Be Filled With The Spirit | Pastor Chris Kouba

Good morning, you see, stand and worship with us as we praise our Father this morning.

Here we go.

I've seen the miracles he's done, and I am a witness of his love.

I know it's only just because we'll see greater things to come.

I've heard the wonders of his grace, and I've seen his power on display from age to ages to the same, and we'll see greater easy.

So heaven come on through, for we know God is on the moon.

You're a keen up.

We know there's more you wanna do.

I have been looking out.

I think it's been hoping the horizon.

We know there's more you wanna do Come through, poor we know God is on the moon.

We know there's more you wanna do the floor.

We know that you have so much more to be no more We know that you know that you have so much more We don't that you We know that you have so much We baby That's so much for we know God is on the moon Your kingdom We know there's more you wanna do Come through for we know God is on the moon Your kingdom cover We know there's more you wanna do Well good morning United City 11 o'clock How we doing?

We doing well Yeah So I'm talking about Hey good morning If I've had uh if not had the opportunity to meet you my name is Josh Thomas I have the privilege of being the young little pastor here at United City and I don't know about y'all, but September got in here and September got out.

We are already in the month of October, we are moving through the year, but that does not mean that God is not up to some incredible things in our midst.

Hey, if this is your church home, let me just say, hey, it's good to see you.

Uh, you look good.

If this is uh your first time with us, hey, it's good to see you.

You look good.

Uh, we'd love to know a little bit more about you.

And so in the back of every seat, there's a communication card.

Fill that out.

It does not have a line for your social security number or your bank account number.

Uh, we just want to follow up with you and just say thank you so much for being with us today and thank you so much for worshiping with us.

Uh, it really does mean a lot to us.

And if you're joining us online, good morning.

Good to see you from uh wherever you're tuning in from.

Let us know where you're tuning in from.

We'd love to follow up with you as well.

If this is your first time checking us out online, God is certainly up to some incredible things in our midst this past week.

Our staff had the opportunity to get away for just a second um and honestly just celebrate what God has done over the past year in our church.

And if I'm being honest, I I don't think there's a better bow tied declaration statement than God is on the move.

I just think the song that we just sung wraps up the last year at United City.

We have seen life in so many areas.

In fact, not so many areas, all areas of our church, from our kids' ministry to our youth ministry to our young adult ministry.

And in most churches, that's typically where it stops.

But because God is in our midst, and because the spirit of the Lord rests his uh presence on this place, we see adult baptisms and even senior adult baptisms where we just see life after life after life after people taking their next steps.

And I don't know about you guys, but that is something to celebrate that God is certainly on the move in our midst.

And I couldn't be more excited about where we're going for the future because we've seen him do some incredible things in the past, and we just know that there's more that he wants to do.

Like we just on.

So before we continue, uh, we're about to have a time of giving.

Uh, and as you guys know, every time I get the opportunity uh to just shepherd us through this moment, um, I never want to miss the opportunity to just clarify and articulate what this exact moment of our service is.

Um I totally ripped this off from uh a guy uh from a few years ago, but he told me he said, Josh he said, uh when it comes to giving, when it comes to trusting and lower your finances, that's probably one of the most counter-cultural and supernatural things you can do.

Because the culture would tell you that the best person to manage your finances, the best person to manage your resources, the best person that should be in charge of those things is you.

But when you live and when you operate in the upside-down kingdom of God, what you know is that he can do more with what we can give him versus what we can do for ourselves.

And here's what this moment is for us it's an offering.

That's it.

It's an offering.

The definition of offering is to offer something over, to give something over and say, Hey, I just want to see what you can do with this.

I just want to see what you can do with this.

And if you want to know what God's up to in our midst, you can text God to 55498.

And if you want to even give to what God is doing, you can text give, you see give to 55498.

Because what we know is that God is on the move.

What we know is that this is the moment in our service where we get to tether or untether ourselves from our physical possessions and give them to God as a clear reminder that we no longer are just citizens of this country, but we are citizens of the kingdom.

And when we're citizens of the kingdom, the economy just looks a little different.

That it looks a little upside down.

But what we see is that there's life in our baptism waters.

What we see is that there's life in our kids' ministry, what we see is that there's life in our youth ministry, what we see is there is life in our young adult ministry, what we see is there's growth in our adult ministry, what we see is there's life in next steps and obedience being taken in our senior adult ministry, and all of that happens not because you're giving to United City, but because you're actually using the gift that God has given you of giving, and you're giving through United City.

That this place functions to be a pass-through entity for the kingdom of heaven and for the advancement of the gospel.

And so here's how this moment's gonna go.

I'm gonna invite our deacons forward, and I'm simply gonna pray.

And that prayer is gonna be this God, will you just do something with the offering that we're giving?

We're not gonna micromanage it.

We're just gonna offer it.

You're gonna do something.

Jesus, will you be with us in our mid and I like only you?

Will you dwell and will you rest, and will you allow your spirit to rest on this place?

Will you allow your spirit to rest and our senior pastor as he gives us a word that is highly that is saturated in your truth?

Jesus, will you bless this church and the efforts that we have?

Will you bless this church and the offerings that go from this place, not just on Sunday mornings?

Jesus, you're a worthy of our highest praises in your name that we pray.

Amen.

Fire of God, all within, Holy Ghost, breathe on us, we pay.

A fragrance of heaven, pour in the spirit out, pour your spirit out of hearts that work holy fear, purified, faith in me, finest word, strengthening word me.

