A Spirit Filled Church – Transformed Together – year of activation, Transformed by the Spirit of God
State of the Church.
- Galatians 3:1-4 – O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
- A Church moved by human reasoning will no longer cut it. The past 2 years needed to happen.
- Trusting in the Lord – Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Time of pruning and separation – both individually and collectively.
- Nobody likes to be pruned – John 15:1-2 – “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
- There is always more – Either be pruned or get pruned.
- Separation can be good – Matthew 13:30, 40 – Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”… Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
It Starts with Spirit filled individuals.
- Acts 1:5 – “… John baptized with water (Luke 3:16), need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
- Colossians 2:11-12 – In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
- Two parts to baptism – going under (death) and coming up (new life, life abundantly)
- Works in the believer by the Holy Spirit in Colossians 2, circumcision of the heart and filled with the Holy Spirit to experience life abundantly – represented by water baptism.
- Disciples having Inspired utterance/speech, it is the initial indication of a Spirit filled believer – Acts 2:4
A Spirit filled church is a Church that wants more.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
- Bible app scripture today – Matthew 5:6 – those that hunger and thirst after righteousness/character will be filled
- Wrestle till got it right – Press on the mark to the high calling – Jacob’s life Genesis 32
- Get to grace. Grace makes us free from sin and a sinful world.
- We do real disservice to our community and God when we think that we got it all right. There is always more. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18