8 Marks Of The Church
The Spirit Filled Church
INTRODUCTION
Urban Legends
The Killer in the Backseat (also known as High Beams) is a common car-crime urban legend well known mostly in the United States and the United Kingdom. The legend involves a woman who is driving and being followed by a strange car or truck. The mysterious pursuer flashes his high beams, tailgates her, and sometimes even rams her vehicle. When she finally makes it home, she realizes that the driver was trying to warn her that there was a man (a murderer, rapist, or escaped mental patient) hiding in her back seat. Each time the man sat up to attack her, the driver behind had used his high beams to scare the killer, after which he ducked down.[38]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_urban_legends]
There are many common myths about the church that are misguided at best and dangerous at worst
BODY
Myth
If your church is filled with people, you have a healthy church
This myth, if believed, can be dangerous because:
It can cause us to focus more on how many people are in our church instead of how Jesus is at work in the lives of the people who are in our church
It can give a false sense of security to those who attend our church – that they are part of His Church simply because they show up to our church
We know this is a myth because Jesus said the first mark of a healthy church would be a church filled with people who are filled with His Spirit
Let’s pray
GOD
MARK: The Spirit Filled Church
The Spirit Filled Church and the Teaching of Jesus (John 3:5-7)
Nicodemus has come to Jesus at night
Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again
Nicodemus is trying to understand how someone can be born again, physically
Jesus is helping Nicodemus to understand that He is not talking about being born again physically, but rather, spiritually (being born from above)
Born of water and spirit
Jesus uses the phrase born of water and spirit to mean the same thing as being born again or born from above
Jesus is not talking about baptism or two births here
Ezekiel 36:25-27, I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
“In essence God said, ‘You need to be clean on the inside – washed with water. You need your heart to come alive by my Spirit. Then, and only then, will you be able to obey me.” [Carter and Wredberg, 57]
Like gives birth to like
Flesh gives birth to flesh is simply referring to natural human birth – the physical
Spirit gives birth to spirit is the supernatural – the spiritual (born from above)
So, Jesus teaches us that we cannot participate in the kingdom of God unless we are born from above, meaning that we have the Holy Spirit living in us
The Spirit Filled Church and the Teaching of the Early Church (Acts 2:38-39)
Background
Luke explains in Acts 2 how the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles at Pentecost
He also retells Peter’s address to the crowd when they speculated that the Apostles had had too much wine
After Peter shares the Gospel with the crowd, they are cut to heart and ask him what they should do
Peter’s reply
Repent
Repenting is much more than just being sorry about our sin or being sorry that we got caught in our sin
Turning from sin – “changing the direction of your life from selfishness and rebellion against God’s laws.” [NIV Life Application Bible, p. 1948]
Turning to Christ – “depending on him for forgiveness, mercy, guidance, and purpose.” [NIV Life Application Bible, p. 1948]
It is recognizing that we are done with sin
Read Romans 6:1-14
Peter couples repentance with baptism
Be baptized
Baptism does not save us from our sins, that is what repentance does
Baptism identifies us with Christ and fellow believers
“It is a condition of discipleship and a sign of faith.” [NIV Life Application Bible, p. 1948]
I always refer to baptism as believers baptism, because it is a step of faith that shows outwardly what has taken place inwardly (repentance)
Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
Peter experienced the gift of the Holy Spirit coming upon those who repented while visiting Cornelius
Cornelius had been visited by an angel and was told to send for Peter who was staying in Joppa
The Lord prepared Peter for this important evangelism task by giving him a vision of clean and unclean animals and telling him that what He has made clean in not impure
Peter returned to Cornelius’ house and shared about Jesus of Nazareth with Cornelius and everyone who was in his house
Peter explains that he and the other Apostles were witnesses to Jesus’ arrest, conviction, death, burial, and resurrection
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. (Acts 10:44-48)
The gift of the Holy Spirit was not reserved just for the circumcised Jews
The promise is for everyone
While Peter was addressing primarily Jews from all over the diaspora (Roman Empire), he realized, even at Pentecost, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone
It is for children, youth, adults, etc.
It is for those in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8)
It is for everyone the Lord calls – all ethnic groups
The teaching of the early church reminds us that the evidence of true repentance is the filling of the Holy Spirit and a desire to be baptized
The Spirit Filled Church and the Teaching of the Apostles (Titus 3:4-7)
God’s love expressed (v. 4)
The word “but” makes the transition to the discussion of how to deal with the sin that has enslaved us
God’s kindness and love appeared when He sent His Son Jesus from heaven to earth
God’s love was expressed for us through this act
Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
God’s love for us never ends – He wants us to recognize our sin and turn to Him – to be in relationship with Him
We know God’s will concerning mankind
Some people will tell you that God’s will and purpose is to make their life miserable
Others will tell you that God is simply waiting for them to make a mistake, so He can discipline them
But, scripture tells us God’s will
Matthew 18:14, In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost. (He wants children to be saved from their sins)
2 Peter 3:8-9, But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. He is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
His will is that everyone of us turns from our sin, repent, and seek His salvation
Jesus’ work
Jesus’ purpose was to seek and to save the lost
He did that by dying on a cross, taking our sin on His body, and paying the ransom so we could be saved
God accepted Jesus’ perfect sacrifice for our sin by allowing Him to come alive again
He saved us! (v. 5)
God is the One who initiated salvation for mankind
We can’t save ourselves
We can’t do enough good things to be saved by God
We can’t say enough good things, help enough people, give enough money, etc., to be saved by God
It was God’s mercy that saved us (mercy is not getting what we deserve)
Ephesians 2:8-9, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.