So we the church failed, let the back, keep it, keep only as well, we play.

We need a fresh win, the fragrance of heaven, oh in the spirit, oh in the spirit, oh in the voice, the present, oh spirita, oh spirita, oh spirit, oh spirit, oh spina, oh spirit, oh spinach, oh spirit, little hurry, prophesy and sea, we can hear the wind blow in, blow it, blow in, move upon our praise, suns and utter sea, we can hear the wind blow it, lift it blow up, lift the blow in glory for the sea, we can hear the wind, the wind, blow it, the wind move on our bed, not the sea, we can hear the wind, the wind, we need a fresh wheel to fell in the spirit, the spirit, holy out of your bed, all in the spirit, all in the spirit, the other thing that's good, we tea, property, weep, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh no, no, please, but the thing, for we can hear the wood, blow, oh win, we need a wish to win the fragrance of heaven, pour your spirit out, pour your spirit up, a holy anointing, the power of your presence, pour your spirit out, pour your spirit.

You're a living home taste, I taste it, I'm happy you are well.

Your glory God is what our hearts long for to be over by your presence of There's nothing worth more.

How will ever come close?

Nothing can compare.

You're our living hope, you're present, and I've tasted and see all the sweetest trouble when my heart becomes free, and my shame in your presence, your holy Let us become more aware of your presence, let us experience the glory when you let us become the place Let us become more aware of your presence Let us experience the glory of your presence Let us become more aware of your presence Let us dispersed the dead Let us be of your presence Let us be spirit, come flood this place and fill the atmosphere, your glory, God is what our hearts long for to be overcome by your presence, we owe you.

Good morning, United City.

How are we doing?

Hey, before we get going, um I want to pray.

I just want us to pray.

Um we just got back from a staff retreat this past week, and our team got to celebrate a little bit, as Josh mentioned, uh, of what happened.

We also got to project a little bit about what could be, and um I just really want to see revival in Northeast Houston.

I really want to see it, and I really want to see God use United City Church to be a part of it.

And I just want us not just to sing that song, but I mean I know what that means.

I know what that implies.

It's gonna require us to repent more than we've ever repented before.

It's gonna require us to confess more than we've ever confessed before.

It's gonna require us to not just play church, but to actually be the church.

It's gonna require us to perhaps serve more, to give more.

It's gonna require a lot of things of us.

And so I don't just want to be a church that sings it and feels really good about it, but isn't willing to actually say, God, would you would you do it with whatever that looks like in me?

And I just want to lead the way in that.

So would you can we just pray before we get going?

Father God, I just come before you and I do ask the God of revival, the Father, that that you desire to pour out your spirit in such a way in places and areas, in a people who are open to receive you, to do what you ask of us, to respond in the way that you lead us.

Uh, Lord, to come face to face with the things that we may be doing or seeing or looking at or acting out that are against what you want.

God, I pray that you would purify us.

I pray, God, that you would cleanse us.

I pray, God, that you would allow us to be a vessel that is ready and prepared to be used by you for your glory, Lord.

May you be the one who is famous in all of this.

Lord, may you be the one who is known in all of this.

Father, I'm so grateful that all across this northeast area of Houston, Lord, we saw many from our own church who gathered around flagpoles on Wednesday.

Father, I pray that they would have the same passion and heart for you to do a work in their schools when they go back tomorrow or next week that they do this past week.

God, that you would use them.

Father, I pray that you would use us in our neighborhoods.

I pray, God, that you would use us in this service today as we study and as we learn more about your Holy Spirit, Father.

May it not just be something out there, may it be something in here.

And Father, would you move today?

Would you bring about revival, Lord?

We're hearing about it at places like Asbury, we're hearing about it on the college campuses of Auburn University.

I pray you would do it at United City Church in Northeast Houston.

And God, you would find us able not only to receive, but to steward this outpouring of your spirit in such a way.

Where God, you would be able to break chains, break hearts, break open bondage of folks who may be holding on to stuff.

Forgiveness would reign and healing would happen.

It's in the name of Jesus that I pray.

Amen and amen.

Grab your Bibles, open them up with me to Ephesians chapter 5, Ephesians chapter 5.

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

I want to take this opportunity to welcome all of our men and all of our women at our correctional facilities that are joining with us today.

Let's give them a hand and celebrate what God is doing there.

We are in a message series called Forgotten, and we are looking at the forgotten member of the Trinity.

The Trinity is a theological concept and idea that we believe is not only foundational for us at United City Church, we believe it is foundational for you if you call yourself a Christian.

The Trinity says this: that there is one God who exists as three distinct purp persons.

There's the Father, there is the Son, and there is the Holy Spirit.

Where most of us are very comfortable with the Father.

We can talk about his providential care in our lives, we can talk about his provision for us.

We can talk about his comfort and his protection in our lives.

We, of course, sing on a constant basis and talk about the person of the Son, Jesus.

We know that he is the source of our salvation.

At the end of the message today, I'm going to invite you to invite Jesus into your life if you don't have a personal relationship with the Son.

And I want you to know that we believe Jesus is the one from whom and to whom and through whom all things exist.

Then you get to the Holy Spirit and things get super weird, right?

I mean, majority of the teaching when it comes to the Holy Spirit is just really, really good things found in really bad packages.

In fact, I want to mention a couple of things to you because you can have a great product, but if you have a product in the wrong packaging, it totally makes the product not any good.

Let me show you a couple of these.

Take a look at this.

I don't know what chicken this is, but I can assure you of this.

