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WEEKLY
Volume 4 Number 4
21 June 2009
Be Filled with the
Spirit
(A Sermon preached by
Rev Hien Nguyen at True Life BPC Worship Service, June 14, 09)
Text:
Eph 5:18-20
Many charismatic leaders
claim that they are filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of the
sign gifts of speaking in tongues or prophesying or seeing visions and
dreams or performing miracles. Sadly, many are being deceived by their
claims and their fake sign gifts! For example, the City Harvest Church
in Singapore, under their founder and senior pastor Kong Hee, is so
proud of their most contemporary style of worship with a big membership
of 25,000 people! Some brethren were so impressed by their big
membership, success and prosperity and asked me why so many attended
that church if their doctrines were unbiblical. Why? Our Lord Jesus
Christ has given us the answer, “for wide is the gate, and broad is
the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in
thereat” (Matt 7:13). Exactly, it is because many want to walk in a
broad and easy way to Heaven with the gospel of wealth and good health
without sincere and full submission to the Lord and His Word: “Believe
in the Saviour Jesus Christ, and you will prosper and be healed” while
they can keep on living in sins and worldliness. They do not want to
deny themselves to walk in the narrow way of the cross and in the
boundaries of God’s Word and God’s Truth, so this is God’s judgment,
“because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they
should believe a lie” (2 Thess 2: 10-11). It is so serious and
dangerous if you and I ignore or reject God’s Truth and God’s Word!
Then, what does it mean to
be filled with the Holy Spirit as this is a command of God? May God open
our hearts and minds so that we shall see the truth and be able to
discern the truth from error or falsehood.
What Does “Be Filled with the
Spirit” Mean?
We have learnt from 1
Corinthians 13:8-10 that sign gifts like speaking in tongues,
prophesying, having dreams or visions, etc. have ceased when God’s
revelation recorded in the Holy Scriptures was complete. Furthermore,
all the sign gifts cannot secure anyone’s salvation except doing God’s
will as our Lord Jesus says, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will
of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out
devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will
I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work
iniquity” (Matt 7:21-23). Then, dear friends, we should not be
impressed or deceived by those who claim that they are filled with the
Holy Spirit and with the sign gifts of speaking in tongues, prophesying,
seeing visions or performing miracles. Then what does “be filled with
the Holy Spirit” mean?
Through God’s Word we know
that the Holy Spirit is God the Creator with a Divine Personality like
God the Father and God the Son. He is not just an impersonal power or
influence that the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe. Therefore, “be filled
with the Spirit” means “be controlled by the Holy Spirit.” This is a
command in passive voice and in the present tense, denoting, “Keep on
being filled with or controlled by the Holy Spirit” That means you and I
must keep on submitting to the control of the Holy Spirit not only at
our devotion or worship, but all the time, and failing to do this
command is sin before God. Remembering this command, we shall humble
ourselves all the time in submission to the Holy Spirit. A man who is
drunk is influenced and controlled by alcohol, a person who falls in
love with someone is controlled by human love, a person who is a slave
of pornography or sexual immorality is controlled by human sinful nature
and sinful lusts, a person who is a slave of fashion, movies, worldly
music or pleasures is controlled by worldliness, a person who is
possessed by Satan is controlled by Satan, and so forth. We must thank
God that He does not want you and me to be slaves of sins, human sinful
nature, worldliness or Satan. God wants you and me to be filled with the
Holy Spirit in order to overcome sins, sinful nature, worldliness and
Satan and to be able to do His Word and His will. Praise the Lord for
His goodness! Then, how do you and I know that we or others are filled
with the Holy Spirit?
The Fruit of a Holy Spirit-Filled
Christian
Our Lord Jesus Christ warns
us, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Ye shall know them by their
fruits” (Matt
7:15-16). Then we can know whether a tree is good by its fruit, and we
can know whether a believer is truly controlled by the Holy Spirit by
his or her life, beliefs, and practices, or by what he or she says,
believes, teaches, preaches, writes and does. Then the fruit of the Holy
Spirit must be seen if you and I are controlled by Him:
Christ Must Be
Glorified Alone, not the Selfish I:
The truth is that once we feel or think that we are filled with the Holy
Spirit, we are not fully controlled by Him at all because when we are
fully controlled by Him, there will be no more “I, but Christ” alone
(Gal 2:20). No more “I am holy, I am spiritual, I am mature, I am good,
etc.” but Christ alone. Our Lord Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will
glorify Him, “He shall glorify me” (John 16:14). Then, if we are
controlled by the Holy Spirit, He will use our minds, our tongues, our
lips, our bodies, our lives, our worship, our ministry, etc, to glorify
our Lord Jesus Christ alone, and to please God alone, not ourselves or
anyone else or anything else, “He must increase, but I must decrease”
(John 3:30). Many may think that they are filled with the Holy
Spirit while they still desire to be known and praised! They are not
really filled with the Holy Spirit. Many who claim that they are filled
with the Holy Spirit by speaking in tongues may praise our Lord Jesus
Christ but also promote themselves, their worldly method of worship,
wrong doctrines, etc. They are not filled with the Holy Spirit at all!
God’s Truth:
Next is the fruit of God’s Truth, “For the fruit of the Spirit is in
all goodness and righteousness and truth” (Eph 5:9). The Holy Spirit
is the Spirit of Truth and is Truth (John 16:13; 1 John
5:6). If we are controlled by the Spirit of Truth, we must submit to the
authority of God’s Truth, which is God’s Word (John 17:17), and “we
can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth” (2 Cor 13:8).
