Sermon – January 22, 2017

And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. And in the synagogue there was a man who had

Sermon – January 1, 2017: “Living the ‘Spirit-filled’ Life”

Living the “Spirit-filled” Life
Luke 4:1-13

Reason for the narrative
• Last piece of intentional evidence
• Jesus is clearly portrayed as divine
– Satan tempting him to do only something God can do.
– Resisting the “grand scale” temptations of Satan.

The “Spirit-filled” life
• Being “filled” ≠ “having within”
• “Within” – having access through the Spirit within us to God’s empowerment and wisdom.
• “Filled” – to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live by the wisdom and will of God.

How we live the Spirit-filled life
• Follow Jesus’ example.
• Jesus submitted himself to the Father (Phillipians 2:5-8).
• We must humble ourselves and submit to God.

Why live the Spirit-filled life
• A life lived without the influence and empowerment of the Spirit is a life lived for nothing.
• The Spirit-filled life is living free from the consequence of sin, reconciled to God for eternity. (Ephesians 4:17-24)
• True contentment, joy, peace, hope and love are experienced (Ephesians 4:25-5:2).
Jesus’s example of dealing with temptation
• Jesus resisted temptation because he submitted to the Father and was filled with the Spirit.
• In the wilderness, Jesus resisted the temptations of Satan to act independently of the combined will of the triune godhead.
• Essentially the Enemy tempts the Christian to act outside the wisdom and will of God.
• Intentionally submitting to God develops the same attitude as Jesus.
The big question today
• Are you the Christian who has the Holy Spirit within, or are you the Christian who is actually Spirit-filled?
• It is a daily choice for Satan is constantly looking for opportunity to tempt.
• The most opportune moments are when we are not choosing to submit to God.