I'm not gonna eat it, alright?

Child shredded meat, all right?

If you were to get this and find this on the shelf, if I'm guessing you would do a hard pass, even if it happens to taste good, it may be good for you.

There's no way, right?

Because the package totally negates the product.

Now I realize that the maturity level may tank with this next one, but just take a look.

Maybe you are somebody who is all about art and really want to make sure that you can do everything that you can.

Yeah, some of you just got it just now.

Okay.

That's right.

Yep, yeah, there's the immature ones.

There they go.

All right, okay.

Yeah, but it's true.

Like, it doesn't make any difference, right?

Like, it doesn't matter how good that art set is, you can never unsee it once you've seen it, right?

Okay, uh, take a look at it.

Now here's the thing.

I know there's a lot of confusion on gender these days.

I know there's a lot of debate about there about what a man and what a woman is, but I'm just pretty sure this is in the wrong package.

Take a look at this.

It's a uh maybe today it's normal.

I don't know, but that just seems like it's thrown off.

It could be a good idea, but it's just in the wrong package.

Take a look at this next one.

I don't know what breed of dog this is, but that looks like a cat, right?

I'm not buying that frame just because there's a cat when I'm supposed to have a dog picture, right?

It just kind of totally throws you off, all right?

Uh now, look, I get it, grandma can make some good food.

However, this is taking it a little too far.

I love grandma, but I don't want to eat grandma, okay?

This is just a little bit, a little bit weird.

I believe when it comes to the issue of the Holy Spirit, comes to the topic of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a good product and bad packaging.

Then most churches, when it comes to the Holy Spirit, what they have done is they've either oversized, over-emphasized the Holy Spirit, or in a response to that, they've neglected the Holy Spirit altogether.

And instead of there being clarity, and instead of there being conviction about what the Bible says about this issue, there instead most often is chaos and confusion.

So what I want to do is I want to address the forgotten member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, and give us a biblical theology on who he is.

I want to put this slide up for you.

I showed you kind of where we've been, the roadmap so far.

The first week, a couple of weeks ago, we answered the question, who is the Holy Spirit?

Last week, our guest speaker, Josh Patterson, gave us a message and he helped to address the idea of what does the Holy Spirit do to us?

There's so many different things that he does to minister to us, and he gave us a great message on that topic.

This morning we're gonna look and answer the question, how do I get more of or less of the Holy Spirit?

And next week we're gonna conclude the series by looking and answering the question, what does the Holy Spirit do through me?

This morning, though, what I want to do is I want to look at the question of how do I get more of or less of the Spirit?

I get asked every once in a while, we've been asked this in our growth track uh new member uh group uh that meets every week.

Uh, I've been asked this in the lobby, I've been asked it via email, or people have called up to the church and they've asked me, and I can always tell when I'm about to get asked this question because it's never a straightforward question.

It's always somebody kind of pulling me aside and being like, hey, hey, hey, hey, are you one of those uh spirit-filled churches?

And they'll kind of ask it as though there's like a code word, you know, or there's like a secret handshake that we're supposed to have, where like they know the handshake, but they want to see if I know the handshake, and they're basically trying to figure out are you gonna be one of those churches that's spirit-filled, is the question.

And here's my official answer.

We have definite doctrinal differences from Pentecostal and charismatic churches.

All right, that's part of the reason why we're going through this series.

But if you're asking me if I believe if the power of God is only out there and not inside here, I would tell you I don't believe that.

I instead believe that the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead lives not only inside of me, but if you're a believer in Jesus, lives inside of you.

And as a result of that, we're not doing church.

Instead, we have the opportunity in the gathering to be able to experience the Holy Spirit moving in our midst in such a way where we get to go be the church when we leave here in this place.

And if that's what you mean when you're asking, are you a spirit-filled church?

Absolutely, we are a spirit-filled church.

But I want to talk to you about what it means to be filled with the spirit.

Look at Ephesians chapter 5.

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

I'm gonna key in on verse 18.

It says, and do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery.

But be filled with the spirit.

There's a lot in that one phrase, be filled with the spirit.

The word filled is a word that means to be controlled or to be consumed.

When you are controlled with anger, you will act out on that anger.

It causes a reaction.

If you are consumed or controlled by alcohol, that's the example being used here, we know that immediately implies certain things about your behavior.

When someone is under the influence of alcohol, most often they tend to have speech that is slurred.

They're unsteady in their walking, they have lowered inhibitions that are riskier and they make poorer decisions.

Sometimes people make aggressive comments either through their voice or they make aggressive comments with their actions.

A lot of times, sometimes drunks are loud and boisterous.

It usually isn't hard to tell when someone is drunk.

Let me just stop really quick right here and give just a pastoral word to you before we move on.

It doesn't have anything directly to do with what we're talking about, although I do think it is important to mention.

It is a sin to be drunk with alcohol.

Like I want to make sure you understand not only does it say don't be drunk, it says that le that is debauchery.

And I realize that the culture this day is basically when it comes to the issue of alcohol, makes being drunk as something that is totally normal.

In fact, it is often celebrated, and oh, that person got totally wasted and will make comments about someone being drunk as though it is funny as opposed to recognizing what God's word says here.

He has a lot to say about the issue of alcohol.

In fact, what I want you to understand is the Bible definitely uh preaches about the issue of alcohol.

It says we need to be wise with any use of alcohol in our lives.

The Bible is clear, it recommends the wise thing to do is abstinence altogether.

