| “FREE REFILLS” Acts 2:1-4, 14-21; Ephesians 5:15-21 Olivet Covenant Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA © Rev. Linda Jaymes, 5/23/2010 |
I wonder if you’ve ever had this experience: You’re in a restaurant and your glass of coke is empty. The waitress comes
by and asks, “Do you want another one?” You would like to say yes, but you don’t really want to pay for another one, since
the price of soda in this restaurant is a bit ridiculous. If there are free refills, you’ll take one, but if not, you’ll do without. So
you sit there trying to decide whether or not you want the waitress to know how cheap you really are. If you’re lucky, the
waitress will spare you the agony and automatically say, “There’s no charge for refills.” Otherwise, you have to ask her or just
say “No thanks.”
I don’t know why, but I hate to ask simple questions like that. It shouldn’t be such a big deal. It shouldn’t be
embarrassing to ask such a simple question. Maybe it’s an automatic reaction with me, after years and years of pinching
pennies just to get by. Do I really care if the waitress thinks I’m cheap? In fact, does any of this really matter at all?
Probably not, if all we’re talking about is soda. But it might matter if we let that attitude permeate other areas of our lives,
especially in regard to matters of faith. All too often we live like spiritual paupers. We hesitate to appropriate God’s free gifts
of grace, such as asking God to fill us with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in order to live faithfully and boldly in the
world.
Today we celebrate Pentecost, the day that God poured out the Holy Spirit on the disciples gathered in Jerusalem,
empowering them to go out into the world and change the course of history forever. On that first Pentecost, some phenomenal
things happened. About 120 of the disciples were together in one place in the city, waiting for the gift of the Holy Spirit that
Jesus had promised to them. They didn’t know exactly what that “Gift” was all about, but they knew it had to do with power
from on high. That power came with the sound of a mighty rushing wind and with an appearance of tongues of flame that
rested on each of them. Suddenly the disciples were speaking in foreign languages, praising God, and visitors from other lands
who were in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost could understand what they were saying.
Evidently it was a bit of a free-for-all. You can imagine how chaotic and noisy it must have been to hear 120 disciples,
energized by the Spirit and speaking in different languages, combined with the murmuring crowd, who didn’t know what to
make of it all. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised to hear that some in the crowd assumed that the disciples were drunk, that
they had had too much wine. What else would cause such a commotion?
Thankfully, the Holy Spirit gave Peter the courage to get up to speak and reassure the crowd that what was going on had
absolutely nothing to do with alcohol—especially given the fact that it was only nine o’clock in the morning. Peter realized that
what was happening had been foretold by the prophet Joel—that in the last days God would pour out his Spirit not just for a
specific work or on a special individual but on all God’s people. Long before this day, the Spirit of God had been promised to
sons and daughters, young and old, men and women. This Spirit would lead people to Jesus Christ, and everyone who
recognized Him as Savior and Lord would be saved. And on that first Pentecost after the Lord’s resurrection, the Spirit arrived,
just as God had promised.
As far as we know, the events of that first Pentecost have never been duplicated, although the book of Acts relates a
number of other situations in which the Holy Spirit also came upon believers in power. But there’s no exact formula for
receiving the Spirit, and experiences like that first Pentecost are not the final litmus test to determine who has been filled with
the Spirit and who hasn’t. For example, while I was in NC two weeks ago, we experienced an outpouring of the Spirit during
evening worship. Some people started weeping. Some were “slain in the Spirit,” i.e. they fell prostrate to the floor. One
received a vision about the different ministries represented by the pastors present in the room. Others didn’t feel anything
special at all. But that doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit wasn’t also at work in them. As I have said many times before, I
believe we are filled with the Spirit from the moment we claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. But then it is up to each of us
to surrender our lives and our wills to Him. To the extent that we are willing to do that, the fullness of the Holy Spirit will be
evident in our lives. And that evidence takes the form of fruit: qualities such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When we see people who are demonstrating those qualities in their lives, we know
that they are filled with the Spirit.
