Sermon Tone Analysis

“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,” (, ESV)

I want to ask the question this morning: What makes a church, a church?

If you’re answer starts with “I think . . .

“ what follows is baseless.

It doesn’t matter what we think.

What matters is what God has written concerning this question.

The Purpose of being Spirit filled

If we truly want to see the Lord’s intent for His church then we should examine its genesis.

“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”

(, ESV)

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

(, ESV)

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

(, ESV)

““If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.

You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

(, ESV)

“Why are we in danger every hour?

I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!

What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus?

If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.””

(, ESV)

“And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’

And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”

’ But God said to him, ‘Fool!

This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’

So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”” (, ESV)

““But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (, ESV)

The Picture of being filled with the Spirit and the Knowledge of the resurrection.

Being filled with the Spirit empowers us to speak with boldness

“Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.

And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.”

And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.”

Being filled with the Spirit infuses us with deep abiding community

Being filled with the Spirit enable us to speak with life giving power

, ESV)

Being filled with the Spirit leads us to take sin seriously

, ESV)

Being filled with the Spirit makes Jesus undeniable in our city and beyond

Being filled with the Spirit empowers us with a unquenchable and unstoppable drive for gospel education

Being filled with the Spirit sets apart men for leadership

, ESV)

Being filled with the Spirit ensures suffering and persecution

“And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.

But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.

But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium.

And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

Being filled with the Spirit leads to divine appointments

“Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.

And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water!

What prevents me from being baptized?”

And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.”

Being filled with the Spirit breaks down barriers for gospel ministry

“So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”

“While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.

And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.”

5

Being filled with the Spirit makes the church a missional machine

Distance (miles)

Travel Time (days)

Cost per Person (denarii)*

First

1,581

53

237

Second

3,050

100

314

Third

3,307

92

481

Rome

2,344

36

699

Total 10,282 281 1,731 (a day’s wage)

Being filled with the Spirit changes communities, culture, and commodities

“Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.

So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.”

, ESV)

“So Paul went out from their midst.

But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.”

“And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”

Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.

But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”

And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks.

And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.

Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.

And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.

And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.

So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.”

“About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way.

For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen.

These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth.

And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods.

And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.””

Being filled with the Spirit empowers us to hold our lives cheaply