Sermon Structure
Live Filled With Spirit. Last week we had an amazing baptismal service, but baptism is not the finish line — it marks the beginning of a daily walk in the newness of life.
It signifies that we have died with Christ and now have the opportunity to live filled with the Holy Spirit —
not through hype or emotion, but through a steady, obedient, upward-focused life.
The Bible gives us clear instructions on how to continue growing in this new life. [Col 3.1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these:
anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.
9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Character of the New Man 12Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
14But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.] A Pattern to Follow Paul teaches that because we have been raised with Christ, our mind and focus must now be on things above, not on earthly desires.
We have died to old life, and our true life is hidden with Christ in God.
When the Holy Spirit comes upon you and fills you, there is access to a new nature , new identity , because we are a new creation .
He then begins to change us from the inside out —
sometimes quickly, sometimes gradually, but always purposefully.
The old behaviours are put to death, anger and impurity are laid aside, and the new man is put on —
marked by Holiness, mercy, kindness, humility, forgiveness, love, and peace.
As the Word of Christ dwells richly within us, everything we do is done in His name, and the result is real transformation taking place.
Now we will look at some real examples of church members filled with the Spirit and how that filling led to visible change. Church Family Transformation We get a snapshot of this [1 Cor 6.9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.
Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you .
But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.] The church in Corinth was made up of people saved out of very real, serious sin. Corinth itself was a morally corrupt city.
After listing the sins that once marked people’s lives in the Church , Paul says these powerful and hope-filled words:
“And such were some of you .”
These are the words of genuine transformation.
Their past identity no longer defines them because through the Lord and by the power of the Spirit of God, they have been washed, sanctified (set apart as holy for God’s purposes), and justified (declared righteous before God).
The old man has been put off and the new man has been put on.
When a person is filled with the Holy Spirit, there is a real change of nature.
Former patterns of sin begin to lose their dominion, new holy desires are formed, and a renewed nature starts to come to life. The power of the Gospel had transformed them and also transforms us today Holy Spirit – Gives Boldness Peter and John are arrested after preaching about the resurrection of Jesus and healing a lame man. Acts 4.1 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.
4 However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. 5And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, 6as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.
7And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” 8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, 10let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth , whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
11This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” 13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled.
And they realised that they had been with Jesus. For Us Today – Being Filled With the Holy Spirit As we read through the Scriptures, we begin to see a picture of what a person filled with the Holy Spirit looks like.
This helps us check whether we are on the right track in our own walk with God. Real transformation takes place within us — for some quickly, for others more slowly. But God is at work in each of us, shaping us to reflect the image of His Son. Steps to Being Filled With the Spirit You Died with Christ – Before resurrection, we must die with Christ. Baptism symbolises this death to the old life.
Set Your Mind on Things Above – Our mindset and attitude must focus on Christ and heavenly priorities. Put Off the Old Man – Daily, we lay aside the old nature. As Paul reminds us: “And such were some of you.” Put On the New Nature – Through the Holy Spirit, we are given a new identity. This shows in mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, and longsuffering. Boldness – The early believers saw the boldness of Peter and John; they recognised that those filled with the Spirit had been with Jesus. If we struggle in any of these areas, we can always ask the Lord to help us and fill us afresh with His Spirit Finish in a time of prayer and presence and reflection.