But even if we are filled with the Spirit, life has a way of depleting our energy, of sapping our strength and even stealing
our joy. Usually, the trouble is not that the Holy Spirit has abandoned us, but that so much clutter and debris has collected in
our lives that there is no room for the Spirit to move. When that happens, we have to clear a space where He can surface, so
that we can reconnect with his power again. When our spiritual wells have run dry, we need to be refilled, and only the Holy
Spirit can refill that spiritual void. Very often we try to fill it with all the wrong things—possessions, relationships, adventure—
but they really can’t satisfy our spiritual thirst. Only the Spirit can refill that empty place in us and give us the power and
strength we need to live fully, as God intends. And the good news is that we never have to wonder whether Holy Spirit refills
are included along with the other promises of our faith. Holy Spirit refills are absolutely free.
Even Peter, in the first few weeks after receiving the Holy Spirit in power on that first Pentecost, was filled again and again
with the Spirit so he could preach and teach and heal in the name of Jesus Christ. That’s why Paul tells the Ephesians—and
us—to be filled with the Spirit. And when he says that he’s not referring to a one-time event. The Christians he was writing to
in the church at Ephesus had already received the Holy Spirit when they became believers, and Paul knew that. Yet in this
passage he tells them to go on being filled with the Spirit. Continue to be filled with the Spirit. Get those free refills over and
over again, because without them, Christians don’t have what it takes to stand against the evil in the world and live faithfully
for the Lord.
At the same time, Paul makes it very clear that pagan folly is something Christians must avoid. We must not be led astray
by the temptations of the world. Especially when we are feeling depleted, we have to be wise and discerning so as not to get
mixed up in foolish and destructive behaviors or addictions. Paul mentions drunkenness in particular, but that is by no means
the only pagan folly to avoid. I’m sure we would have no problem thinking of some other things that might gain control of our
lives and negate or destroy the work that the Spirit is trying to accomplish in and through us.
Instead of filling up with wine or something similar, Paul tells us to fill up with the Spirit. One Bible scholar explains it like
this:
“In contrast with the sinful excitements of such stimulants, and the intoxication which results from wine, the
Christian is urged to be ‘filled with the Spirit.’ This phrase is quite common in the earlier chapters of The Acts. It seems to
describe a state in which one is under the control of the Spirit of Christ and impelled and empowered to do his will. It was
not a mystical—nor was it regarded as an exceptional—experience. It was not the prerogative of any one believer or of any
one class of Christians. It was an experience frequently repeated in the life of individuals and of the church. To be ‘filled
with the Spirit’ is indeed the normal state of every follower of Christ.” 1
According to Paul, there’s no great mystery about how to get those free refills of the Spirit. Paul goes on to suggest some
of the things we can do to “be filled with the Spirit,” things that aren’t complicated at all. He tells us to speak to one another
with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music that praises God. Thank God for everything He has done for us
in Jesus Christ, and submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
In other words, Paul reminds us that whenever believers gather in Jesus’ name, the Holy Spirit is there in our midst. When
we come together to offer God the worship of our hearts, when we study and share scripture together, when we gather to give
thanks and pray, something very special happens. The Holy Spirit moves among us, encouraging us and refilling us with his
power and joy. And when we make music together, singing songs of praise to our God, we are lifted heavenward. Maybe Paul
emphasizes music because music is powerful and can inspire people to action—either for good or for evil. For example, the
wrong kind of music can inspire people to malicious or even evil behavior: Hitler used music to engender hatred and violence
against the Jews, and some of today’s heavy metal and rap “music” contains language that encourages violence against
women. But the right kind of music, the kind that lifts up and exalts God’s attributes and accomplishments and helps us to
worship Him as He deserves, deepens our faith and inspires us to serve Him with all our heart.
Interestingly enough, this passage ends with the command to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. We might
wonder what that has to do with being filled with the Spirit, but it is Paul’s way of reminding us that praise and worship or
speaking in tongues are not a guarantee or the final proof of being filled with the Spirit. As I alluded to earlier, the real test of
being Spirit-filled is the way we live, the way we treat each other. To submit to each other means to be modest and humble in
attitude and in our dealings with each other, to refuse to be a cause of unrest or dispute in the fellowship of believers, and
instead to demonstrate gentleness, kindness, goodness, patience, love and self-control. Jesus said that his disciples will be
known by the fruit they bear, and if we are filled with the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in our lives.
