Outside The Box Series

Lesson 7 of 8

Outside The Box – Spirit Led and Spirit Filled Church

 

John 7:37

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

 

This bold statement of Jesus promises to the believers an experience that is nothing like anything they have ever heard or seen before.

 

“Out of their belly shall flow rivers of Living Water.”

 

The setting for this statement is a feast that would end the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles where many people have come ready to eat.

 

• They have traveled from far away to come to this feast.  They are hungry.  They are thirsty.  They are ready to sit down and fill their hungry bellies with whatever the host has provided for them.

 

Jesus, understanding that the guests are hungry and ready to drink and eat, stands up and shouts to the people, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

• I’m sure many people thought Him strange.  But many who comprehended what He was promising understood that He was offering them something much better than what the Great Feast was going to provide.

 

• The feast was important.
• The feast was well prepared.
• The feast was rehearsed.
• The feast was expensive.
• The feast was what everyone expected.
• The feast was tradition
• The feast was Great!

 

• But Jesus stands up and cries out to the people, “I’ve got something much better than this prepared for you!”

 

He let them know that there was coming something that no level of expertise, or preparation or rehearsal or expense or tradition could ever substitute for.

• There was coming something that was ginormous if you will.
• It was something that no glass of water or wine could compete with.
• As a matter of fact, he likened it to not just a nice glass of cold refreshing water, but He said it is like a River of Living (Eternity) water.
• He said, “what I have to offer you will not just keep you alive and refreshed for a day or two, but He said This living water will be alive inside of you and will flow out of you.”
• “There will be no holding this thing in,” He said, “It will flow out of you whether you want it to or not.  It will flow out of you when you want it to and when you are not expecting you to.”

 

• He said, “It’s like a river.  It will be continuous.”
• It will be constant
• It will be relentless

Now verse 39 tells us that He’s not really talking about water per say, but rather He’s is talking about the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit Infilling.

I shared last week with you a message Outside The Box Spirit Infilling.

• We talked at length about the miracle of Speaking in Tongues that comes when a person is filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit.

But this week, I want to talk to you about the Spirit Filled and Spirit Led Church.

 

Here’s a question for you, how can a person talk about something that they have never experienced before?

• How could you be a successful sales person of a product you yourself have never tried?
• How can a church talk about and promise to the world the help of the Holy Spirit if in fact it is not a Spirit Filled and Spirit Led Church?

Church has to be more than something that is important to do on a Sunday morning.

• It has to be more than well prepared.
• It has to be more than rehearsed.
• It has to be more than expensive.
• It has to be more than what everyone expected.
• It should never be tradition
• I believe this church needs to be Spirit Filled and Spirit Led.
• I believe this church needs to be a place where the Holy Spirit of God has free reign to operate and manifest.

 

I don’t know about you, but I am after more than a social gathering here today.

• I am not a good enough speaker to captivate you with my Words.
• I am completely dependent upon the Spirit of God for the words that I share with you.

This church is prepared

• We are rehearsed
• We do aim for excellence in all that we do,
• But beyond that,
• On top of all of that,
• More important than all of that,
• What you should expect beyond all the work, and rehearsal, and expense and preparedness is for God to show up!

 

• Without His touch on this service, we’re just another nice place to gather to worship on Sunday morning.

We’ve been talking about the church that is Outside the Box!

• If we’re going to be a boxed church, then we probably don’t need to talk about John 7:38.
• But if we are going to be a church that is Outside The Box, then we are going to need His help getting there and the key to becoming an Outside The Box Church is found in John 7:38!
• We have to be willing and able to allow the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit if you will to flow through us as individuals and as a corporate church.

Realize this church will never become a Spirit Filled and Spirit Led Church until you and I as individuals become Spirit Filled and Spirit Led.

Can I ask, “Why Not?”

• People want to make up all kinds of excuses and reasons why we should not get too carried away in church.
• They want to keep everyone quiet.
• They want to tell us all to settle down!

Why?

• Church is not a mortuary.
• Church is not funeral home.
• Church is a place where the Holy Ghost is supposed to have free reign and opportunity to touch lives that are hurting and who need ministered to.
• There is no form here.
• There is no fashion here.
• We have no real program.
• We are ready at any moment to stop whatever we are doing and allow God to work and minister to people.
• We are not led by the clock or the program here.
• The Spirit leads us!

 

There is only one requirement for us as a church and as individuals: to become a Spirit Filled and Spirit Led Church…

• “Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

We have to want it!

• We have to be thirsty for it!
• It has to be what we desire when we come to church!
• We can’t be nonchalant about it.
• We can’t be careless about it.
• We have to want it!

Listen, I appreciate all of you who work so hard to minister to the church on Sunday.

• I appreciate our singers and our musicians,
• I appreciate our sound technician.
• I appreciate our Staging director and those who help him set all this up every weekend.
• Kudos to our children’s pastors for what they are doing and Thank you to all our ministry pastors for what you are doing to minister to others,
• But Can I say if we don’t have the touch of God and the moving of His Spirit upon all that we do, we are missing out on an amazing opportunity around here.

God wants to meet us here.

• Jesus wants to touch lives.
• The Holy Ghost wants to fill somebody today.
• We say we are a church where Real Needs Are Met and where Lives Are Transformed,

Listen you and I cannot do that…

• Only Jesus can do that!
• I nave no ability to transform anything, but Jesus can and He will if we as a congregation will only become Spirit Filled and Spirit Led!