But it does allow for drinking in moderation.

But please don't misinterpret allowance in the issue of alcohol for acceptance for getting drunk.

We gotta wake up because I would tell you, in Northeast Houston, drunk driving and people getting drunk happens all the time.

And we gotta understand something.

That's not just a public health crisis, that is a direct violation of what God's word says.

And we've got to make sure that we are honest about what he says and recognize the reason why he brings this up is to contrast bad behavior being drunk with alcohol, and comparing it to the opposite extreme should be you should be filled with the spirit.

I want to give you four things, and then I want to give you a few points of application.

This is a teaching doctrinal message today.

The first thing I want you to see about being filled with the spirit is this He says, be filled, it is essential, not optional.

Be filled, it is essential, not optional.

If you're a believer in Jesus.

This is not like a suggestion that you should consider.

This isn't something that you should like think about.

It's a command.

He isn't saying, hey, if you can get around to it, like if you're not too busy, if you don't have too much happening in your life, you should consider adding some Holy Spirit to your life.

He's essentially saying this.

You can't survive unless you do this.

Look at the verses before it in Ephesians 5, verse 15.

Ephesians 5:15

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Paul says it's possible for you to be a believer, a Christian, and yet be asleep.

For you to be a Christian and yet waste your time, for you to be a Christian and yet be unwise, for you to be a Christian and yet not know what God's will is.

It says instead we are to be filled with the Spirit so that we will wake up spiritually, so that we will wise up spiritually, so that we will stop being foolish spiritually, and that we will know what God's will is for us.

It's important that we see He makes a distinction distinguishing difference between this command and other commands which are not found in God's word that oftentimes are associated with the Holy Spirit.

We are never told in God's word that you are to be baptized with the Spirit.

We are never told in God's word that you are to be indwelled by the Holy Spirit.

But we are told that you are to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Why are we told to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

But we are not told about those other ones because those other two things happen whenever you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

I need you to know this.

If you've been taught anything other than the fact that whenever you give your life to Jesus, receiving him as your Lord and Savior, at that very moment you experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

If you've been taught anything other than that, you have not been taught what God's word says.

Romans chapter 8, verse 9.

Romans 8:9

Let me give you a proof text of this.

It says, You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit.

If, in fact, the spirit of God dwells in you.

Anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

This means there's no need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit because whenever you receive Jesus, you are at that moment baptized with the Holy Spirit.

There's no separation between I receive Jesus here, and then I have to get the Holy Spirit over here.

Those two things happen at the very same time.

We are told to be filled with the Spirit.

We're gonna talk about that more, but at that moment, the baptism uh happens at the very same time, which is why we baptize the way that we do.

We make a big deal about baptism here at United City.

We we celebrate it in every way, and let me tell you why.

There's two main reasons.

Number one, because we recognize whenever we baptize someone, it is one of the two ordinances of the church that literally models the gospel.

In fact, we even use these phrases when we baptize someone.

We put them underneath the water and we bring them back up, and we say, You're buried with Christ in baptism, and you're raised to walk in newness of life.

Literally, it's picturing the fact that Jesus died on a cross, he was buried, and then he rose up from the dead.

It's a picture of the gospel to you.

That's why we ask you to be immersed because not only is that what the Greek word means to go under, to dip under, but it's also what it represents, which is the gospel, which is Jesus dying on the cross.

But let me tell you else while we celebrate baptism.

It is a physical outward symbol of a spiritual inward reality.

So here's what I would tell you.

If you were baptized as an infant, if you were baptized as a baby, I'm sure that was a significant spiritual moment or family moment in your life.

That's great.

But I would simply tell you this the Bible does not ever teach infant baptism.

Instead, God's word actually says that baptism is modeling in physical water outwardly what Jesus has done whenever the Holy Spirit indwells you when you were baptized as a believer, whenever you trusted in Him.

So the reason why we celebrate the way that we do when someone physically goes underneath the water and comes back up is because we know that means God changed our lives in the past.

That's why we get excited about that because we know what that represents.

I would tell you if you're here today and you've never been baptized, there's a phrase we use a lot, on the right side of your salvation, then I would tell you that we're gonna give an opportunity at the end of the service.

You can come forward and we can schedule you to be baptized.

We would love nothing more than for you to experience God's word, what it says about baptism, celebrating the fact that you've already been baptized with the Holy Spirit, and that God did that whenever you came to faith in Him.

Let me give you the second thing I want you to see about being filled with the Spirit.

Number two, be filled.

It is for all, not just for a few.

It is for all, not just a few.

The word be filled with the Spirit is actually plural in the Greek.

What this means is that all of us are to be filled with the Spirit.

I'm a huge Houston Astros fan.

Uh ever since I uh graduated high school, I have been to at least one Astros game every year.

Uh I was really excited a couple of years ago whenever I got to move back down here to the Houston area.

I probably go to maybe uh six, eight games a year, let's say.

Would love to go through.

More, but I have way too many kids.

We have way too many activities, so I don't get to go to as many as I want.

But I love going to Astros games.

I love being a part of all of that.

And I'm telling you, it's a good time to be an Astros fan right now, is it not?

I mean, this is amazing.

They clinched a playoff spot last night.

We're hoping that today they can go ahead and get the division as well.

The Rangers can lose, they can win, and they can go.

This is the longest stretch ever in Astros history of consecutively making the playoffs.

Meaning, if you're an Astros fan, like this is the time right now to be able to do that, right?

It is incredible what we are seeing.

