We find ourselves in the midst of another unplanned series. Let me remind you how we got to this point. The first sermon was about the mission of the church to spread the Gospel. We were in Acts 1 for that. That led to the second sermon where we looked at fruit-bearing as an aspect of pursuing this mission. That was from John 15. And that has led us to today's sermon which is about the role of the Spirit as we bear fruit and pursue our mission. Considering the role of the Spirit today seems appropriate since this is Pentecost Sunday, a reminder of the coming of the Spirit upon the Church. My original plan was to look at several different aspects of our relationship with the Spirit. But as the sermon developed it was clear that the Spirit was guiding me to narrow my focus. I'm expecting that I will return to the topic of the Spirit in the near future so that I can deal with some of these other aspects.
In the text that I read to you Paul exhorts his young protégé to pursue his calling. He doesn't just tell him that. He also gives him a reason to be hopeful in that pursuit. '...for God gave us a Spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.' Paul points Timothy to the Spirit. Timothy has been called to be a pastor and he is having some difficulties in fulfilling that role. So, the Apostle reminds him of what he already knows. His hope for success resides in the power of the Spirit whom God has given to him. Paul reminds him of the Spirit.
Our ability to pursue our calling to follow Jesus similarly depends on the Spirit whom God has given to His Church. He must act in us or nothing will happen. I think that we all know this. And yet, I think that it is fair to say that we are not especially familiar with the Spirit or how He does His work in our lives or how we are to respond to Him. And that has great effect on the pursuit of our calling. How can we follow Jesus well if the Spirit is something of a stranger to us? It was here that I thought we'd take a look at several aspects of the Spirit's work in our lives. But, as I said, we're only going to take a look at one, the filling of the Spirit.
Paul says in Ephesians, 'Be filled with the Spirit.' To be sure, many of you have questions about this. There may be a good number of things that are not be clear to you when it comes this being filled with the Spirit. But certainly, one thing is clear. This is a command. The Apostle Paul is not making a recommendation, nor is he offering a suggestion. Paul commanded those Ephesian Christians to do something. And the Spirit is using Paul's words to, likewise, command you to do something. Be filled with the Spirit. Here is a word from God that we all need to obey. Of course, as soon as I say this, up pop some questions. 'But what does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? And how do I do that?' Those are the right questions. And they are important questions since we have this command staring us in the face.
So, let's start with the first question: What does this mean? The best way to get at this is to look other places where the Bible uses the language of being filled with something. Here are some examples.
And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?"
And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom.
When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.
But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him, and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.
And the disciples were filled with joy.
The point is clear. This is language about what is going on inside, in a person's soul. There are good things, like joy and awe, and bad things, like wrath and jealousy. And this is tied to something Jesus said. 'Out of the heart the mouth speaks.' The outer life is simply a reflection of the inner. The inside overflows to the outside. The point of the command to be filled with the Spirit is that you need to make sure that your 'inside' is filled with the good things of the Spirit. When that happens the inevitable result will be an outer life that overflows with much that is good, things like joy, love, awe and power. I think that answers our first question.
Now, on to the next question. 'How do I do that? How can I be filled with the Spirit?' This isn't a complicated question. It boils down to asking, 'How can my soul be filled with the good things of the Spirit? What do I need to do for that to happen?' You might answer that by saying something like, 'It's something that I need to pray about. I need to ask God for this.' That's a good answer. The only problem is that, for some, the next thought is, 'But I've done that already. And I don't see any change. I've prayed for more of the Spirit and I've seen nothing.' It's at this point that things can fall apart. But they don't need to.
To pray that God would fill you with His Spirit is important, crucial in fact. But that's not all that needs to happen. There are also some things that you need to do. There are commands that need to be obeyed. In our text, Paul pointed to the Spirit as the foundation for Timothy's pursuing his calling. '...for God gave us a Spirit not of fear but of power...' Timothy's hope for success in that calling depended on the Spirit. But listen to how Paul began that sentence, 'For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God...' Do you see what Paul is saying? 'To be sure, Timothy, the Spirit has all the power that you need. But you aren't supposed to just sit there, you know. There are things for you to do, Timothy. Fan into flame the gift that God has given you. Pray, Timothy. Pray all the time. But you also need to be sure to do the other things that you're supposed to.' So, you see, we aren't to pray and then sit around waiting for the Spirit to drop into our laps. There are things to do.
