If you're new here, my name is Ricky, as Alex said, and I have the privilege of teaching the word today. So please turn in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 5. If you don't have a Bible, there's some available under the community group sign in the back. We'd love to just give that to you as our gift for you as well as if you are new around here, stop by the information table, get a gift on your way out. We'd love to bless you with that.
I just want to say as well that I had a wonderful time at the kickoff to Alpha on Monday. It was wonderful to see the Connect Room full of folks. Either church members there to be hospitable or a number of folks that are just seeking to take the next step in their, in their spiritual walk. And they don't even know what that looks like, and they're exploring who Jesus is. So please pray for that class.
It's not too late to invite people. I can personally attest to the fact that the food is excellent. And so if, if by no other reason— we did have a member that contacted me last week and just admitted, yeah, I originally came to Alpha because it just I just had a free meal and it seemed like I didn't want to cook that night. So if you have any friends that don't want to cook, please invite them. It's a wonderful time.
And I was so encouraged as well to see the signups for Reengage. We're super healthy. I think we're going to have essentially all of our groups full. So if you are part of that class, please check your email to make sure you can get your book before the first meeting. I just love, love seeing what the Lord's doing here at the church.
So Ephesians 5, you should be there. We're going to be reading verses 18 through 21 as we begin a 3 or 4 week kind of miniseries within Ephesians on what does it mean to be filled with the Spirit and how does that relate to worship and thanksgiving and other things that we're going to walk through today. But today we're going to be focusing on just one part of one verse. We're going to read the context, though, to get the kind of the area around it as well so we make sure we're being faithful to the text. Ephesians 5:18-21.
This is God's word. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. This is God's word. And Lord, may you bless the preaching of it and the hearing of it today. Amen.
Well, everyone breathes because— and I know this about you because you would not be looking up at me if you weren't, right? 20— every A healthy person takes on average, I think, 20,000 breaths per day. Now, there comes a time in your childhood that you realize, oh, breathing is important. And I learned this the hard way with my cousins. My cousins, one time we're hanging out at my grandparents' house, and they said, hey, do you wanna see a trick?
Now, if you're 10 years old, you're in, right? It doesn't matter, like, if you're 35, you're like, what's the trick? You know, but if you're 10 years old, you're like, I'm in. You wanna see something cool? Yes.
Hold out your hand. Okay. You know, that's just the way 10-year-olds are. So they're like, okay, here's what you do. First, you breathe real shallow breaths, like, and real fast.
Like, do like, you know, 100 of those, like, like that. I'm like, okay. And they're like, okay, now you're gonna see something really cool. I'm like, okay, what is it? And I don't remember exactly what the trick was for reasons that will become clear.
But it was either like you bend over at that point or you like cross your arms and lay back or something like that. But the trick is you pass out. And so I'm breathing, I'm like, and they're like, oh, here it comes, do this. And I'm like, okay. And then boom, wake up on the floor.
Whoa. And the best part and worst part of it, I'm not recommending this, side note to the 10-year-olds, if you're in the room, not recommendable. But the worst part at age 10 was my review of it was, that was awesome, right? That's like, that's a 10-year-old for you. But I did learn something important from the lesson.
First, actually two lessons I learned. First, breathing is sort of a miracle because if you don't continue to breathe, you're gonna pass out. So if at any point you stop breathing, that's not good. Two, shallow breaths, this is what I learned, are not really enough. Puts you in this position where you're about to get passed out by almost anything.
And here is where this passage, I think, challenges us. The way I want to say this is we as Christians don't think enough about our breathing. This passage is going to lay out the wonder of how we breathe as Christians, and we breathe because the Holy Spirit lives in us.
6 · The pastor states his two sermon goals: first, to help the congregation recapture the wonder that all Christian life is accomplished through the Spirit's power; second, to help them apply the command to be filled continually with the Spirit so that Trinitarian doctrine becomes Trinitarian practice
So I have two goals today. First is to help us recapture the wonder of us breathing by the Spirit. What I mean by breathing is recapture the wonder that anything we do in the Christian life is done only through the power of the Holy Spirit. Anything. The breath we take in, the breath we push out, all of it only by the power of the Holy Spirit. I want us to reclaim that. I think far too many Christians have a theology of the Trinity, but not a doxology of the Trinity, meaning they know that there is a Trinity, but they don't praise God for the Father, Son, and Spirit.
Functionally, they live with a Trinity of two, not three. And the second thing I'm hoping to do is to then help us, once we understand that, to apply Ephesians 5:18, to be filled continually with the Holy Spirit so that our Trinitarian orthodoxy becomes Trinitarian orthopraxy, which for the theologians out there, if you're not one of those, that's okay. What I mean by that is that the confession we would say, you know, in the Nicene Creed, we believe the Father, Son, and Spirit becomes something we live, not just something we confess. That's the goal of today. Be filled with the Spirit.
