samaritans rejected them they walk up to jesus and say jesus um could we call fire down from heaven and consume these people again we read our bibles with our latte in our hand and our danish and we think oh they wanted to set people on fire that's nice that is not appropriate christian behavior that is not what you're supposed to do you're sharing with somebody at work they say forget you in your gospel you don't then go get gasoline and deal with the problem that's not appropriate christian behavior in fact in fact in fact if you want to set people on fire it's an indication you may have an anger problem right you may have a little bit of an anger problem if you've ever wanted to set somebody on fire so i think it's safe to say james and john a little bit of an anger problem well i want you to see that because because john is going to be the longest living apostle he's going to write the gospel of john and he's going to write this book called first john well when you read 1st john it's only 5 chapters you get the point right away the whole thing is about love love your brethren love your sister and love the church love god it's like we get it john by the end of the book we get it we totally get it john became known in church history as the apostle of love in fact church history tells us that as the last living apostle he would travel around to churches and speak can you imagine how cool that would be like not guest speaker pastor jason duff no no guest speaker john the disciple like literally walked and taught with jesus like believe me i would step aside and let him come and share if he was available he would go around to churches and you can imagine people would walk for miles to come hear john share when he was in his 80s in his 90s and he'd get up behind the pulpit and he'd say this this one sentence sermon some of you like pastors can preach one sentence sermons not this pastor but this guy could and he would say my little children love one another and then you just sit down it's one sentence granted he was 90 but it was one sentence now now the people the people who had walked days in that time frame days to come here and preach they were obviously not happy with the one sentence sermon and they would say to him record it for us in church history john give us more give us give us the meat they would say what was it like to walk with jesus what was it like to hear his heart john we want to hear the meat and john would back up to the pulpit and he would say my little children this is the meat love one another and he'd sit back down so i want you to think this through how does the apostle of love with a one sentence sermon love one another how did he used to be the guy that wanted to set unbelievers on fire how do you go from being the guy that is so angry you are willing to set people on fire and kill them to the apostle of love there is only one thing that can change a man that greatly it is the power of the holy spirit it was the day of pentecost and the power of the holy spirit in john's life and it wasn't just john you know peter right peter the night before jesus is crucified he's warming himself at the fire and a little girl comes up to him are aren't you a disciple no you're talking about oh she comes right back um yep i think you are i think you're a disciple oh no i never knew the man no i saw you with jesus you are a disciple and john loses his mind because a little girl is accusing him of being a disciple yet same guy 50 days later we'll stand up at the feast of pentecost not in front of a group of little girls but a group of men with swords and clubs and he will look right at him and say jesus whom you crucified has become both lord and christ and you need to give your life to them and get baptized today and 3 000 absolutely did and i look at acts chapter 2 and i think where did that boldness come from how was the same guy less than two months previous going i don't even know him i've never met the man oh get away from me little girl how does that guy go from like you need to get saved today and people are like yes it's not a suggestion it's a command and they give their life to the lord where does that boldness come from a man that was so cowardly and timid there's only one place it comes from the life-changing power of god's holy spirit it came it came from the day of pentecost because remember remember i'm almost done but remember when the day of pentecost came the disciples were already saved how do you know that i know that because of this in john chapter 20 verse 22 jesus has his disciples and he says to them receive the holy spirit in fact there's more to it he breathes on them a very non-coveted time of year to say that but he breathes on them without a mask and he says receive the holy spirit now church what do you think happens when jesus breathes on you and says receive the holy spirit anyone tonight i think you receive the holy spirit right you know we never know what happens the pastors put our hands i don't know but when jesus breathes on you and says receive the holy spirit you get the holy ghost the holy spirit is now in you so so that happens here's another key acts chapter 1 acts chapter 2 the day of pentecost is after john 20. so these disciples already have the holy spirit in john 20. yet in acts chapter 2 these men who were hotheads these men who were cowards these men were gathered in the upper room there in jerusalem jesus had told them to wait until he endured them with power from on high and as they sat there in the upper room worshiping the lord drawing near to the lord the holy spirit descended upon that room and turned john and peter and james and bartholomew and all of them turned all of them into different men and yes there were women there too different women as well and those 120 people changed the world for jesus christ and the reason the reason you and i need to hear this tonight the reason it is so important for us to get this is if you're anything like me you need to become a different man or different woman you look in your own heart and you think man i've got some issues maybe you're a hothead oh no i come to church on a thursday night yeah i pastor a church on a wednesday night and i know i've got issues people pull me over now pull me over they do that too actually but people cut me off is what i meant to say and i just sing oh jesus can i call fire down from heaven and burn this like that the thought pops into my head i'm the pastor of the church and those things pop into my head i know they pop into your heads maybe maybe a little hot under the collar maybe your kids drive you lift the wall a little time every once in a while maybe your spouse does don't a minute don't admit it don't look at them don't look at them maybe maybe just a little bit maybe maybe as a christian you still struggle with addiction i