We started out by saying that the Holy Spirit is one of the gifts of God’s grace, and like all true gifts, it is absolutely free.
So are the refills. But like all of God’s gifts of grace, free does not mean cheap. These gifts—things like salvation, forgiveness,
eternal life, and the filling of the Spirit—are ours only because God in Christ laid down his life for us on the Cross. These gifts
were bought with a price, and they must not be received lightly but in all seriousness and with humility and thanksgiving. And
when it comes to the gift of the Spirit, one specific response is crucial, namely surrender. The Holy Spirit is not a gift we carry
around in our purse or pocket, expecting Him to jump at our command. No! It’s just the opposite. We have to be willing to
give our lives over to the Spirit’s control. We have to live each day under his influence, listening to his voice and following his
guidance and direction.
The real work of the Holy Spirit is not to make us feel good, but to point us to Jesus and guide us into his footsteps. Jesus
fills us with his Spirit and with spiritual gifts not for our own purposes but to build up the Body of Christ. Just as the Spirit’s
job is to point people to Jesus, under the Spirit’s power all Christians are called to point others to Jesus, too. And when we use
the gifting and empowerment of the Spirit to serve the Lord, the refills keep coming and coming. When we are obedient to the
Lord’s commands and the promptings of his Spirit, we can count on free refills of his Spirit over and over again.
So many people try desperately to recreate the experience of that first Pentecost, but the Holy Spirit cannot be
manipulated. All that is really needed is to ask God to fill and refill us with his Spirit, the same Spirit that has been living within
us ever since we first trusted in Jesus Christ. If we will make room for Him in our lives, if we will submit to his control and let
Him shape us according to God’s will, then we will experience a special Pentecost of our own. And then, just like that Bible
scholar said, being filled and refilled with the Holy Spirit won’t be strange or unusual, but rather the normal, daily experience of
every follower of Jesus Christ.
Let us pray.
1. Erdman, Charles. The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians. An Exposition by Charles R. Erdman. Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI. 1931, 1966, 1983, pp.113-114.
by and asks, “Do you want another one?” You would like to say yes, but you don’t really want to pay for another one, since
the price of soda in this restaurant is a bit ridiculous. If there are free refills, you’ll take one, but if not, you’ll do without. So
you sit there trying to decide whether or not you want the waitress to know how cheap you really are. If you’re lucky, the
waitress will spare you the agony and automatically say, “There’s no charge for refills.” Otherwise, you have to ask her or just
say “No thanks.”
I don’t know why, but I hate to ask simple questions like that. It shouldn’t be such a big deal. It shouldn’t be
embarrassing to ask such a simple question. Maybe it’s an automatic reaction with me, after years and years of pinching
pennies just to get by. Do I really care if the waitress thinks I’m cheap? In fact, does any of this really matter at all?
Probably not, if all we’re talking about is soda. But it might matter if we let that attitude permeate other areas of our lives,
especially in regard to matters of faith. All too often we live like spiritual paupers. We hesitate to appropriate God’s free gifts
of grace, such as asking God to fill us with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in order to live faithfully and boldly in the
world.
Today we celebrate Pentecost, the day that God poured out the Holy Spirit on the disciples gathered in Jerusalem,
empowering them to go out into the world and change the course of history forever. On that first Pentecost, some phenomenal
things happened. About 120 of the disciples were together in one place in the city, waiting for the gift of the Holy Spirit that
Jesus had promised to them. They didn’t know exactly what that “Gift” was all about, but they knew it had to do with power
from on high. That power came with the sound of a mighty rushing wind and with an appearance of tongues of flame that
rested on each of them. Suddenly the disciples were speaking in foreign languages, praising God, and visitors from other lands
who were in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost could understand what they were saying.
Evidently it was a bit of a free-for-all. You can imagine how chaotic and noisy it must have been to hear 120 disciples,
energized by the Spirit and speaking in different languages, combined with the murmuring crowd, who didn’t know what to
make of it all. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised to hear that some in the crowd assumed that the disciples were drunk, that
they had had too much wine. What else would cause such a commotion?