7 · The pastor announces the sermon's structure (two exposition sections plus application) and begins tracing the biblical theology of the Spirit from creation, where the world was made to be filled with God's presence
Now, two sections today, very brief, and then a third section of application. First section is simply this: the wonder lost and glimpsed. The wonder lost and glimpsed. That command to be filled with the Spirit may call to mind the very beginning of the Bible where we get the first reference to the Spirit of God, where the Spirit of God hovers over creation like a dove, meaning the imagery is rich that God created this world. The world that he would create was created to be filled with his presence, to be full of the Spirit of God.
8 · The pastor exposits Genesis 1-2 to establish the original state: Adam and Eve enjoyed intense closeness with God, walking with Him in a garden filled with His presence
And that occurred in Genesis 1 and 2, where, where Adam and Eve enjoy this relationship with God of intense closeness, that God's presence fills the garden, that they, they walk with the Lord.
9 · The pastor exposits Genesis 3 to show how sin reversed the original closeness: Adam and Eve hid from God, were cast out of the garden, and barred from His special presence—the tragedy being that humans were made for nearness to God but sin separates them
Until Genesis 3. All of a sudden, when Adam and Eve choose to sin, what you find then is rather than walking with the Lord, they're actually hiding from the Lord. They distance themselves and separate themselves. And God, in his justice, separates himself from them. He casts them out of the garden, this place of his special presence to bless, and bars the way and says, no, no, no, you can't enter into this anymore. And this is the tragedy of the human condition. The tragedy of the human condition is that we were made to walk with God, to be near God, but sin separates us from God. That's what Ephesians 2 says when it summarizes and said, "You were far off from God." But that's not the end of the story.
10 · The pastor exposits the Exodus and Passover narrative to show God beginning to restore dwelling with His people: the spotless lamb's blood allowed God's judgment to pass over His people so they could be spared and welcomed into His presence
The good news of the Old Testament is that God makes it possible for his people to dwell with him Again, we glimpse it in the story of the Exodus, right? Where God comes to rescue his people through the Passover and God's presence to judge all of those in Egypt definitely falls on the Egyptians. But God tells his people, listen, when my justice comes, every human being that is worthy of justice will experience a measure of judgment unless a spotless substitute and the blood of this spotless lamb is placed over their house, that way the presence of God to judge passes over them. That's what the Passover means. And as a result, God's people are spared, but not just spared God's justice, they then are welcomed into God's presence.
11 · The pastor vividly describes the pillar of cloud and fire that traveled with Israel in the desert, emphasizing how God's visible presence constantly reminded His people 'God is with us' even in their fear and uncertainty
One of my favorite parts of kids' ministry was the story of, of the the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud that the Israelites followed, that traveled with them in the desert, right? I especially like, I was all about the pillar of fire, man. Anything on the flannel graph, and we had a literal flannel graph that I grew up with, anything on the flannel graph with fire, I was like, I'm in, let's do it. And so you have these images of, I remember, I still remember the little flannel. There's the cloud and there's God's people and then there's the fire and the teacher was explaining The fire would be at night with them, the cloud in the day with them. But just imagine what that would feel like.
They just left Egypt, they left all of their possessions, all of their homes, where they would, the place that was familiar to them. They're out in the desert wondering, are we just gonna die out here? But there is a constant reminder for the people of God that the Lord is with them. They need look no further than to their right perhaps and see this pillar of cloud, the wind swirling around it, carrying it with them. Or at night, as they're falling asleep, perhaps their last kind of sight is of the glow of the pillar of fire nearby, reminding them over and over every day, God is with us, God is with us, God is with us.
12 · The pastor exposits the tabernacle and temple to contrast Yahweh with pagan gods: unlike the Greek and Egyptian gods who lived far off and only visited, Yahweh lived among His people in the tabernacle at the center of the camp, constantly reminding them 'God is with us
And this continues, this pattern of God dwelling with his people continues when God instructs them on Mount Sinai to build the tabernacle. Now, the tabernacle is this tent of meeting where God and man can meet. And God's people were unique in the ancient world because, you know, maybe you're familiar with Greek mythology or Egyptian mythology. Well, the Greek gods, the Egyptian gods, they didn't live among their people. They lived on Mount Olympus or far off or somewhere else.
And all they would do is occasionally come and visit and, you know, I guess collect their offerings or whatever. I don't know, like, how the economy of, of, of that worked, but they would visit, kind of collect their offerings, check in, maybe answer a prayer or two, and then go back to where they lived. But Yahweh, Israel's God, was utterly different. He lived among them. And so this tabernacle, literally God's people would, would travel with it in the center of their big group of people, and when they camped, they would camp all around it.
And God's people had a constant reminder: God is with us. And that's what was the temple later, when it was kind of a permanent structure, was right in the middle of the nation, and they would all symbolically kind of would be arranged as tribes around the temple. So what, what's the point here? The point is this: that God Yahweh did not dwell far off. He dwelt right in and among his people.
