Are You Filled With The Holy Spirit?
Good Morning Friends,
The image of the Holy Land holds many appropriate landmarks that bring understanding to the journey of the spiritual life one can contemplate during Lent. That Jesus traverses much of it on his walk to the cross is to guide us in our journey. The great legacy and ongoing importance of this place and its people is not to be minimized however we are not living in the Holy Land. One image I have of Holy History is of a river overflowing its banks. This is not such a hard thing to imagine here in South Florida. We have the river of grass. Lydia in today’s scripture had a river where she lived and it became a place of worship. She went down to the river to pray. On Friday I was praying with a group of men and we were each asked where we came from to South Florida and where we go to church. The host gave an expected answer of such and such of church on such and such a street. I said that I go to church in a thousand different places but sing with my family in choir on Sundays at Moorings Presbyterian Church. Another said I do not go to church and indeed cannot go to what is already inside of me. And that brings us to today’s question. Are You Filled With The Holy Spirit?
Scripture: On the Sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshipper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.’ And she prevailed upon us.
Acts 16:13-15 (NRSV)
And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5 (NRSV)
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:1-4 (NRSV)
All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:11-13 (NRSV)
Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit,
Ephesians 5:18 (NRSV)
Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 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 those who ask him!’
Luke 11:11-13 (NRSV)
While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Matthew 26:26-28 (NRSV)
Message: This morning I would like to contemplate the flow of Holy History but also the flow of blood through our bodies giving us life, and also our immersion into the deep mental involvement of being the church…the called out assembly of believers that somehow has figured out a bit of the mystery of why having a life that overflows in the Spirit is so important. So read today’s scripture and realize that Paul is not crazy even though our expectations are flipped. Let it help you come to a decision that needs to be made continually to pray and to walk according the Spirit. And then realize that not all believers are filled with the Holy Spirit. But for those who are there is no condemnation. See how the power of Jesus overcomes the power of the world. See the truth about trials and tribulations. Friends, we have a choice. Take the example of Paul. Imitate him imitating Christ. Paul was a man filled with the Holy Spirit and became a witness to the Kingdom and Christ when he rejoiced in the calamities and suffering in his life. He was beaten; jailed, attacked by angry mobs…he worked to exhaustion, was hungry and suffered pain and sleepless nights. And in all of this he fought with righteousness…patience…kindness… understanding and sincere love. Paul had the power of the Holy Spirit inside of him. We learn that if we hold the course in and through our problems, we too will become a more confident, stable and stronger followers of Jesus’ way. If we endure, we will discover that God’s love will ultimately use everything for good. In the process however the promise is that we get what we need…not what we might want and certainly not what we sinners deserve. So today is a lesson in Godliness. Discover the river inside you. Let it wash you and cleanse your soul. Drink deep and be satisfied. Know that if you are filled with the Holy Spirit there is no room left for the demons of the world.
Pray we realize that we cannot go to church. Pray we realize that we cannot go to what is in us. Pray what is inside us is filled to overflowing with the Spirt. Pray this flow of the Spirit cleanse us of impurities. Pray the Holy Spirit immerses all of us to be believers living into the Ecclesia. Pray we embrace Christ’s law of love that makes us more righteous.
Pray we make the most of opportunities that come our way. Pray we understand what the Lord’s will is. Pray we live an abundant and fruitful life. Pray we become more Christ like. Pray our leaders are filled with the Holy Spirit. Pray we are committed to others God has filled with the Holy Spirit and has brought into our lives. Pray we are replenished with the truth. Pray we are filled with the Holy Spirit and the Words of Jesus. Pray we live according to God’s influence to overflowing joy. Pray we drink deep of God’s salvation and lead others to the river.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 