And I would say I am a huge Astros fan.

Like I know pretty much who the starting pitcher is for every game.

I pretty much know if the Astros won or lost every single game.

I mean, I'm all in when it comes to the Houston Astros, but I am nothing compared to the super fan Win Lee.

Listen to this guy.

When Lee averages 100 games per year, let me remind you, there's only 81 home games.

Which means he goes to every single home game and he goes to quite a few road games.

When Lee has attended every Astros playoff game, home and away since 2015, which is 92 playoff games.

You realize they don't know where these games are going to be.

Meaning he is buying playing tickets last minute and heading out to wherever it is, and he is going to all of these games.

In addition, Win Lee actually has an apartment that is right within eyesight of uh of uh Minute Maid Park.

He got online and bought two replica World Series trophies that he keeps in his house.

Okay.

I mean, I I love the Astros.

I'm a fan.

And then there's a super fan like Win Lee, and it makes me look like I'm not an Astros fan at all.

Okay.

I think a lot of times in churches we create the same tears.

You see, what we do is we basically say, like, like, I'm into church, and I'm into God, and I'm into the faith, and I'm into religion, and I'm I've got the spirit living inside of me, but I'm not like them.

And if you're one of these people that are up here and you would say, Oh, I'm spirit-filled, here's what your tendency is gonna be.

Your tendency is gonna be to look down at all of them and say, I don't know why those people are not like me.

And some of you look at this and you think to yourself, Well, I'm down here, I'm never gonna be up there, so I'm not even going to try.

Can I can you please understand something?

One of the key phrases and values that we have as a church is this phrase right here.

Everyone has a next step.

Meaning, if you just became a believer two weeks ago, your next step is gonna look different than the person who's been a believer for 20 years, but both of you have one.

And so it's important that we don't create tiers of spirituality that we use to assess how spiritual you are.

The question is, are you taking your next step?

For some of you, what that means is you need to ask the question, what is my next step?

What do I need to be doing?

For some of you, it may be as simple as you need to sign up for a group.

For some of you, it may mean that you need to go sign up for service.

For some of you, you need to go to growth track.

For some of you, you need to start reading God's word.

For others of you who've been doing this for a long time, I would ask you, what is your next step?

I promise you this, you've got one.

And we must be careful that we don't act like being filled with the spirit is only for super Christians and not for me.

Or we must also be careful that we don't act like being filled with the spirit is what I used to have to do.

I don't have to do that anymore.

Instead, all of us are to be filled with the spirit.

Let me give you number three.

Number three, be filled.

It is received, not earned.

It is received, not earned.

The Greek word is in the plural command.

We don't have this really in our English language, but in the Greek they have something called the passive voice, which means this it's an action that is being done to you, not by you.

We're gonna talk about this in a minute, that there are certain things that you can do to keep yourself from being filled with the Spirit, but there's nothing that you can do to fill yourself up with the Spirit.

This is important for us to know because there's very easy, this has been manipulated and used to say, well, if you give to this, if you do this, if you say this, if you respond in this way, then you will have the Holy Spirit and you'll have blessing all over your life.

Problem is the Bible doesn't teach that.

It instead says that we are the one acted upon by God, not the one acting, doing the acting ourselves.

Some of you, here's the problem: you're doing your own thing in your own way, with your own set of rules and your own set of expectations, getting your own set of results, and you're wondering why God isn't doing anything in your life.

Instead, you're to walk in his way, do his thing, follow his set of rules, and his set of expectations, and here's what you will see: it leads to his results.

We must be careful that we don't manipulate and think that God somehow owes us and has to respond to us like it's a key to unlock.

Instead, we are to yield to the Spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to fill us and to guide us and to lead us and to comfort us and to convict us in hope.

We learned about last week.

Number four, be filled.

It is recurring, not one time.

It is recurring, not one time.

The Greek word for be filled is in the plural command, but it's in the present tense.

Literally, it can be translated like this keep being filled with the spirit.

It doesn't mean that things are gonna leak or you're gonna like run out of the spirit, but you have to continually stir it up.

I want you to picture uh how many of you like chocolate milk?

How many of you like chocolate milk?

Raise your hands, okay?

Uh there's a difference between like chocolate milk that is in like the jug that kind of you can buy chocolate milk and real chocolate milk, all right?

Real chocolate milk is whenever you get a fresh glass of milk, you get you some Hersey syrup, and you just go to town inside of that cup, right?

And you just load that stuff up with all of that chocolate.

And what happens when you do that?

When you do that, the chocolate goes down to the bottom of the cup and it settles, and the milk is on top of that chocolate.

And in order to make fresh chocolate milk, what you have to do is get a spoon and do what?

Stir it up.

And man, as you begin to stir that up and you begin to see that milk begin to change and it turns into that fresh chocolate milk, there is very few things as glorious and good as that fresh chocolate milk.

Okay, it is absolutely great.

Now let's just picture for a second that you actually were doing that in a yeti cup, okay?

You set that yeti cup down of fresh chocolate milk, and you walk away and you go do something else and you forget about it.

And then a couple hours later, you come back over, but that yeti cup did its job and it's still cold.

But what's gonna happen?

That chocolate milk is gonna look different.

It's gonna have the resemblance that it was chocolate milk before, but it's not gonna be the same as it was whenever you first started up.

Instead, what you're gonna see is that over the course of time, that chocolate will begin to settle down at the bottom, that milk will begin to be at the top, and what's necessary in order for it to be as fresh as it needs to be, you're gonna have to stir it up again.

