Fullness Begins With Thirst
To experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit, we must desire and trust in Him, seeking to be separated from sin and the world, and to be filled with the fruit of the Spirit.
Theodore Epp emphasizes that the fullness of the Holy Spirit begins with a deep thirst for God, which leads to a desire for obedience and trust in Him. He explains that to be filled with the Spirit, one must first recognize the need to be separated from sin and the world, and actively seek the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. Epp highlights that true spiritual life is achieved by yielding to the Holy Spirit's control, allowing rivers of living water to flow from within. The sermon encourages believers to continuously trust in Christ not only for salvation but also for the ongoing filling of the Spirit. Ultimately, the message calls for a commitment to enthrone Christ as Lord in our lives.
Text
John 7:37-39
Along with obeying we must desire to be filled and then appropriate the filling. Our Lord said in John 7:37, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink."
Here are two prerequisites for the filling of the Holy Spirit: thirst and trust. Thirst suggests desire, and drinking suggests obedience and trust.
Included in this desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit must be our wanting God to judge and put away sin in our lives.
We must desire to be separated unto the Lord from the world and its evil system. We must reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. This is true positionally, but it can be made true in our spiritual life only as we yield to the Holy Spirit's control.
We must also desire the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Do we want love, joy, peace and these other evidences of the Spirit's life in us? Do we long to enthrone Christ as Lord?
Thirst should cause us to drink, and desire should cause us to trust. In the words of our Saviour, out of our innermost beings "shall flow rivers of living water" (v. 38).
We not only trust Christ to save us from sin, but we also trust Him to fill us with the Spirit.
This particular phase of believing, or trusting, in Christ should be a continuous attitude of trusting, of committing ourselves to the Lord in order to be controlled by the Holy Spirit.
"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18).
Sermon Outline
- Two Prerequisites for the Filling of the Holy Spirit
- Desire for God's Judgment and Separation
- Desire for the Fruit of the Spirit
- Desire for love, joy, peace, and other evidences of the Spirit's life
- Desire to enthrone Christ as Lord
Key Quotes
“If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” — Theodore Epp
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” — Theodore Epp
“out of our innermost beings 'shall flow rivers of living water'” — Theodore Epp
Application Points
- We must desire to be separated from sin and the world in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
- We must trust in Christ to fill us with the Spirit and control our lives.
- We should seek to enthrone Christ as Lord in our lives and be filled with the fruit of the Spirit.