July 19, 2009

How Do I Receive the Holy Spirit?

Luke 11:5-13

Opening Words: For the first thirty-five years of his life John Wesley was a failure. Then everything changed. On May 24, 1738 he was touched by the Holy Spirit and was sanctified for Christian service. The rest is history. Physically, Wesley was no different. Intellectually, he was no different. Financially, he was no different. The only thing that changed about John Wesley was his spiritual presence. He did not change himself, it was the Holy Spirit who changed him.

Today, I continue a sermon series called, The Holy Spirit. We have everything we need to be a great success for God, except one thing, the Holy Spirit. What happened to John Wesley 271 years ago can happen again today. The problem is so many in our time don’t understand the Holy Spirit. I will be honest with you. For many this sermon series is a little more advanced than the norm. However, I preach this sermon series because the Holy Spirit is the key to our future success as a witness for Christ in this community. Let me say this lovingly. It is time for some of you to grow up spiritually.

This sermon series is based on six questions. I began last week by answering the question, who is the Holy Spirit? Today, I will answer the question, how do I receive the Holy Spirit? My goal is not to just educate you personally. My goal is to edify us as a group. Our Gospel reading for the weekend comes from the eleventh chapter of Luke, verses five through thirteen. May God give you ears to hear.

Luke 11:5-13 5Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'

7"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

11"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Several years ago a mother wrote to “Dear Abby”: “Dear Abby, My son is in jail for running his mouth at a cop. They’ve given him one phone call a day, and he’s calling home to ask us to bring him things. His dad has gone over there with whatever he has wanted: two Big Macs on Monday, a pizza on Tuesday, today an apple pie. Personally, I think it’s disgraceful that we have to feed this boy, because that’s what our taxes go for. I have been telling my husband not to waste his time and our money jumping to take our son all this junk food. All I intend to do is just to send him two packs of cigarettes each day. Dear Abby, what do you think?” Dear Abby wrote back, “Dear Mother, Your husband is not just taking food to your son in jail. He is taking love. That’s what your son is really asking for.” That raises an interesting question.

What do you really want in life? What is lacking in your life today that would make you happier or more satisfied? There seems to be a lack of happiness and contentment in our society. Answer the question honestly. How many unhappy people do you know? I believe one of the reasons there are some many unhappy people is so many have bought into the lie that money can buy happiness. How many people do you know think happiness will come with their next purchase?

Consider three people with me. If the lie is true then they should have been happy. Michael Jackson was $480 million in debt at the time of his death. (How do you get $480 million in debt?) Elvis Presley is still raking in the money and he has been dead sense 1977. Anna Nicole Smith lived out her dream of many. She married the old rich guy, who died leaving her a fortune. If money can buy happiness then Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley and Anna Nicole Smith should have been delirious. But you tell me. How happy were those rich celebrities? I know money is important but money isn’t everything. What are you lacking in your life that would make you happier or more content? I believe that part of that answer lies in this weekend’s question, How do I receive the Holy Spirit?

The Master said it clearly, we are to live life and live life abundantly. An abundant life is a spirit filled life. An unsatisfied life is a spiritless life. In Catherine Marshall’s book, The Helper, she says the Holy Spirit makes a great difference in our lives. On the moment the Holy Spirit came into your life everything changed. You move from simply existing, to living. Consider her list with me. According to Catherine Marshall when you have the Holy Spirit in your life you have:

1. A personal awareness of God’s love

2. Conviction for Christ

3. A message of help

4. The right words at stressful times

5. Help in our weakness

6. Freedom from sin and harmful habits

7. Spiritual gifts and fruits

8. Real joy and renewal

9. Divine guidance and healing

10. An intercessory with God

11. The pledge of eternal life.

The Master said it, we are to live life and to live life abundantly. Let me say this clearly. I don’t want you to miss it. It is the key to this weekend’s message. An abundant life is a spirit filled life!

So this weekend I want to answer the question, how do I receive the Holy Spirit? The truth is the Bible doesn’t lay out for us a simple three set process. However, I believe you can receive the Holy Spirit by understanding three terms. These are the words we are going to look at today: accept, understand and submit. So if you are ready to answer our question and be filled with the Holy Spirit say, Amen!”

Accept

The first step in being filled with the Holy Spirit is accepting Christ. I hope that is rather obvious to you. Do you remember what we learned last week? The primary function of the Holy Spirit is to bear witness to the work of Jesus. The problem is we live in politically correct times, when we don’t want to tell anyone they are wrong. The world tells us there are many ways to heaven, it all depends on which path you want to take. That sounds nice but it is wrong. Your only hope of salvation always has been and always will be Jesus. Do you remember these two great quotes from the Bible? In John 14:6 Jesus is speaking and the Master says, No one comes to the father, but by me.” Acts 4:12 says, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” If you want to receive the Holy Spirit and live a spirit filled life the first thing you have to do is accept Jesus. Have you accepted Jesus or are you just participating in some dead religious ritual? It all begins with Jesus! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Lord Kenneth Clark, internationally know for his television series Civilization, lived and died without faith in Jesus Christ. He admitted in his autobiography that while visiting a beautiful church he had what he believed to be an overwhelming religious experience. "My whole being," Clark wrote, "was irradiated by a kind of heavenly joy far more intense than anything I had known before." But the "gloom of grace," as he described it, created a problem. If he allowed himself to be influenced by it, he knew he would have to change, his family might think he had lost his mind, and maybe that intense joy would prove to be an illusion. So he concluded, "I was too deeply embedded in the world to change course." I hope that is not your story.