Here's what I want you to see.

Some of you come to church, some of you come and listen to God's word preached, some of you come to worship, some of you may serve, or some of you may go to your group, and you begin to stir up the spirit inside of you.

And the problem is by the time you get to lunch, things have already settled.

And what you need is to continually stir these things up in your life.

For some of you, here's what you've noticed is that you come to church one week and you stir it up, and then you're sick the next week, and then the following week there's a tournament, and you can't make church that week, and then the following weekend after that, you happen to be out of town, and then you look up, and it feels like you are spiritually dry in every way, as though the spirit isn't moving in your life, and it's not that the spirit has left you or departed you, but you're not gonna experience the peace and the joy and the presence because you haven't been stirring it up, which is why it is so important.

Not only that you are a part of the corporate gathering, but we're gonna see in just a moment that you are doing many things throughout the week to stir it up so that you can see God's leading in your life.

A prayer I've been praying for months now for my kids is that they would hear the voice of God in their ear and recognize it as a friend.

That it would just immediately sound familiar to them.

And that that voice, the word says in Isaiah chapter 26, you will hear a word behind me saying, This is the way, walk in it.

Isaiah 26 · chapter mention

And that they would walk in it, that they would know God's voice in their ears, and they would want to respond to what he says.

We've got to continually stir it up.

How do you get more than of the Holy Spirit?

How do you do this?

Let me get crazy practical with you and give you three points of application.

Number one, deal with your sin.

Deal with your sin.

It's not you who fills yourself up with the Holy Spirit, but it absolutely can be you who stops and slows down the Holy Spirit moving in your life.

Think about it like your heart.

Your heart, what it does is it has a series of arteries that come out from your heart, and the arteries are the mechanisms by which the blood flows from your heart as it pumps and goes out to the rest of your body.

Part of what you're supposed to do is have regular checkups and maintenance, and whenever you do a physical, what they will do is they will give you an EKG.

An EKG is a system where they run a series of tests to determine how effective is the blood flowing from your heart through your arteries to all of the rest of your body.

If they have any abnormalities that come up on the EKJ, EKG, what that indicates to them is that there has blockage that is somehow developed inside of your arteries that is restricting or keeping the flow of blood to go as freely as it is intended to do.

This is what sin does to your spiritual life.

If you don't address sin in your life, what it will eventually do is clog up the ability for the Holy Spirit to move in your life.

Look with me in Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

I want you to see this passage one chapter over.

Ephesians chapter 4, verse 30.

Ephesians 4:30

It says, And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

To grieve means to distress or restrain.

How do you do this?

Look at the verse before in Ephesians 4 29.

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

You want to know how you can make sure that you've got clear arteries where all of the blood can go and there's no clotting?

First of all, check your mouth.

You know how easy it is to come in here on a Sunday and to begin to sing praise and worship to the Lord, yet with the very same mouth, if I walk out of here and I am cussing and I am gossiping and I am speaking ill about other people.

Do you not realize that God sees that?

And that's gonna keep the Holy Spirit from being able to flow and move in your life, which is why He tells us we are to use our mouths to build up, not to tear down.

We have to take seriously this calling.

Look at the verse after in verse 31 and 32.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Be kind to one another, be tenderhearted, forgiving one another.

Are you bitter?

Are you holding a drudge?

Are you walking around angry?

Are you harboring unforgiveness?

This is just a small sample size of things that grieve the spirit.

Church, what I've discovered is that more people are consumed and think a lot more about having a feeling of the Holy Spirit in a worship service and not nearly enough about the sin that is keeping the Holy Spirit from moving in their lives.

I want to have that feeling just like you do on a Sunday morning.

But if I am acting in such a way on Friday and Saturday night, and I'm acting like God doesn't care, please understand that feeling is nothing more than a feeling.

And the enemy will do nothing more than to make you feel good.

Instead, we are to deal seriously with our sin.

That's why I said to you, if we're serious about the God of revival to come and doing something in Northeast Houston and choosing to do it through United City, it isn't going to come through our flash or through our presentation.

It's going to come through our confession.

It's going to come from our knees.

The move of God that happens most often in places starts with confession and repentance.

So I would simply ask you.

Deal with your sin.

James 4.17, so whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

What is your next step?

What is it that you need to be doing right now?

How do you need to be responding right now?

First John 1 9, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Can I tell you one of the most incredible, encouraging things of all is that whenever we are honest about the sin in our lives, that the Holy Spirit cleanses our blockage and allows us to hear and move and work in our lives that it's totally beyond what we could have ever possibly imagined.

You know what I hear from most people who end up getting a stint in their heart?

They say this, I had no idea I was feeling as bad as I was for as long as I was.

They'd gotten so accustomed to this is my life that when all of a sudden the blockage was removed and the blood began to flow freely, they realized I had no idea it could be this good.

Folks, for some of you, you need to be honest about your sin that you can allow yourself to experience a level of God moving in your life that you perhaps don't even know exists because your sin is keeping you from it.

Number two, how can you be filled with the Spirit?

What does this practically look like?

Number two, prioritize the word of God.

Prioritize the word of God.

There's been seasons and times in my life when I've been obsessed with God's will for my life.

I remember whenever I was dating Hillary and I wanted to marry her, but I didn't know if she was the one, and I was not sure, and so I kept just asking and praying, like almost fleecing God, like just make sure, I want to make sure I don't make a mistake.

Would you just make sure to tell me is she the one?

