Monday Morning Sermon Quarterback
Invisible God Part 2 – Filled with the Holy Spirit
Joel Thomas, North Point Community Church
I almost called this post “How Do You Handle the “I Can’t Handle This” Moments?
Most people who have not developed a strong spiritual life, whether Christian or not, handle those moments in one of two ways.
We try to escape those stressful moments.
Or we try to white knuckle it and push even harder to get through them.
We drink or shop or watch porn or Netflix or get caught up in our kids’ sports or whatever to help us escape the stress of our own lives.
Or we become workaholics and try to David Goggins our way through the situation (Google him if you’re not familiar).
I thought Joel Thomas’ treatment of being filled with the Holy Spirit was brilliant in this way: Handling these ‘I can’t’ moments by being filled with the Spirit means that we don’t try to escape nor do we try to push through completely in our own power.
He used a couple verses that most church folk might be familiar with.
If you’ve been around the church – especially the more conservative evangelical or charismatic or even Pentecostal type, you’re familiar with this verse about the Holy Spirit:
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18
And you’ve probably heard this verse, too, though it might not be as familiar:
Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?
Galatians 3:3
Both of these verses reveal how people have been trying to tackle life since humankind has experienced hard times.
Escape or white knuckling.
But how?
We place ourselves under the authority of God. When we surrender, and place ourselves under authority, then the power and provision of that authority – the Holy Spirit – flows over us.
Being filled with the Spirit is learning to move from independence to dependence on God. It’s all about surrender.
This illustration says it all…… The power and provision of the Holy Spirit is always available.
We are the cup, that when we are not surrendered under that power (symbolized by the faucet), then we slowly empty out. But surrendering and positioning ourselves under that ‘faucet’ provides us with an unending stream of His provision, regardless of difficult, easy, sad, joyful, or any other circumstances.
Well done, Joel!
