THE PASTOR'S STUDY

The believer being totally controlled by the Holy Spirit.

1) Turn to Ephesians Chapter 4

2) "Be filled" in the Greek means "to render full, to fill to the brim"

3) Present tense (continuous action) And so, the exhortation is for us to be constantly, moment by moment, controlled by the Spirit."

4) The verb is in the passive voice..."

5) And in the imperative which means a "command"

* The Saint's Part: Total Yieldedness

1) Nothing held back - it's yielding your body, will emotions, speech, mind, works, spirit...... everything to his control.

2) Yieldedness has to do with '2' elements:

* Emptying

* Leading

3) So on the saint's part, it involves total yieldedness.

* The Spirit's Part: Total Control

Example: When He controls you, you no longer see the fleshly dimension of your life.. but rather the spiritual which reflects Jesus Christ.

2) They try to make the filling of the Spirit something it is not, and it thus leads them into error and often times confusion.

THE FILLING OF THE SPIRIT IS NOT:

* Indwelling - Romans 8:9 - Unconditional and comes at salvation; John 14:25-27 - Permanent; I Corinthians 6:19, 20 - Possession

* Baptism - I Corinthians 12:12,13 - Unconditional and comes at salvation; Permanent - Can't be 'un'-baptized; Possession - "In Christ"

* Sealing - Unconditional - Comes at salvation; Permanent - sealed unto the day redemption (Ephesians 4:30); Permanent - Security

* Filling - Conditional - Comes at different times as believer is yielded; NOT permanent - not always yielded; Takes practice.

ALSO IT IS NOT:

---- Getting more of the Spirit

---- Speaking in tongues

---- Some emotional ecstatic experience

---- Eratification of the old nature

---- Possessing spiritual gifts

---- Doing good works

* Love - John 13:34 "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."

* Joy - John 15:11 "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."

* Peace - John 14:27 - "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

* Long suffering - I Timothy 1:15, 16 "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation , that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting."

* Gentleness - Mark 10:13, 16 "And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not recieve the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them."

* Goodness - 2 Thessalonians 1:11 "Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power."

* Faith - Matthew 8:25, 26 "And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was great calm."

* Meekness - Mathew 11:28, 29 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

* Self-control - I Peter 2:23 "Who when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that dugeth righteously."

And so, when we are controlled by the Spirit, we will display the fruit of the Spirit, and by doing so... we are expressing Jesus Christ in our lives, because He displayed all that the fruit of the Spirit is.

2) Scriptures

Spirit-controlled people have a:

* Great love for the Word of God

* "Spirit of Truth"

* Love for the truth

Truth and the Bible are linked together:

Galatians 2:5 - "To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you."

Ephesians 1:13 - "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise."

Colossians 1:5 - "For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel."

I Thessalonians 2:13 - "For this cause also thank we God eithout ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe."

2 Timothy 2:15 - "Study to shew theyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth

James 1:18 - "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

* And so truth and the Word go together and when you are controlled by the Spirt of truth Himself, you will have a great desire for this book.

* You won't be able to get enough of it.

* It will become your daily companion and guide to direct you down the paths of life.

* And so if you have no hunger for the Word in your daily life, or if you really have no desire to hear the Word when you come to church, you know you are not filled by the Spirit.

* If all you are interested in is:

---Programs

---Skits

---Fun and games

---Activities

You are NOT controlled by the Holy Spirit, because those are man-made things.

* The Spirit of God always works throught the Word of God!!! Because it is the Word that changes lives.

3) Singing - Ephesians 5:19

* Spirit-controlled people love to sing because it is part of the worship experience

* When we sing hymns and have special music, it's uplifting because good spiritual music glorifies the Lord.

* Not all who sing are Spirit-controlled, but all who are Spirit-controlled.. sing.

* Now we know that not everyone who sings is Spirit-controlled, because the real test is their obedience to Christ and His word.

Singing "Oh How I Love Jesus"... then not being obedient is a contradiction (John 14:15)

* But Spirit-controlled people who sing as unto the Lord is truly a joy to hear and be around, becaue their life matches up with what they sing about.

4) Showing Gratitude To God - Ephesians 5:20

* Givings Thanks - to be grateful, to feel thankful

* Notice... this isn't just some kid of temporary thanks when you feel like it.. or only when things are going right.. verse 20 says "ALWAYS"

* That means during the times of:

---blessing

---joy

---prosperity

---trials

---sorrows

---disappointments

---good health.. but ALWAYS!!!

* When the Spirit of God is controlling your life, He makes you aware that:

Any accomplishment--any success--any blessing--honor---any respect----any promotion---

.... is simply a token of God's grace upon your life!

* And in turn, Spirit-controlled believers give thanks to the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

--- When you are controlled by the flesh:

--- YOU want to take credit

--- YOU like to boast about what you did

--- YOU like to be honored for your accomplishments

* But true Spirit-controlled believers understand the principle of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 23:12 "And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."

5) Submitting to each other - Ephesians 5:21

Submitting - means assuming responsibility, cooperating, to submit to one's control

* "To one another" - it's reciprocal in other words.. it's assuming the responsibility and submitting yourself to the role God has assigned you.

----Husbands and wives.. children and parents.. employees and employers..

* Back to verse 21 - Why do we submit? Out of the "fear of Christ" RESPECT!!!

6) Speaking the truth boldly

* Acts 4:31

* Acts 13:9

*Boldness to speak with :

--Friends

--Neighbors

--Relatives

--People at work

--ANY BODY

* It's not speaking arrogantly or rudely, but speaking the truth from God's word with great assurance and confidence that God will honor His Word.

* It's thinking more of what God thinks rather than what people think.

* It's seeking to please Him as you speak His truth, rather than becomign men pleasers without the truth.

* It's a powerful way to live.. and it is characteristic of those who are controlled by the Spirit.

Oh beloved, may we experience the power and joy of Spirit-filled lives that cause us to triumph in our Lord Jesus Christ.!!!!!