13 · The pastor exposits the tabernacle/temple structure to identify the Old Testament dilemma: despite God dwelling near and among His people, layers of separation remained (priests only, purification, once-a-year Holy of Holies access)—God dwelt near but not yet in or on His people
And yet there was a caveat, though. If you know anything about the tabernacle or the temple, you know that there were layers and layers of separation still between God and his people. Only the priests could enter into certain parts of the temple, and only then after having purified themselves, after having offered all the appropriate sacrifices, and then The Holy of Holies, the special place of God's kind of most intense presence, was only entered once a year by one person after multitudes of sacrifices and much purification. So the dilemma of the Old Testament is that God dwelt near his people and around his people, but he did not dwell in his people or on his people.
14 · The pastor shows that the Old Testament gave glimpses of something better than God dwelling near: Moses and the tabernacle craftsmen were filled with the Spirit for their tasks, though this was temporary and limited to specific individuals
And yet the Old Testament gives us also glimpses of something better than a tent in the middle of our camp. You see in Numbers 11 where it says that Moses was actually filled with the Spirit and God promises to take some of the spirit of Moses, of the spirit of God that was on Moses, and distribute it among others to help Moses with his task of leading God's people. Or you see when in Exodus 31 and 35, the craftsmen who built the holy things of the tabernacle, it says that they were filled with the Spirit to do their task. Now, I don't even know what that seemed like or was like, but that's what the Lord says. He, for a time, he fills them with the Spirit.
15 · The pastor surveys Old Testament heroes (Joshua, the judges, David, Elijah, Elisha, Zechariah) to show that everything amazing in the Old Testament happened because the Spirit filled or rushed upon them—David defeated Goliath not by natural strength but by being filled with the Spirit
And then throughout the Old Testament, what you find is many of the great stories and figures of the Old Testament that we love and celebrate, and we love to hear their stories again and again, were described as being filled with the Spirit. Joshua, the one who led them into the Promised Land, is described as a man in whom is the Spirit in Numbers 27:18. Or the judges, over and over, the judges were being described as being filled with the Spirit, or the Spirit of God rushed upon them. And David, you think of David maybe perhaps being the greatest of the Old Testament heroes. When he's anointed as king, it says the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day. Forward.
We read of the Spirit being on Elijah and Elisha and other prophets like Zechariah, right? So everything that you see in the Old Testament that makes you go, whoa, that's amazing— it's not just David coming up with this strength. Maybe you're thinking like, well, how is it really possible for a little kid, you know, a shepherd boy, to defeat a giant? Well, the equation in the Old Testament is shepherd boy plus filled with the Spirit equals Killed the giant, right? That is the Old Testament's explanation of these little glimpses and glimmers throughout.
16 · The pastor qualifies the Old Testament glimpses: the Spirit's filling was limited to some individuals but not distributed to all God's people—most did not experience this
But they were limited. It wasn't distributed to everyone. And yet, so you have God's people dwelling near God, and you have the Lord's presence filling some, but not all, even not many or most.
17 · The pastor exposits the prophetic period (Israel destroyed, Judah exiled and returned diminished) to show God promising something better: a true Spirit-filled Savior King (Isaiah 61:1) who would usher in something new
But God promises something better. Was coming. In the prophetic books, we see the kingdom of Israel be destroyed and taken away by Syria. You see the kingdom of Judah be attacked and taken into exile and then brought back, but brought back as a shadow of themselves. In that period, you see these promises begin to emerge in the prophets that one day a true Spirit-filled Savior King would come and he would change everything. For example, Isaiah 61:1, the future Messiah will proclaim one day that the Spirit of God is upon me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison. And the promise is that this Spirit-filled Savior King would usher in something new.
18 · The pastor exposits Moses' longing (Numbers 11), Ezekiel's promise of a new heart and spirit, and Joel 2:28's promise that the Spirit would be poured out on all flesh—young and old, rich and poor—and that salvation would come in this new way through the Spirit
Now, this had been Moses' longing even from the beginning. Moses being filled with the Spirit, He declares at one point, "Would that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them." And that's exactly what the prophets promise. In Ezekiel, God promises, "I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you." And perhaps especially Joel 2:28 says this, "And it shall come to pass afterward," after the Savior comes, "that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams." your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days, I will pour out my Spirit. Meaning that rather than just maybe David, maybe Moses, maybe one priest once a year getting to experience the Spirit of God or being filled with the Spirit, one day, Joel promises, all of God's people from young to old, from rich to poor would experience the Spirit.
And then it says in verse 32, "And it shall pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved," meaning tying together the coming of salvation in a new way with a coming of the Spirit in a new way.