Thankfully, the Holy Spirit gave Peter the courage to get up to speak and reassure the crowd that what was going on had
absolutely nothing to do with alcohol—especially given the fact that it was only nine o’clock in the morning. Peter realized that
what was happening had been foretold by the prophet Joel—that in the last days God would pour out his Spirit not just for a
specific work or on a special individual but on all God’s people. Long before this day, the Spirit of God had been promised to
sons and daughters, young and old, men and women. This Spirit would lead people to Jesus Christ, and everyone who
recognized Him as Savior and Lord would be saved. And on that first Pentecost after the Lord’s resurrection, the Spirit arrived,
just as God had promised.
As far as we know, the events of that first Pentecost have never been duplicated, although the book of Acts relates a
number of other situations in which the Holy Spirit also came upon believers in power. But there’s no exact formula for
receiving the Spirit, and experiences like that first Pentecost are not the final litmus test to determine who has been filled with
the Spirit and who hasn’t. For example, while I was in NC two weeks ago, we experienced an outpouring of the Spirit during
evening worship. Some people started weeping. Some were “slain in the Spirit,” i.e. they fell prostrate to the floor. One
received a vision about the different ministries represented by the pastors present in the room. Others didn’t feel anything
special at all. But that doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit wasn’t also at work in them. As I have said many times before, I
believe we are filled with the Spirit from the moment we claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. But then it is up to each of us
to surrender our lives and our wills to Him. To the extent that we are willing to do that, the fullness of the Holy Spirit will be
evident in our lives. And that evidence takes the form of fruit: qualities such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When we see people who are demonstrating those qualities in their lives, we know
that they are filled with the Spirit.
But even if we are filled with the Spirit, life has a way of depleting our energy, of sapping our strength and even stealing
our joy. Usually, the trouble is not that the Holy Spirit has abandoned us, but that so much clutter and debris has collected in
our lives that there is no room for the Spirit to move. When that happens, we have to clear a space where He can surface, so
that we can reconnect with his power again. When our spiritual wells have run dry, we need to be refilled, and only the Holy
Spirit can refill that spiritual void. Very often we try to fill it with all the wrong things—possessions, relationships, adventure—
but they really can’t satisfy our spiritual thirst. Only the Spirit can refill that empty place in us and give us the power and
strength we need to live fully, as God intends. And the good news is that we never have to wonder whether Holy Spirit refills
are included along with the other promises of our faith. Holy Spirit refills are absolutely free.
Even Peter, in the first few weeks after receiving the Holy Spirit in power on that first Pentecost, was filled again and again
with the Spirit so he could preach and teach and heal in the name of Jesus Christ. That’s why Paul tells the Ephesians—and
us—to be filled with the Spirit. And when he says that he’s not referring to a one-time event. The Christians he was writing to
in the church at Ephesus had already received the Holy Spirit when they became believers, and Paul knew that. Yet in this
passage he tells them to go on being filled with the Spirit. Continue to be filled with the Spirit. Get those free refills over and
over again, because without them, Christians don’t have what it takes to stand against the evil in the world and live faithfully
for the Lord.
At the same time, Paul makes it very clear that pagan folly is something Christians must avoid. We must not be led astray
by the temptations of the world. Especially when we are feeling depleted, we have to be wise and discerning so as not to get
mixed up in foolish and destructive behaviors or addictions. Paul mentions drunkenness in particular, but that is by no means
the only pagan folly to avoid. I’m sure we would have no problem thinking of some other things that might gain control of our
lives and negate or destroy the work that the Spirit is trying to accomplish in and through us.