promise you you're not the only one satan is so smart at getting his claws in us even after we know the lord as our god and savior maybe maybe you're in bondage to lust and pornography listen all i know is this room is filled with human beings which means this room is filled with sinners who are in desperate need of jesus even sinners on their way to heaven sinners in desperate need of jesus and the reality is the reality is there's not just a class we can go to or or a pill we can take that can deal with those issues in their heart in our hearts but the holy spirit has been turning people into different men and different women since the very moment the church came into existence and what i'm saying to you tonight is if you're a regular human being like me and you think i got issues and i got problems and i don't know how i'm ever going to change the world for jesus christ i bet this room is very similar to that upper room there on that day of pentecost in fact there's more of us here tonight than we're there on the day of pentecost this room listen to me church this room has the ability to change the world this room this room filled with people like you and like me with our struggles with our issues with our with our with our with our shortcomings and fallings this room has the potential to not just change southern california this room has the potential to change the world but we can't do it just because we're determined we can't do it just because we have the best of intentions we must get on our faces and say god without you it is hopeless but with you all things are possible without you jesus i'm gonna keep struggling my entire life with this double life with this hot this hot head personality with this struggle with with lust or addiction or whatever it is but god your spirit has the ability to turn me into a different man or a different woman and what i want to do tonight i'm going to end a little early than the time i was allotted get that out of a pastor that's that's bonus time right there but what i want to do is i want us to spend a few minutes worshiping here tonight before we go our way and i want us to take some time you and jesus and of course as you know the pastors will be up front available as well but i don't want us to hear a sermon tonight and just take some notes i want a sermon to change our lives tonight and it can't change our lives because because i tell a joke that that's not going to do it what changes our lives is the power of the holy spirit and so what i want us to do as the worship team comes back up is we're going to pray i'm going to pray for you and i want you don't don't run out of here like oh yes search is done early come on give us five ten minutes and i want you to do business with god god knows what's going on in your heart god knows the struggles that you're dealing with and so i want you to bring those before the lord and say god i need you to turn me into a different man i need you to turn me into a different woman if that's the case for you i need you to show me how to be a husband how to be a wife how to be a single person there's so much temptation in this world there's so many things vying for my attention god i've been passionate about things i i shouldn't be passionate about but tonight god i want a brand new passion in my life i want to be passionate for you and i want you to fill me with your spirit and turn me into a different man or a different woman amen now after we're done worshiping after we're done closing as was said before as you leave tonight there's a table where where i've had the privilege over the over the years i've been a pastor to write a couple of books the first one is called the fundamentals of walking with god what is it how do we walk with god the first chapter is how do we get saved i've used it as a track like here read chapter one if you like it the rest of the book's good if you don't you're not gonna like past chapter one but chapter one is how we get saved then how are we filled with the spirit a lot of things we talked about tonight how do i read my bible and get something out of it how do i fast and why would i want to because i love food why do i how do i evangelize and so this is kind of a how-to book and then the other one i have available for you tonight is called groundwork and it's really an apologetics book the first couple chapters are why would a thinking person and maybe this might be a one for a friend of yours why would a thinking person actually believe there's a god not even talk about the god of the bible yet why would a thinking person believe in god and then once you get through that what's what's a reliable source to learn about that god and of course we believe it's the bible so why is the bible a reliable source to learn about god and once this establishes that god is real and the bible is the best source to learn about him then it tells us what the bible tells us about this god so those are back there in the back they're ten dollars a book and every single dollar of these books goes to feed hungry children of course they're my own hungry children don't clap don't clap don't clap it's not don't you haven't heard the punchline yet it's my own hungry children so anyways i want to pray for you i want to pray for you and then we're going to worship okay father now that we've got the commercial out of the way father we just want to get right back to where we were god all of us have issues all of us have things that we're not proud of in our life and yet all of us have your spirit dwelling inside us as believers yet god tonight we come before you as we sing this song as we spend some time maybe even getting prayer from some of the pastors here tonight god we want you to fill us with your spirit that we might become different men and different women those of us that have a struggle with with anger like james and john would you turn us into disciples of love like he did with them god for those of us that might be just kind of afraid to share our faith like peter was god would you turn us into men and women of courage by your spirit god for those of us struggling with addiction god by your spirit would just set us free tonight god would you do the work that you want to do as we just yield our lives to you and admit what is what is so obvious to each of us we are in desperate need of your spirit god so fill this room like you did on the day of pentecost fill this room with your spirit in jesus name we pray amen you

Channel: Calvary Chapel South Bay

Views: 244

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Bible, Calvary Chapel South Bay, God, Jeff Gill, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Lord, Pastor Jeff Gill, Scriptures, South Bay, ccsb, ccsouthbay

Id: _h6IJmm2lfQ

Length: 49min 46sec (2986 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 02 2021