Those who claim that they are filled with the Holy Spirit while what
they say, preach, teach or do is not according to God’s Word are just
liars! Those who fail to submit themselves to the authority of God’s
Word but dare to criticise, question or cast down on God’s Word are only
filled with their sinful self-will, arrogant human reasoning, and
worldly mindset.
Holiness:
The most obvious fruit of the Holy Spirit must be HOLINESS (Rom 6:22)
because He is the HOLY Spirit and the Spirit of HOLINESS (Rom 1:4; 1
Thess 4:8). Those who claim that they are filled with the Holy Spirit
but just compromise and fail to separate themselves from sins, self,
wrong doctrines and worldliness are just liars. Dear friends, you and I
must be holy if we want to see the Lord when He comes, “Follow peace
with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord”
(Heb 12:14).
Love, Joy, Peace,
Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance:
(Gal 5:22-23).
Those who fail to love God and their neighbours, feel bored, are so
worried, unkind, unforgiving, proud, boastful, doubtful about God’s
love, power and Word, and unable to control themselves, etc. are not
controlled by the Holy Spirit. Thank God that the Holy Spirit can
produce His divine love, the love that “rejoiceth not in iniquity,
but rejoiceth in the truth” (1 Cor 13:6), and His joy and peace that
the world can never give to us, His longsuffering that helps us endure
others and all situations, His gentleness, goodness and meekness that
help us be a blessing to others, His holy faith that helps us believe in
God and in His Word without any doubt or question, and His self-control
that keeps us in the boundaries of God’s Word. For example, “speaking in
an unknown tongue/language” has ceased, but even if that gift were still
present today and if we were controlled by the Holy Spirit, we would not
speak that unknown language to show off or to promote ourselves. We
could control ourselves and would rather “speak five words with my
understanding than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue” (1 Cor
14:19) and we would keep silent if there were not an interpreter for the
edification of the hearers, “But if there be no interpreter, let him
keep silence in the church” (1 Cor 14:28). Nowadays, many
charismatic leaders and members just keep speaking in “tongues” for show
even when there are no interpreters! Then how can they be controlled by
the Holy Spirit while they cannot control themselves to do God’s Word?
Praise and Thanks Be
to God:
when we are
controlled by the Holy Spirit, we shall not speak in “tongues” but “speaking
to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and
making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all
things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”
(Eph 5:19-20). Do you and I sing praise to the Lord in our hearts and
give thanks to God all the time for all things, even in unfavourable
situations? Those who praise themselves or others and fail to give
thanks to God for all things but always murmur or complain are not
filled with or controlled by the Holy Spirit at all.
How to Be Filled with the Holy
Spirit
Keep Our Hearts Pure
and Clean:
Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19), and the temple
must be holy for His dwelling (1 Cor 3:16-17). The Holy Spirit is holy
and He likes to stay in a pure and clean heart. If you are used to
living in a clean and hygiene environment, you do not want to stay or
rest in a dirty and smelly place. We only harm ourselves if we
compromise and fail to practise Biblical Separation. Sins will separate
us from God’s holy presence. The children of Israel could not stand
before their enemies due to their sins, and God said, “neither will I
be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you”
(Joshua 7:12). It is always wise for you and me to repent right away of
any known sin and confess it to the Lord for His forgiveness and
cleansing (1 John 1:9) and then keep on walking “in the light, as he
is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of
Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
Submit to the Holy
Spirit and God’s Word:
Many Charismatic leaders and members always mention the Holy Spirit on
their lips but do not truly submit themselves to the control of the Holy
Spirit and God’s Word, but arrogantly demand Him to answer their
prayers, bless their own plans and their own work! The Holy Spirit is
the Divine Author of God’s Word, the Holy Scriptures, so He can never
contradict God’s Word. If you and I are truly controlled by the Holy
Spirit, we must speak, do, act and live according to God’s Word. Dear
friends, you and I must submit to the control and guidance of the Holy
Spirit and to the authority of God’s Word, “the Holy Ghost, whom God
hath given to them that obey him” (Acts 5:32).
Not to Grieve the
Holy Spirit nor to Quench Him:
There are other
two commands in the present tense, “grieve not the holy Spirit of
God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30)
and “Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thess 5:19). If we are true
children of God, the Holy Spirit is in us and with us for ever (John
14:16-17). However, many times we have grieved the Holy Spirit when we
ignore Him and God’s Word or let the sinful nature and worldliness
influence us or “let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and
clamour, and evil speaking, … with all malice” control us (Eph
4:31)! Many times we have quenched the Holy Spirit when we ignore and
disobey His still small voice, moving us to repent, to pray, to seek God
first, to read and do God’s Word, to please and glorify our God the
Father, or to reach out to others with the Gospel, etc., or reminding us
of God’s Word to prevent us from doing the wrong things we are planning
to do! Then, we have to repent of our sins as we are commanded to stop
grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit because He is our seal in the day
of redemption. Without the Holy Spirit and His guidance we are not God’s
true children (Rom 8:14)!
Conclusion
Dear friends, God commands
you and me not to be controlled by alcohol, sin, sinful nature,
worldliness or Satan, but to be controlled by the Holy Spirit and God’s
Word. This is a continuous command, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
May God help you and me always humbly submit to the Holy Spirit and
God’s Word in order to be empowered to be Christ’s witnesses wherever we
are (Acts 1:8) and bear His fruit for God’s glory alone. Amen.
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