19 · The pastor concludes the 'wonder lost and glimpsed' section by showing the Old Testament ending with unfulfilled promises—even the greatest heroes (David, Moses) sinned—but the promise remained that one day something would change
And yet the Old Testament ultimately ends with those promises unfulfilled. David, the great king, sins. Moses almost makes it to the end, sins. Right over and over, God's people seem like maybe something— no, fell into sin. But it ends with the promise that one day something would change.
20 · The pastor begins section 2 ('the wonder poured out') by expositing Jesus as the most Spirit-filled person who ever lived—filled from conception (Matthew 1:18) and baptism (Matthew 3:16), with John the Baptist announcing Jesus would baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit (the fire representing God's presence)
So section number 2, the wonder poured out. Now we're going to see 3 things about the wonder being poured out. We're going to see first that it's poured out on Christ. Now, Jesus, when he arrives on the scene at the beginning of the New Testament, arrives— and this may surprise you to think about this— but he arrives as as the most Spirit-filled person who ever lived. The Bible and the Gospels say again and again that what Jesus does, he does in the power of the Holy Spirit. From the beginning, from his conception, Matthew 1:18 says that Mary was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And then at the beginning of his ministry in Matthew 3:16, Jesus is baptized and he— it says he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. John the Baptizer points to Jesus and says, I'm baptizing you with water, but one day he's going to baptize you with fire and the Holy Spirit. What's the fire?
Remember, it's the presence of God. That's what John is pointing to.
21 · The pastor exposits Jesus' temptation (in the power of the Spirit) and His first sermon in Luke 4, where He read Isaiah 61 and declared 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing'—identifying Himself as the Spirit-filled Savior King, unlike all Old Testament heroes who sinned despite being Spirit-filled
So we see Jesus begin his ministry this way. He goes out to be tempted, it says, in the power of the Spirit. He endures temptation, and then he returns. How? In the power of the Spirit. And in that, you see something you haven't seen before in the Old Testament, right? David, full of the Spirit, still chooses to sin. Moses, full of the Spirit, still chooses to sin.
Samson, he's an absolute mess. The Lord uses him, gives himself over to sin. But Jesus does what no other Old Testament hero has ever done. He endures temptation and chooses to follow the Lord. And then you see him preach his first sermon in Luke chapter 4 in his hometown.
And what text do you think Jesus picks for his first sermon? If I was Jesus, I'd be like, well, maybe I'm going to do Isaiah 53. You know, maybe I'm going to do that. You know, I've got some ideas for Jesus. I got some notes for Jesus.
No, Jesus opens the scroll of Isaiah 41 And this is his text. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to proclaim good news." Right? That promise, he says. So imagine him unrolling the scroll, reading Isaiah 61, rolling it up, and the gospels record he says this. "Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Meaning he's saying, "I am the one.
I am the Spirit-filled, 'Savior King promised in the Old Testament.' And you think everybody cheers? No, they're like, 'You're nuts.' And they try to run him out of town. But why do they do that? Because they get what he's saying. They're saying, 'You're claiming to be the Messiah, the Spirit-filled Savior King of God's people?
You? I don't think so.'
22 · The pastor explains why the Gospels repeatedly emphasize that Jesus' miracles were done in the Spirit's power: first, to connect Jesus to the Old Testament Spirit-filled heroes; second, because the Father, Son, and Spirit have enjoyed perfect communion throughout eternity, so Jesus' perfect relationship with the Father entails a perfect relationship with the Spirit
And yet every page of Jesus' ministry, as he calms the storms and casts out demons, It is done in the power of the Spirit. Now, why is that? Why does the Bible even care about noting that? Of course, he is Jesus Christ, God the Son. He would have power to do these things. Why does the text keep saying again and again and again that he's filled with the Spirit? Well, one, to draw a connection to the Old Testament, to say, listen, the Spirit of God that dwelt on David and Moses and Zechariah and others, It dwells even more fully on the Son of God. But second, it is natural because the Father, Son, and Spirit, the three-in-one God, they enjoyed perfect communion throughout all eternity. And so it would make sense that Jesus, who has a perfect relationship with his Father, would also have a perfect relationship with the Spirit.
23 · The pastor makes a theological claim that Jesus is the first person since the fall to walk in perfect, open relationship with God—like walking in the Garden of Eden again
And in that way, Jesus is the first person, you could say it this way, to walk the Garden of Eden again. To walk fully in right and open relationship with God. That is who Jesus is.
24 · The pastor exposits Jesus' cry of forsakenness on the cross as the moment He became the Passover lamb whose blood covers His people so God's wrath passes over them, opening the way to God symbolized by the temple curtain tearing—and this salvation accomplished by Jesus is applied to God's people by the Spirit
Now, we see it not only poured out on Christ, but poured out— the Spirit then poured out in Christ on all those who are in Christ. Something wonderful happens. It is profoundly perplexing to see that Jesus, the most Spirit-filled man who ever lived, the one who has a close relationship with his Father, on the cross cries out, "My God, my God, why have you 'Why have you forsaken me?' Why would he cry that out? He has no sin to separate him from God the Father. Why would he cry that out? Because he, in that moment, becomes the Passover lamb for God's people. A spotless life whose life is, in a sense, his blood covers his people that the wrath of God might pass over them and that then they would be able to enter into the presence of God.