I remember in college, whenever I was considering career choices and things like that, that I remember thinking through all of that, and I wanted so badly for there to be some sort of billboard that was simply I could look and be driving along the road and it'd be like, you should say yes, right?

And it was just like God speaking to me.

I've had other seasons of my life when I'm not sure about a particular decision.

And have you ever done this?

We just kind of fling it open, you put your finger down, and you're like, okay, he who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her.

Yep, I need to break up with her.

That makes total sense, right?

And you kind of just go off and you want God to speak to you in that way, right?

And many of you may be consumed with God's will, but make sure you understand the way we've been teaching you so far.

Two weeks ago, we talked about who is the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit inspires God's word.

We learned last week, Josh said that the Holy Spirit guides us in truth.

So here's what I want you to hear.

If you want to know what God's will is, if you want to know what God's voice sounds like, open up your Bible and read it out loud.

That's what he says.

We have to understand this this isn't separate from a word from God.

Some of you are desperate for a fresh word from God instead of doing what you should be doing, which is focusing on being obedient to the already revealed word of God.

You need to do what he's already said.

Here's what I also find comical.

Some people are praying and asking for God's blessing, maybe on a relationship that he's already said in his word he doesn't want you in.

Some of you are asking God to bless your relationship with that unbeliever when he's already told you he doesn't want you dating him in the first place.

Some of you find yourself in marriage asking the question, God, what do you want me to do about this when all along he's already told you what he wants you to do about this?

He just wants you to do it.

And see, so often we get into this game as though God's will is this certain only direct path, and I could potentially step out of it when I would say God's will is instead guardrails where he is very clear.

Here's the boundaries, here's the boundaries.

Do whatever you want in the middle.

Some of you are asking, Do am I supposed to take this job or not?

I would tell you this is it gonna help you glorify God?

And is it gonna be a place where you can be even more generous?

If the answer is yes, then maybe it's yes and maybe it's no.

But either way, if the answer is not those two, don't take it.

Yet most often we don't filter through that way.

We've got to instead prioritize the word of God and say, what does God's word already say to me?

And what I have found is I am obedient to what he's already said.

He tends to lead me even more.

Last thing is this make worship a lifestyle.

Make worship a lifestyle.

We spend a ton of time preparing for the weekly gathering that takes place on Sunday mornings.

I spend a lot of time in preparation, making sure that I am accurately handling the word of truth, knowing I'm going to be held in greater judgment, God's word says.

Our worship team spends a lot of time in preparation for the worship gathering that we have corporately.

Our staff team puts a lot of work and effort in preparation for the weekly gathering to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry, not to do it themselves, but it said to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry.

And it's important that we worship and that we engage.

Ephesians chapter 5.

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

Look at what it says in verses 18 through 20.

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery.

But be filled with the Spirit.

Here's the result addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Singing and worship, hearing, reading God's word, all of these things help us to be filled with the Spirit.

But if I only ate one meal a week, can I tell you I would be malnourished in every way?

Some of you are attempting to only eat from God's word and only eat and sit at his table once a week.

And our desire and our goal is not that you would just come on Sunday mornings and that you wouldn't think about anything until next Sunday.

But instead, that you would be a self-feeder, that you would realize that the God who we worship on Sunday morning is the same God who we can worship on Thursday morning.

You're like, well, what do I need to listen to?

Okay, I'm just telling you, Spotify, Apple Music, whatever you listen to, Maverick City Music Radio, and just basically listen to whatever they have.

That's a good start for you.

Any of that stuff's gonna be awesome, all right?

That's a lot of the stuff that we sing here.

Maybe it's something else for you, though, where God has spoken to you through a particular genre or artist or something.

Allow the worship of God, though, to fill your commute.

Allow the worship of God to be a part of you getting ready in the morning.

Allow the worship of God to be something that encourages and fills your heart.

There's a reason why we remember the truths when we were little that were put to song.

Why?

Because there's a great power in the truth that comes through music.

Folks, we want to encourage you to be lifestyle worshipers.

Not just to come on Sunday in the gathering, and that's when you get to worship.

Amen.

Sing the top of your lungs in the car.

Allow the worship to be filled in your life.

Allow God's word to be something that you read and that you reflect on and that you journal and that you spend time deeply remembering.

And you can see that as you begin to do this and make worship a lifestyle, you will see that God leads, God directs, God goes before you.

God opens up doors.

God shuts them.

And all along you can say at the end of every day, God, it is for your glory that all of these things happened in my life.

Would you bow your heads and would you close your eyes in prayer with me, please?

I'm gonna ask that no one be moving and shuffling around.

Just give me a few more minutes, if you would, please.

Just a moment, but we're gonna have an invitation and I'm gonna ask you not to leave.

I'm gonna instead ask you to pray.

Would you do business with the Lord?

What do you need to confess?

That will allow you to experience forgiveness and cleansing in your life.

God is already do you need to clean.

God has already made clear.

We want revival to come to our city.

We need revival to come to our heart.

Would you commit right now to doing whatever it is God may be leading you to do?

Removing whatever He needs you to remove.

Writing that note, making that call, sending that text.

Letting go of that hurt.

Would you just right now where you are committed?

And I'll do it.

I want to be filled with your spirit.

Some of you, you aren't filled with the Spirit because you've never received the Holy Spirit in your life.

This happens when you give your life to Jesus.

When you come to the place where you confess your sins and you receive his forgiveness, the promise of eternal life that he accomplished for you when he died on the cross and he rose from the dead.