You can see this clearly in other parts of Paul's letter to Timothy. Consider how the Apostle describes this very powerful Spirit to Timothy. '...for God gave us a Spirit not of fear...' Isn't that an odd way of referring to the Spirit, the Spirit who is not of fear? But Paul wrote it that way for a reason. Timothy was timid. He was afraid of people. And so, Paul exhorts him appropriately. 'Timothy, give up your timid ways. Be fearless! Be bold!' There is something to do. In the very next verse he tells Timothy, '... share in suffering for the sake of the Gospel...' Jesus said that following Him would be costly. Paul certainly understood that as he wrote this from jail. And he reminds Timothy of this as well. There is something to do. And then there is this from later in this same letter. 'No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.' Paul points to three kinds of people who have something in common. They work hard to get to a goal. Paul uses their example to make his point to Timothy. There is something to do. And so, I say to you, if you would be filled with the Spirit and see His power overflow from your life, just praying, though essential, is not enough. There are things to do, commands to be obeyed.
I'm guessing that I've confused a good number of you. You're probably asking yourself, 'So, we are filled with the Spirit by obedience? We earn the Spirit? That doesn't sound right.' And it isn't. The blessing of the Spirit is a matter of grace all the way. But we still need to obey those commands.
Let me share with you something from my own life that will clarify what I'm saying. As some of you know, I have joined a book discussion group at Barnes and Noble. I had been praying that I could speak something of the Gospel to my neighbors. I was praying that because I knew it is something that God expects of His saints. So, I was praying for opportunity to do that. But one day as I was praying about this, it dawned on me that I just about never see my neighbors. How could I speak something of the Gospel to them if I never see them long enough to say anything to them. As a result, it seemed right for me to go and find some non-Christian neighbors to whom I could speak the Gospel. So, God led me to this group. The first time I met with this group was last November. I had read the selected book beforehand and took part in the discussion when we met. It was time well spent. The December meeting, by tradition, was dinner together at a restaurant; a social occasion. As a result, one December night I found myself driving to some restaurant in Cranesville that I had never been to before, to get together with some people I had met only once, to chat over dinner about who-knows-what. (I was pretty sure that it wasn't going to be about the finer points of Reformed theology.) I am not, by nature, an outgoing person. If I had my druthers, I'd do what Calvin wanted to do which was to find a quiet place to read books. So, there I was sitting in my car in the parking lot of this restaurant. I was a bit early. And the all the reasons for not going in were flooding my head. 'I don't know anything about this place. What if I don't recognized these people? I've only met them once. What if I go in and make a fool of myself?' But I reminded myself why I joined this group. I wanted to establish relationships with the other folk so that my Christianity could make itself known to them. I wanted to share the Gospel with these new-found 'neighbors' of mine. And Jesus wanted me to do that, too. And so, sitting in my car, I prayed. I don't remember what I said but the basic idea was that the Spirit would fill me with the ability to do this. And after praying, I didn't wait for some rush of feelings of power. I didn't expect that or any other tangible evidence of the Spirit's presence. And there was none. I didn't suddenly become an extrovert. But, having prayed, I got out of the car and entered the restaurant, there to develop some relationships with these people whom Jesus had led me to.
Now, here's my point. I prayed. But there was more to do. It was as I decided to take the risk to obey, that the Spirit filled me with His power. I did not earn it. But I had to decide to obey before I could see its effects. So, you might say that I was filled with the Spirit as I opened my car door to enter the restaurant. That's when it was clear that I had decided to obey. It is of the utmost importance that you pray. It is also of the utmost importance that you read your Bible. How else would I have known that I'm supposed to spread the Gospel to my neighbors apart from prayer and Bible reading? But praying and reading alone isn't enough. There are some things that you need to do. You need to take the risk that is tied up in obedience. But as you do that, you will be filled with the Spirit. The power of the Spirit will be there to give you what you need.
That's what Paul was doing with Timothy. 'Timothy, you need to pursue your calling. There are things you need to do. You need to obey Jesus and work hard at being a faithful pastor. But be assured that the Spirit will give you the ability to do any of that. Be confident in Him and His power, and then obey.'
I started this series back in Acts 1 talking about the mission that Jesus has given to us as His Church. We are to spread the Gospel. I am not satisfied with the progress that we are making on that. And I hope that you aren't satisfied, either. But the solution isn't in trying harder or employing some new method. The solution starts with our giving due attention to what God is telling us in His word and then praying about it. As we do that, the Spirit will point out what we, individually and as a church, need to do. It's at that point that we'll have to take the risk that obedience always calls for. But we do that confident that the Spirit will give us whatever we need to accomplish what He has called us to. If we follow this plan, we will see the Spirit do amazing things in us and through us. As we are filled with the Spirit, we will the Gospel spread.
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