It says that when Jesus died, the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Why? Because that presence, once kind of hidden behind layers and layers of restriction, has been torn apart and the way opened to God's people. The scripture then is clear that the salvation accomplished by Jesus is certainly accomplished by Jesus, but that work is applied to God's people by the spirit.
25 · The pastor exposits Ephesians 2 as the fulfillment of Ezekiel 36 (God removing the heart of stone and giving a new heart/spirit), 1 Corinthians 3:16 declaring Christians are the temple where the Spirit dwells (not near or around but in), and 1 Corinthians 12:13 depicting baptism as complete immersion in the Spirit of God
When we read in Ephesians 2, for example, that it says God made us alive, we were once dead but have been made alive by Christ, that is the fulfillment of Ezekiel 36, God removing our heart of stone and giving us a new heart, of giving us a new spirit. That is what we read. Or when Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:16, we don't— as because we're not Israelites, We don't get the significance of this, but feel this today. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:16, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and the Spirit dwells in you?" Right? The Spirit doesn't dwell near you. The Spirit doesn't dwell around you, but you now, Christian, You are the temple and God's Spirit dwells in you.
Extraordinary, unbelievable and extraordinary. 1 Corinthians 12:13 summarizes this in vivid imagery where it says, "For in one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit." Image of baptism there is being used because in baptism, right, when we do baptisms, somebody is plunged into the water, right? And there have been a few times I'm baptizing somebody and their head is like kind of above the water and I'm like, no, we gotta get the top of the head down there. All the way, man, you're going all the way down and then coming back up. The image is you're completely immersed.
In God himself, in the Spirit of God himself. That is what the Bible teaches.
26 · The pastor exposits Jesus' promise of the Spirit (John 14:26, Acts 1:8) and its fulfillment at Pentecost (Acts 2)—the mighty rushing wind filling the house (echoing the pillar of cloud), tongues of fire resting on each person (echoing the pillar of fire), and Peter declaring this the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy that God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh
And not only that, not only is the wonder of the Spirit poured out on Christ, not only is he poured out in Christ to those who are in Christ, but the Spirit of God is poured out by Christ on all of God's people. Jesus tells the disciple in John 14:26, I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth. And we see after the ascension, just before, after the resurrection, just before his ascension, Jesus says in Acts 1:8, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the age.
Earth. And that's exactly what you see in the very next chapter, in Acts chapter 2. It says this. Now, hear this with Old Testament ears as we've spent time there. Acts chapter 2: When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place, and suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
Meaning that the presence of that wind is swirling around Mount Sinai, swirling in that pillar of cloud, swirling in the visions of Isaiah and Ezekiel. All of a sudden fills that place, and divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. I mean, imagine that the pillar of fire that once stood far off but near God's people has, in a sense, been taken and poured out on each of God's people. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And then Peter, of course, now this has caused a commotion in the city of Jerusalem.
And so everyone is thinking, what is going on there? These people must be drunk. And so it says, Peter, standing with the 11, lifted up his voice and address them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you. Give ear to my words, for these people are not drunk as you suppose," since it's only the third hour of the day, it's 9:00 AM. Verse 16, "But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel, 'And in the last days it shall be,'" God declares, "'that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.'" You see this?
Everything the Old Testament is setting up is fulfilled through Jesus' ministry in the beginning of Acts.
27 · The pastor summarizes Acts by arguing that everything the early church accomplished—fishermen and tax collectors taking the gospel to the nations—was done through the Spirit's power, with Peter's transformation from coward to bold proclaimer as the prime example
And time would fail to walk through Acts. I had like a page of Acts stuff. I just cut it out because it's just on every page. Once you start looking for the Holy Spirit in Acts, it is on every single page. But here's what we're supposed to understand. Everything the early church does in Acts, it does through the power of the Spirit. How do a bunch of fishermen who fight amongst each other, who want to call down fire on people occasionally, who go from— who are scared cowards and afraid of little girls at points, who are zealots and tax collectors— how do they take over the world? Right? If you're looking at their inventory, it's low.
It's very low. And Jesus standing in front of them is saying, "You're going to take this gospel to the ends of the earth." If I'm one of the disciples, I'm going, "We can't even take it to Las Cruces. Like, I'm— this is— you know who we are, right? You spent 3 years with us. How does that happen?" What bridges the gap between who they were and the gospel going to the nations?
The Spirit of God empowering the church. That's how it gets there. Peter goes from a scared guy afraid of a little girl to boldly proclaiming proclaiming, no matter who hears it, at the cost of his life, that Jesus is the Messiah. How does that happen? By the Spirit of God.