I hope that at some point in your life you changed course and accepted Jesus. On the moment you accepted Jesus two things happened. First, when you accepted Jesus you knew you were going to heaven when your days were done in this world. I have never met a single person who didn’t want to go to heaven. Second, when you accepted Jesus you had a chance at a better life in this world. Believers understand that happiness doesn’t come with the next purchase. Happiness comes with being spirit filled. You will never be spirit filled, you will never be content, until you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!“

Understand

The second step in being filled with Holy Spirit is understanding. I love the story of Douglas MacArthur, who was a student at West Point. He was studying the time-space relationship later formulated by Einstein as his Theory of Relativity. The text was complex and, being unable to comprehend it, he memorized the page. When he was called upon to recite, he solemnly reeled off almost word for word what the book said. The instructor looked at young MacArthur somewhat quizzically and asked, "Do you understand this theory?" MacArthur hesitated in replying, "No, sir." The room grow completely silent and the young cadet braced himself for the worst. Then the instructor slowly responded, "Neither do I, Mr. MacArthur. Class dismissed."

There are many things in life I don’t understand but there are two things about the Holy Spirit I do understand. First, you must understand that on the moment you accepted Christ that you will filled with the Holy Spirit. You may not feel his presence in your life but the Holy Spirit is present in your life. Second, you need to understand that God wants you to be filled with the Holy Spirit because He wants clarify your witness of Christ redemptive works. So one of the things we should he praying for regularly is more of the Holy Spirit. The scripture reading ends with these words of Jesus, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" When was the last time you asked for more of the Holy Spirit? If you could ask for more of the Holy Spirit say, “Amen!”

Submit

The third step in being filled with the Holy Spirit is submitting. Acts 5:32 says, “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him." Don’t misunderstand that text. This is not a text about salvation, it is a text about witnessing. We are not going to heaven because of what we have done, we are going to heaven because of what Jesus has done for us. You are not submitting to God’s ways because we are earning our salvation. We are submitting to God’s ways because it will clarify your witness of what Jesus has done. The number one enemy of your witness is your sin. You should want to eliminate the sin in your sin so the Holy Spirit can flow through you!

On Tuesday I found myself in Cleveland. When I left the hospital it was 4:00 in the afternoon. That means rush hour was just beginning. (We really don’t have a rush hour in Youngstown!) I wanted to beat the rush hour traffic so I quickly left the Cleveland Clinic and drove down Chester toward I-90. There was a slight back up as I got on I-90 but wasn’t too bad. I got on I-77 south and headed for I-480. The traffic was moving and I felt good about being home in time for dinner. My attitude changed when I got to 480 because the traffic was backed up. The traffic was moving slower than I could walk. The traffic was nearly at a stand still and I found myself getting frustrated. Then I discovered the problem. On the Valley View bridge was a minor fender bender. In the world of car accidents it wasn’t much. However, that minor fender bender backed up traffic for miles.

We are witnesses to some great sins in our world! Just look at the list of sins we see on the local news nightly! In comparison, we look pretty good. It is easy to dismiss our little sins as nothing but the sins in your life are inhibiting the flow of the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit doesn’t get to flow in your life then your witness is damaged. It is as true of churches as it is individuals. What sins do we need to eliminate as a church? What sins do you need to eliminate as an individual which is inhibiting the flow of the Holy Spirit? Eliminate the sins in you’re your life so your witness can be clarified by the Holy Spirit? And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Let me end with this story.

Years ago I was on a plane. I had just boarded the plane and found my aisle seat. I will sitting there quietly when the man from across the aisle looked at me and said, “I order a special meal!” I said, “That is nice.” You can order a special meal for religious or medical reasons. A few minutes later we took off and that man from across the aisle began to signal for the stewardess. She came up a few seconds later. He looked at her and said, “I one the passenger that ordered the special meal.” She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and said, “Yes, sir! You are in seat 24E and we have it recorded that you will be receiving a special meal.” He looked at her and asked, “When will I be getting my special meal?” She answered, “We will begin serving the meals shortly.” He pulled his tray down and looked at me and said, “I am getting ready for my special meal.” I didn’t respond, the man was annoying. When the meals were served he got his first. That attractive stewardess placed his meal on his tray. He looked at her and asked, “Is this my special meal?” She said, “yes” and uncovered it. Do you know what his special meal was? He got a scoop of cottage cheese, a few slices of pears and a cherry. He smiled and looked at me and said, “This is my special meal!” A few minutes later my meal came. When I uncovered my meal do you know what I found? My meal consisted of a scoop of cottage cheese, a few slices of pears and a cherry. When he saw my meal he began to protest. “I thought I ordered a special meal.” The stewardess said patiently, “The fruit plate is the meal you ordered. That is what everyone is being served today.” And with that he used some ugly language and swore never to ride that airline again. Now you tell me. What did that man want? Did he want a scoop of cottage cheese, a few slices of pears and a cherry? Or did he want to be special? There is a difference between what you want and what you really want. What do you really want?

What we really want in life isn’t more purchases. What we really want in life is to be happier and more content. The only way to live a happier more content life is to live a spirit filled life. You have a spirit filled life by remembering three words. The first word is the word accept. It all begins and ends with Jesus! The second word is the understand. God wants to give you more of the Holy Spirit! The third word is the word submit. You must eliminate the sin in your life so the spirit can flow through you. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!“