How did God save us? (vv. 5b-6)
Through the washing of rebirth and renewal
Washing – some scholars believe this is referring to baptism, but baptism is not a part of salvation
Baptism is an outward expression of an inward decision – letting others know publicly that you have asked Jesus Christ to save you
“‘Washing’ here means ‘bathed all over.’ When a sinner trusts Christ, he is cleansed from all his sins, and he is made ‘a new person’ by the indwelling Holy Spirit.” [Wiersbe, 267]
It is a spiritual cleansing that removes moral stains
Psalm 51:7, Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Rebirth is the result of washing – we are made new, our sins have been removed
Renewal – the process of moral renovation or transformation which follows the new birth [Stott, 204]
By the Holy Spirit
The washing that brings about rebirth and renewal comes by the Holy Spirit
God poured out the Holy Spirit on us generously through Jesus Christ
The Holy Spirit lives in us as a reminder and as evidence that we have been washed, made new, and transformed
The Holy Spirit is the One who helps us to understand Scripture
He is the One who reminds us of Scripture when we are tempted to do wrong
He is the One who prompts us concerning spiritual disciplines that will deepen our relationship with God
Why did He save us? (v. 7)
We see the purpose clause that begins with “so that” – it tells us why God saves us
Paul reminds us again that we have been justified by God’s grace
Justification is defined as “just as if I have never sinned”
That’s how God sees us through the blood of Jesus Christ – without sin
Become His children
God saves us so that we might become heirs
John 1:12-13, Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
God saved us so we could be part of His family
If we’re part of His family then we will be able to live with Him someday where He lives – heaven
Have hope of eternal life
As God’s children we have hope of eternal life
Eternal life is the kind of life we need here on earth to obey God and the kind of life we need to live with God in heaven someday
We learn from the teaching of the Apostles that God saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal that takes place by the Holy Spirit that lives within us
We not only see this mark proclaimed to us through teaching, but through a picture
METAPHOR: The Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20; 2 Corinthians 6:16)
Bible Project Video – “Temple” (Windows Media Player) [https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/temple/]
Imagery in Scripture
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16)
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are God’s temple since the Holy Spirit lives within us
APPLICATION (how will we know if this mark of The Church marks Our Church?)
We will look like a new people (1 Peter 2:9-10)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
Our unity, pursuit of holiness, and love for one another will be evident to our community and those around us
We will have a new perspective (2 Corinthians 4:6)
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)
We will recognize the glory of God as we shine His light to those around us
It is serving within our giftedness
We will walk in a new power (Acts 1:8)
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
The Holy Spirit will give us boldness in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those locally, domestically, and internationally
Our desire is to have a church filled with people who are filled with the Holy Spirit
YOU
Idaville Member Survey from RESTOR Renewal Ministries
Four of the five questions from The Spirit-Filled Church section of the survey were in the top ten of the most difficult for us as a church
“The people in our church understand what their spiritual gifts are and regularly use them to serve our church in tangible ways” (1 of 10)
“The people in our church consistently live out the ‘fruits of the Spirit’ in their everyday lives” (5 of 10)
“The people in our church know what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit” (6 of 10)
“Our church consistently teaches on the Person and ministry of the Holy Spirit in various teaching settings” (10 of 10)
How do we address these questions?
We have provided and will continue to provide a spiritual gift survey for every church attender
We will counsel with you about how to use your spiritual gifts in a tangible way to serve the church
#1 – My Next Step Today Is To: Take the spiritual gift survey and begin using my spiritual gifts in a tangible way to serve the church.
The fruit of the Spirit are found in Galatians 5:22-23a, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
How are you using the fruit of the Spirit in your everyday life?
#2 – My Next Step Today Is To: Choose at least one of the fruit of the Spirit and begin using it in my everyday life.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit means that we are transformed as disciples of Jesus Christ
We are dead to sin and alive to Christ – we longer desire to pursue the things of this world and the evil in it
Our thoughts, actions, and speech are controlled by the Holy Spirit
#3 – My Next Step Today Is To: Allow the Holy Spirit to control my thoughts, actions, and speech.
As leadership, we will make a concerted effort to highlight teaching about the Person and ministry of the Holy Spirit through messages and lessons
WE
Vision
One of the core values that we developed at the Dream Retreat is, “We are a church who encourages our members to discover, develop, and use their spiritual gifts.”
Under the growth strategy, proven process section we are committed to our membership knowing their spiritual gifts and using them
We are also committed to the fruit of the spirit being evident in our body
Traction
One of the annual goals for 2022 is to have 20% increase in volunteerism for the Wednesday evening and Sunday morning services
One of the quarterly goals is to have the Board of Administration take the spiritual gift survey
Another quarterly goal is to have you all take the spiritual gift survey
CONCLUSION
“I cannot make someone fall in love with Jesus.
It really came home for me, literally, with my own teenage daughter, who, 18 months ago, was not in love with Jesus. I spent nights crying, bawling, praying to the Lord. Here I am known for my ability to communicate, but there was nothing I could do for my own daughter that would make her fall in love with Jesus. Of course I could still guide and lead her, but I was powerless to convict her.
I prayed, ‘God, either your Spirit comes into her or your Spirit doesn't. It doesn't matter how great a dad I am. I cannot bring her to life.’
One day she came into my room and said, ‘You were right, Dad. The Holy Spirit was not in me. But now he is.’ She talked about how near she was to God and how everything had changed. My wife and I were skeptical. We wanted to see evidence of change. But 18 months later, I can say she really is a new creation. I didn't do that. It was the Holy Spirit.”
Condensed from our sister publication Leadership Journal, © 2010 Christianity Today International. For more articles like this, visit Leadershipjournal.net.
Source: Francis Chan, "Catching Waves," LeadershipJournal.net (posted 5-17-10).
[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2010/june/3060710.html]