28 · The pastor transitions to application by calling Christians to recognize that every breath they take spiritually—every act that glorifies God—is done only through the Spirit's power, beginning with regeneration (the Spirit bringing dead hearts to life)
So then, what are we to make of this? Well, we're going to spend, as I said, the next 3 or 4 weeks talking about this. But I want to encourage you to think about 2 things as we wrap up today.
First, recognize that if you're a Christian, Every breath you take as a Christian, every act you do as a Christian that glorifies the Lord is done only because of the power of the Spirit in your life. I want us to recapture the wonder that we breathe at all.
Look, this is what is revealed in the New Testament. It reveals this. First, that the Spirit regenerated our hearts and gave us the new heart that Ezekiel promised. Meaning this, if you go back to your conversion and you add the fact add the factors of your conversion up, you, like me, will come up perplexed. Because I just sat in church hearing the same gospel over and over and over and over and over again until one day, bam, I understood it.
How does that happen? I did not bring my dead heart to life, the Spirit did. How do we go from death to life? By the Spirit. That's what the Lord has done in your heart, Christian.
That's why you're here.
29 · The pastor exposits the Spirit's role in sanctification—changing our affections for God, creating distaste for sin, and prompting desires to be better spouses, parents, etc
Then the Spirit is what sanctifies us and helps us grow, right? We hear the New Testament writers talking about walking by the Spirit or God who's begun a good work in you will surely complete it. How can that be true? How can God say or promise, yeah, the work I've started in you, I will bring it to completion? How can he do it? Because he will bring it to completion. And how will he do it? Through the Spirit of God. Empowering us.
Listen, every time your affection for the Lord changes from I hated the Lord to now I love him, I used to hate this song but now I actually sing in church, how does that happen? It's not just 'cause you woke up one day and you're like, you know what, I like to sing songs about blood. Like that doesn't make any sense humanly speaking. And we sing those things, how deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond our measure. Something happens in our hearts when we sing that.
Because the Holy Spirit is there, right? Anytime we think, you know what, this pattern of sin that I'm caught in, it's distasteful to me now. I got to get out of here. I want to be different. Anytime you've thought, I want to be a better husband, I want to be a better wife, I want to be a better dad, I want my parenting to look like God the Father's parenting of me.
Anytime that happens in your heart, that is a tiny miracle done by the Spirit of God. Unbelievable.
30 · The pastor exposits multiple dimensions of the Spirit's work: enabling us to feel God's presence, giving and empowering spiritual gifts, and accompanying gospel proclamation—concluding that every spiritual breath we take is a miracle because our hearts were dead
The Spirit is also what helps us feel and experience the presence of God. I wish we could spend more time here, but Galatians 4 says God sends the Spirit of His Son— God sent the Spirit of His Son into our heart, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." Meaning, anytime you have ever felt the presence of God, ever, You have felt it because of the Spirit. Look, maybe one day you're in worship and the Lord just touches your heart and you begin to realize, man, I love the Lord, or he renews your love for him.
Or maybe you, like me, you know, a few times have been crying because it's a hard day and yet feel the peace of God somehow come upon you. That is the Spirit of God. Or when you faithfully read your Bible and, you know, 4 days out of the week there's nothing, you don't feel feel anything, but one day the Lord brings a word from his word into your heart and it changes your everything. That's the Spirit of God at work in you. In addition to all of that, I could go— we're going to get into this a bit more, but the Spirit is what gives us gifts and empowers our gifts, right?
We see 1 Corinthians 12 to 14. God gives freely and generously to his people all kinds of gifts, from administration to teaching to everything in between. The Spirit is also then what accompanies bold gospel proclamation, right? The reason that that is even effective. If any of your gospel presentations have ever been effective, if anybody— if you've led anybody to the Lord, that is the Spirit of God in you working through you.
Look, this is the reality. Ephesians 2 says our hearts are dead. So every breath we take, is a miracle. Every breath we take.
31 · The pastor applies Ephesians 5:18 by calling Christians to 'breathe deeply' of the Spirit—to be filled continually (verb tense emphasis)—and explains using the church's statement of faith that being filled means being more fully under the Spirit's influence, more aware of His presence, and more effective in service, achieved by living and praying in ways that invite the Spirit's work
So I want our theology to become our doxology, that we begin to see the glory of the Trinity and the work of the Trinity in our lives, the work of God in every respect in our lives. And second, I want to encourage you to breathe— if I could say it this way without feeling new agey— I want to encourage you, Christian, to breathe deeply. Of the Spirit of God. Ephesians 5:18 says, "Be filled continually with the Spirit." That's the verb tense there. Be filled continually with the Spirit. Now, what I mean by that is this.