Right now, Jesus wants to save you.

He wants to cleanse you.

He wants to put the Holy Spirit inside of you.

If you want to receive Jesus, just use your own words and pray a prayer, asking Jesus to come and save you.

For his Holy Spirit.

Come inside.

If you just prayed, asking Jesus to come into your life, I want to ask you in just a moment, we're going to stand up and I want to ask you to step out.

It's going to take some boldness and courage.

And that you would come forward or come to the side of our room and tell someone about your decision.

Others of you are here and you need to come and join United City Church.

This is home.

This is where he's leading you.

And it's important that you respond by taking that next step to come and join this church.

By your coming, you're going to be an encouragement.

Maybe others need to be baptized.

Maybe you hear this and you know, man, I was dunked when I was little, but I had no idea what I was doing.

Instead, you realize you've received Jesus, and now it's time for you to publicly declare your faith through believers' baptism.

If that's you today, would you come forward and would you be baptized?

Last week in this service, we had the opportunity to baptize someone who's been a believer for 38 years.

And listening to the live stream, God began to convict them, and they realized this is my next step.

And it was a joyous celebration.

If that's you today and whatever that looks like for you, would you come forward?

Maybe some of you just need prayer.

You're walking through some stuff that's heavy, difficult, challenging, and you just want someone to come alongside and pray with, pray for you.

We'd love nothing more than the privilege and the opportunity to do just that.

Let's pray together.

Father, we come before you and we ask that you'd have these next few moments.

God, that you'd move, you'd call people to yourself, you'd lead us to respond, Lord.

May we take our next step.

It's in the name of Jesus I pray all of these things.

Amen.

Would you stand that as you stand?

Our team is up front and on the sides.

You come right now.

Come on.

Who else?

Come on.

Come on, who else?

Keep coming, ma'am.

Come on, who else?

Let's just pray together.

Father, we come before you and we thank you.

We thank you, God, that you continue to call people to yourself, continue to call families to yourself.

God, we do sense that you are moving in our midst and our church in such a powerful and significant way.

And Father, we ask for more.

We ask for more of it in the days ahead.

Father, we ask that you would allow us to be a people who are trustworthy of it.

Father, that we would be able to be a steward of your spirit pouring out on this place.

And that God, we would be able to give you all the praise, all the glory, all the credit.

Father, that you would use us, you would start in us so that we would be a people, God, who says yes, who confesses sin, who responds to say yes to what you lead and direct us to.

And we wouldn't just be people that you speak to, but Father, we would be people who obey, be doers of the word and not just hearers only.

Thank you, Father, for the fact that you have called people to yourself in both services, even today.

And that God, we pray that you would help us as we leave and go out from this week.

And that God, you would empower us to worship you, not just today, but in all things, all times with our lives.

It's in the name of Jesus that I pray.

Amen.

Josh, would you close us?

Thank you for another great speed on the Holy Spirit and what he does for us and what we get from him and how we get less of him.

Can we just thank our teacher pastor for once again for giving us an incredible message on the Holy Spirit?

And it was great.

It was so good and so I have so enjoyed.

I was telling a friend uh when we were just kind of coming around for service, I was like, man, I have just so enjoyed this series because uh I feel like as we have turned our attention to the Holy Spirit, then we just stirred him up as a like as a faith family.

Like we just stirred him up, and it is so evident to see that the spirit of the Lord is in this place and he's moving through us, and that's amazing.

Hey, a few things for us before we go.

Uh, not only does the spirit move us to sing, but he also moves us to serve.

Uh, and October 28th, uh, that's a Saturday, uh, is our annual serve day.

And so it's our fall serve day.

Uh, I've had the opportunity to be a part of this last year.

Myself and a few of the young adults actually got to wash cars, and it was awesome.

Now it was freezing, but it was amazing.

People were blessed because of it.

Uh, but if you want to join one of our several surf projects, uh fill out that QR code and there will be a list of them that you can choose from.

And we love for you to join us, not September, October 28th uh for serve day.

The next thing is this hey, if you're looking for uh a place to call home uh and you've been coming to United City for a few weeks, or maybe this is your first time and you're sold, uh, we'd love for you to uh go to Growth Track.

Uh, Growth Tract is a four-week info session uh just about what our church is about, what we stand for, what we believe in.

Uh we speak louder, God speaks aloud.

And uh, if you want to uh join us as we reach people across Northeast Houston, we'd love to have you.

That meets every Sunday at 10:30 on the north side of the building, uh, right outside of these doors, right here.

And the last thing is this uh the young adult ministry is doing great.

We actually have a really big event coming up this Friday called Refresh.

It's a worship night uh for essentially all of Northeast Houston young adults.

And so if you know of young adults that are looking for a worship night on a Friday, uh we would love uh to have them with us.

And so y'all be in prayer for us about that because we're super, super excited about it.

Hey, that's all we got.

We love you guys so much.

We look forward to seeing you next week.

We are out.

See y'all soon.

Wow, what an amazing message we got to hear this morning.

I hope the Lord showed himself to you in a fresh, new way.

Hey, if you made a decision today to follow Jesus or a decision for Christ, we would love to process that with you.

And so text the word next to 55498, and someone from our team will be more than happy to reach out and process that with you.

If you missed the message or you missed the note or two and you want to go back, don't worry, we've got the option for that as well.

It's gonna be available on Spotify as well as Apple Music.

This has been an amazing morning.

We love you guys so much, and we hope to see you next week.

Bye-bye.