the fullness of the spirit

The Fullness of the Spirit

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Today, we are continuing our message series “Living in the Spirit.” In this series, we’re talking about how every believer can grow in their relationship with the Holy Spirit. Our message today is entitled “The Fullness of the Spirit.”

In the last couple of messages in this series, we’ve been talking about Spirit Baptism. If you missed them, I’d encourage you to watch them online on our website. Spirit baptism is the initial filling with the Spirit with the evidence of tongues.

Acts 2:4 (NIV) All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Notice here that on the day of Pentecost, Spirit baptism is described as being filled with the Holy Spirit. In his sermon on the day of Pentecost, Peter preached that every person needed to experience three things.

Acts 2:38-39 (NIV) Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

The three things are salvation, water baptism and Spirit baptism. Spirit baptism is described in this verse as the gift of the Holy Spirit and as a promise, the promise of the Father. This promise was not just for the day of Pentecost, but for every believer of all time. Following the day of Pentecost, the New Testament writers assume that every believer is water baptized and Spirit baptized. …

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The Spirit and Tongues

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Today, we are continuing our message series “Living in the Spirit.” In this series, we looking at the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer. Last week, we studied The Baptism in the Spirit. It was a very important message, so if you missed it, I’d encourage you to watch it online. Let’s review some of what we learned, in order to prepare us for today’s topic.

After Jesus rose from the dead, He breathed the Spirit into His disciples and they were born again. However, there was still something lacking.

Acts 1:4-5 (NIV) … he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Before they began the mission that Jesus was giving them, His disciples needed something else. Jesus commanded them to wait and pray for the promise of the Father. This promise was for them to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. They needed the power of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses for Jesus, just as we do today. The promise was received on the day of Pentecost as recorded in

Acts 2:4 (NIV) All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

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The Baptism in the Spirit

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Today, we are continuing our message series “Living in the Spirit.” In this series, we’re talking about the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer. The Spirit is the person of the Trinity that indwells each believer. All too often, the Holy Spirit is thought to be of little importance or too controversial. Yet the Holy Spirit is the one who convicts of sin, causes us to be born again and is the very Spirit of Jesus who lives inside us.

I have just completed reading a 1000 page book called God’s Empowering Presence about the subject of the Spirit in the writings of Paul. The experiential reality of the Spirit is behind almost everything that Paul wrote. That’s why it took 1000 pages to describe it all. Yet for many believers, the Holy Spirit is simply words on a page. They believe by faith that He live inside of them. However, they have not experienced the reality of His power in their lives.

Today, we’re going to talk about how you can experience the reality of the Holy Spirit’s power in your life, just like Paul and the New Testament church did. Today, my message is entitled “The Baptism in the Spirit.” …

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The Person of the Spirit

The Person of the Spirit

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Today, we are beginning a new message series “Living in the Spirit.” Last Sunday, we completed a message series about miracles called “Experience God’s Power.” As I was praying about the next series, the Spirit led me to the topic of “Living in the Spirit.” You see when you study miracles, some people get frustrated because they aren’t seeing them in their lives.

Miracles are not done by people, they are done by the Holy Spirit. So, He is one that we need to understand better and cooperate with more fully in order to see God move in your lives. So, in this series, we’re going to look at the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is undoubtedly the most misunderstood, unappreciated and controversial member of the Trinity.

Yet, the Spirit is the source of all the power and wisdom that you and I need to follow Jesus and carry out God’s purpose for our lives. So, in this series, “Living in the Spirit” we’re going to be talking about how the Holy Spirit can impact our lives each and every day. So, the same powerful Spirit that was the means through which Jesus created the world, the same Spirit who was poured out on Pentecost is the Spirit that now continues to move in powerful ways in our world today.

This morning, my message is entitled “The Person of the Spirit.” We’re going to seek to answer the question “Who is the Holy Spirit?” A lot of the ideas out there about the Spirit are wrong. Some people think of the Spirit as simply a force or impersonal power. Yet others think of Him as a scary ghost, because of the archaic translation in the King James which speaks of the Holy Ghost. The Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit is a person that we can get to know.

John 14:16-17 (NIV)  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever–  the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

Here Jesus refers to the Spirit personally as him and he, not an it. The Spirit is another Counselor, another because Jesus was a counselor to the disciples while He was on earth. When Jesus left the earth, He would ask the Father to send the Spirit of truth.

The Spirit was with the disciples, but would indwell in them after Jesus left. The Spirit would guide and direct believers as a Counselor to them. So, let’s begin our study today on the person of the Spirit. …

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A Christian’s Responsibility to Vote

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The Presidential election campaign of 2016 has been one of the most interesting and frustrating campaigns in memory. When the dust settled from the primaries, we ended up with two candidates. Each representing one of the two major parties. Many Christians are confused and distressed about how they should vote. They rightly reason that neither candidate would qualify as a pastor of a Bible-believing church.

Many still have no idea who they will vote for. Others have decided not to vote for anyone. Yet others are debating whether to vote for a third-party candidate or write-in a candidate. Even among Christian leaders, there is great confusion and even double-mindedness, with leaders switching their views back and forth. Emotion drives more of the rhetoric than a biblical analysis of a Christian citizen’s responsibility. So, this post will address a Christian citizen’s responsibility to vote for President from a biblical perspective. …

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Waiting and Hoping (Luke 1)

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Waiting and Hoping Message Introduction

Today we begin a new message series called “Christmas Brings Hope.” Of course, we’re not talking about the Christmas holiday per say, but about what it represents, the birth of Christ.

We live in a world that has a lot of hopelessness in it. Sin has brought many problems into the world. Many people fill hopeless and anxious in the light of the increase in terrorism. Economic problems, employment issues, relationship difficulties all cause stress and hopelessness. Why do people turn to various addictions such as alcohol, drugs, gambling and sexual perversions outside of marriage? Why do people harm themselves and others? Why do people commit suicide? Because they feel hopeless. The problems they face seem too big to overcome. So they seek to escape their problems with sin that destroys their lives and the lives of those around them.

Where can we find hope in our world today? The Bible tells us that outside of Jesus Christ, there is no lasting hope.

Ephesians 2:12 (NIV) remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

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