In Ephesians, there are all these kind of references to the Spirit does this, the Spirit is doing this, this is the Spirit, you know, here's the Spirit. But then Paul does something else. He says, also, I'm not just describing the work of the Spirit, I'm telling you, to be filled with the Spirit. So this is an imperfect illustration, but it helps me. Look, if the air around us did not have oxygen, all of our breathing would be in vain, right?
Right? I mean, you watch one of those movies where there's a fire and all the oxygen's sucked out and they're like, oh, I'm gonna die. You know, I'm gonna die. Or in there's— I love space stuff, right? So in space, you can't breathe, man.
Everybody just dies in space because there's no oxygen in space. And here's the reality. All of our attempts to breathe without the Spirit of God being in and around us would be absolutely futile. But Paul, in a sense, says, keep breathing. And by the way, the only reason you can breathe is because you've previously had oxygen in your heart and life that allows your muscles to work.
So keep doing what you're doing. Keep— John Piper has this great phrase, to act the miracle. Right? It is a miracle, but we are called to act the miracle and continue to be filled continually with the Spirit. Well, what does that mean?
Well, I think our statement of faith is really helpful here. We recently, a few years ago, updated our statement of faith, and this is kind of the language that we are using along with our other partner churches. It says this: The Spirit also desires to fill God's people continually with increased power for Christian life and witness. And some of you are like, well, what does that mean? Well, to be filled with the Spirit is to be more fully under his influence, more aware of his presence, and more effective in his servants.
Now, all Christians therefore must continually seek to be filled with the Spirit. By living and praying in such a way that invites the Spirit's work among us, actively longing for God to accomplish his gracious purposes in us and through us.
32 · The pastor uses a personal medical story about his deviated septum and learning to breathe deeply to illustrate that many Christians take shallow spiritual breaths when they should be breathing deeply of the Spirit—Paul's command to be filled continually means we have a part to play in 'acting the miracle
Now, recently I learned— this is not recently, a few years ago— I went to a doctor about a particular issue I had, and he was talking about breathing, and he was asking me, how do I normally breathe? Get a sense there. And breathing was kind of a sore spot for me because growing up, everybody always criticized my breathing. And basically every coach I've ever had always says, right, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Anybody's coach ever yelled on that?
When you're running, in through your nose, out through your mouth. The problem is this. I found out years later that my nose is basically not screwed on right. And so all my attempts to breathe in through my nose were like this. They were basically me trying to run and go, you know, and And then, and the coach would be like, no, what are you doing?
Stop doing that. And I'm like, I'm trying. He's like, breathe through your nose. Like, and if you're a medical professional, I have a deviated septum that's pretty significant, so it just doesn't work right. I can't get the air.
And so the doctor was kinda helping me see like, okay, well listen, you basically are just taking a lot of these shallow breaths. You need to kinda, retrain yourself, especially when you're doing athletics or whatever, to breathe deeply. And I remember when I first started doing it, I thought this is such weird new age mumbo jumbo, breathing deeply. Have a little gong, gong. You know, you're going to give me a gong, doctor?
He did not give me a gong. But here's the thing. Once I started doing the exercises, I was like— Is this what everyone feels like all the time? Like, I just like, I'm like alert and I feel good and I'm like, wow, look at this, you can see everything, right? And I realized there's a difference between these just kind of shallow, ragged, anxious breaths that I was taking and forcing myself to stop and actually clear out my lungs and bring oxygen in.
And you could Google it, there's all kinds of benefits there. And I think Far too many Christians live like that, with these little shallow breaths. And then they're like, man, I don't know why I get so winded all the time. And Paul is saying, no, no, no, be filled continually with the Spirit, right? Take in, like the Lord has done all of this in and through you, but you have a part to play as well.
As Piper says, you must act the miracle.
33 · The pastor gives concrete application on how to live in ways that invite the Spirit's work: don't grieve the Spirit through hurtful speech, maintain unity, avoid drunkenness, walk by the Spirit rather than the flesh (avoiding sexual immorality, envy, etc
So how do we do that? How do we act the miracle? Two things. We live in such a way that invites the Spirit's work among us. We live that way. In Ephesians, there's so many references to the Spirit, but you might think, you might assume, oh, they're going to be this complicated thing where Paul's like, right, step one, get a synthesizer and get that pad going, right? And then you got to pray in a real spiritual way, like, oh Lord, come to, you know, and you got to do this chant or something. Listen, He doesn't do any of that. You know what he says about how to live in such a way that invites the Spirit's work?
He says, "Don't use your speech to hurt others and grieve the Spirit." He says, "Be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit. Don't fight and backbite and hurt each other." He says in 5:18, "Don't get drunk. You want to be full of the Spirit? Don't get drunk." That's step 1. Galatians 5:16 says, "Walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh." He says, "Don't do this." commit sexual immorality or impurity or envy or be jealous or do those things.