Instead of filling up with wine or something similar, Paul tells us to fill up with the Spirit. One Bible scholar explains it like
this:
“In contrast with the sinful excitements of such stimulants, and the intoxication which results from wine, the
Christian is urged to be ‘filled with the Spirit.’ This phrase is quite common in the earlier chapters of The Acts. It seems to
describe a state in which one is under the control of the Spirit of Christ and impelled and empowered to do his will. It was
not a mystical—nor was it regarded as an exceptional—experience. It was not the prerogative of any one believer or of any
one class of Christians. It was an experience frequently repeated in the life of individuals and of the church. To be ‘filled
with the Spirit’ is indeed the normal state of every follower of Christ.” 1
According to Paul, there’s no great mystery about how to get those free refills of the Spirit. Paul goes on to suggest some
of the things we can do to “be filled with the Spirit,” things that aren’t complicated at all. He tells us to speak to one another
with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music that praises God. Thank God for everything He has done for us
in Jesus Christ, and submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
In other words, Paul reminds us that whenever believers gather in Jesus’ name, the Holy Spirit is there in our midst. When
we come together to offer God the worship of our hearts, when we study and share scripture together, when we gather to give
thanks and pray, something very special happens. The Holy Spirit moves among us, encouraging us and refilling us with his
power and joy. And when we make music together, singing songs of praise to our God, we are lifted heavenward. Maybe Paul
emphasizes music because music is powerful and can inspire people to action—either for good or for evil. For example, the
wrong kind of music can inspire people to malicious or even evil behavior: Hitler used music to engender hatred and violence
against the Jews, and some of today’s heavy metal and rap “music” contains language that encourages violence against
women. But the right kind of music, the kind that lifts up and exalts God’s attributes and accomplishments and helps us to
worship Him as He deserves, deepens our faith and inspires us to serve Him with all our heart.
Interestingly enough, this passage ends with the command to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. We might
wonder what that has to do with being filled with the Spirit, but it is Paul’s way of reminding us that praise and worship or
speaking in tongues are not a guarantee or the final proof of being filled with the Spirit. As I alluded to earlier, the real test of
being Spirit-filled is the way we live, the way we treat each other. To submit to each other means to be modest and humble in
attitude and in our dealings with each other, to refuse to be a cause of unrest or dispute in the fellowship of believers, and
instead to demonstrate gentleness, kindness, goodness, patience, love and self-control. Jesus said that his disciples will be
known by the fruit they bear, and if we are filled with the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in our lives.
We started out by saying that the Holy Spirit is one of the gifts of God’s grace, and like all true gifts, it is absolutely free.
So are the refills. But like all of God’s gifts of grace, free does not mean cheap. These gifts—things like salvation, forgiveness,
eternal life, and the filling of the Spirit—are ours only because God in Christ laid down his life for us on the Cross. These gifts
were bought with a price, and they must not be received lightly but in all seriousness and with humility and thanksgiving. And
when it comes to the gift of the Spirit, one specific response is crucial, namely surrender. The Holy Spirit is not a gift we carry
around in our purse or pocket, expecting Him to jump at our command. No! It’s just the opposite. We have to be willing to
give our lives over to the Spirit’s control. We have to live each day under his influence, listening to his voice and following his
guidance and direction.
The real work of the Holy Spirit is not to make us feel good, but to point us to Jesus and guide us into his footsteps. Jesus
fills us with his Spirit and with spiritual gifts not for our own purposes but to build up the Body of Christ. Just as the Spirit’s
job is to point people to Jesus, under the Spirit’s power all Christians are called to point others to Jesus, too. And when we use
the gifting and empowerment of the Spirit to serve the Lord, the refills keep coming and coming. When we are obedient to the
Lord’s commands and the promptings of his Spirit, we can count on free refills of his Spirit over and over again.
So many people try desperately to recreate the experience of that first Pentecost, but the Holy Spirit cannot be
manipulated. All that is really needed is to ask God to fill and refill us with his Spirit, the same Spirit that has been living within
us ever since we first trusted in Jesus Christ. If we will make room for Him in our lives, if we will submit to his control and let
Him shape us according to God’s will, then we will experience a special Pentecost of our own. And then, just like that Bible
scholar said, being filled and refilled with the Holy Spirit won’t be strange or unusual, but rather the normal, daily experience of
every follower of Jesus Christ.
Let us pray.
1. Erdman, Charles. The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians. An Exposition by Charles R. Erdman. Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI. 1931, 1966, 1983, pp.113-114.