But instead, live this way, full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. So when we live in ways contrary to the character of God, we should not be surprised to find, man, I feel like I'm not getting a lot of oxygen here. Almost think of it as a sailing ship. When you're sailing against the wind, it's not going to go well, right? You're like, man, I'm going so slow.
What's going on? Paul is saying, turn around. The Spirit is behind you. That power of the Lord is with you. But you must pursue the things of the Lord and the Spirit will empower your work.
34 · The pastor gives the second half of application: pray in ways that invite the Spirit's work by asking for the Spirit's help, following Paul's example in Ephesians 3 and Jesus' teaching in Luke 11 that the Father gives the Spirit to those who ask—he instructs the congregation to pray a simple daily prayer of thanksgiving ('Lord, thank you for the Spirit') and petition ('Lord, fill me, help me')
And second, praying in such a way that invites the Spirit's work among us. We're going to talk more about this in the couple of weeks to come. But Paul simply prays in Ephesians chapter 3 that we be strengthened with power through his Spirit in our inner being. Paul is telling us, live in accord with the ways of the Lord and invite the power of the Spirit. Ask for the power of the Spirit faithfully.
He stops his whole letter just to pray that through the Spirit they would experience the love of God. I wonder how many of us, if we just went through our day, if we more regularly did what Paul did by example and pause our day and ask for the Spirit's help, how much it would change. Jesus says in Luke 11— hear this, church— if you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to to those who ask him. So in a way, the two— you want to be filled with the Spirit? Two things: live in such a way that invites the Spirit, pray in such a way that invites the Spirit.
Listen, I want to encourage you this week to pray a very simple prayer at the beginning of every day. Okay, I'm not going to give you an elaborate prayer. Just pray those two halves. First, Recognize the miracle in your life and say, "Lord, thank you for the Spirit. Thank you that I even want to obey.
Thank you that I even want to follow you. Thank you for regenerating my heart and bringing me to life. Thank you." And then pray, "Fill me. Help me. Help me want to be a better employee to this boss I don't like.
Help me want to love people who are unlovable. Help me." And just pray that simple prayer. "Lord, thank you. Lord, help me. Lord, thank you.
Lord, thank you. Please fill me.
I believe if we did that, man, who knows what the Lord could do with us this week.
35 · The pastor uses humor to defuse potential anxiety about charismatic excesses associated with Spirit-talk, reassuring the congregation they're not heading in that direction
Let me end with this. Sometimes people get nervous when we start talking about the Spirit because they think, man, we're going to start some weird, you know, 20th century mumbo jumbo and bring out snakes that we're going to handle at the end of the service. And so the ushers, the time is not yet right for the snakes. We're saving those for next week.
36 · The pastor introduces a 10th-century hymn to show that emphasis on the Spirit is not a modern innovation but has been central to Christian devotion throughout church history
But Dr. Grudem pointed me toward this hymn, one of the oldest hymns, actually, of the church, dating to the 10th century, showing us throughout all the ages, God's people have recognized the importance of this.
37 · The pastor frames the hymn reading as a corporate closing prayer before the congregation sings
So I want to read this over us as our closing prayer. And then we're going to sing in just a minute. So let me read this over us as our prayer.
38 · The pastor reads the 10th-century hymn as a corporate prayer asking the Spirit to take up residence in hearts, make dull minds glow with rapture, give strength when flesh fails, and reveal the Father and Son—then prays personally for non-Christians to feel the invitation to dwell with God through Christ and for Christians to see the wonder of the Spirit's work and be faithful to ask for the Spirit's filling
It says, come, O Creator Spirit blessed, and in thy hearts take up thy rest. Spirit of grace with heavenly aid, come to the souls who thou hast made. Bringing from heaven our sevenfold power, sign of our God's right hand of power. O blessed Spirit promised long, thy coming wakes the heart to song. Make our dull minds with rapture glow. Let human hearts with love overflow.
And when our feeble flesh would fail, may thine immortal strength prevail. Show us the Father, Holy One. Help us to know the eternal Son. Spirit divine, forevermore thee we will trust and thee adore. Would you stand?
Let's pray. And Lord, we pray according to this today. Lord, I pray for any who are not Christians, Lord, that they would feel the invitation of this, that they were made to dwell with God, they were made to be near to God, but it's only Jesus who makes that possible. So I pray that they would feel the invitation to not have a God who lives around them or even near them, but a God who dwells with them. And I pray for those of us who are in Christ, Lord, that we would truly thank God for every breath we take as a Christian, that we would look back with wonder this week on our Christian lives and think, "It is amazing that any of this has happened, that I am a Christian at all, that I'm trying to grow at all, that I said no to that sin at all, that I tried to pursue the Lord at all, that I opened my Bible at all." Help us to see the wonder and the miracle of the Spirit's work in our lives, and then may we be faithful to ask.
To invite, to pray that the Spirit would fill us and empower us to do what we were called to do, what we are intended to do. And I pray that in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, we're going to sing a closing song here, but as we mentioned