For hundreds of Louisiana Baptists from across the state, the challenge of
the 2001 Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Conference could not have been clearer.
For hundreds of Louisiana Baptists from across the state, the challenge of
the 2001 Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Conference could not have been clearer.
The theme of the annual gathering made sure of that – “A Changeless
Gospel for Changing Times.” The scripture basis for the meeting added confirmation
– “The Word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 30:7) And the
format of the conference lent support to the idea as well – an array of
speakers focusing on specific doctrines of the Christian faith. In addition,
during the two-day gathering at Summer Grove Baptist Church in Shreveport, participants
were given the
opportunity to attend a small-group training session – also designed to
help prepare them to share an unchanging message of salvation with a modern
world. In opening remarks, Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Director Dean
Doster suggested God had given the nation a reprieve with recent political events.
“It’s time to get back to what we might have been because we might
not get another chance,” he urged. For Louisiana Baptists, the accompanying
Evangelism Conference emphasis was clear – it also is time to get on with
the business of the Great Commission while there is time and opportunity.
Many Christians give “lip service” to the Holy Spirit, speaking of him, pledging
allegiance to him, Roy Fish acknowledged last week.
“But in many churches, for all practical purposes, we
keep him shut up in our Bibles, where he can’t do us any harm,” said
Fish, professor of evangelism at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in
Fort Worth, Texas.
That needs to change, Fish stressed in a series of studies
related to the Holy Spirit at last week’s Louisiana Baptist Evangelism
Conference in Shreveport. Ephesians 5 counsels Christians not to be filled with
wine but with the Holy Spirit – and it is just as wrong not to be filled
with the Holy Spirit as it is to filled with wine, he emphasized.
The Bible offers help for how to be filled with the Holy Spirit,
Fish said in a sermon based on John 7:37-39. He noted every believer may –
and should – be filled with the Holy Spirit by following the directions
to:
n Exhale. Physically, exhaling jettisons unneeded oxides
from the body, Fish noted. Spiritually, persons must do the same thing through
repentance, through confessing those things in their lives that are displeasing
to God.
“You know about them, but are you doing anything about
them? …” Fish challenged. “Do you thirst enough (for Jesus) to repent,
… to give up that which is displeasing him?”
n Lie back and relax. The key is for Christians to totally
surrender themselves to God, Fish pointed out.
“Are you ready for that unconditional surrender? … Yes,
Jesus is Lord. But is he absolute Lord of your life?”
n Breathe in. Just as the physical body must breathe in
oxygen in order to live, the Christian must breathe in by faith that which sustains
life, Fish said.
However, too many people have not experienced the fullness
of the Holy Spirit because they have not appropriated the promise that Jesus
left them, he said. “And consecration without appropriation can lead to
frustration.”
To avoid that, persons must accept by faith what Jesus has
promised to give, Fish said. They must repent and open themselves to the Holy
Spirit. “Louisiana needs the releasing of divine power, …” Fish
noted. “So lie back and relax, and then, by faith, breathe in and be filled
with the Holy Spirit.”
Otherwise, Christians will be like the sheep farmer who was
going broke, only to discover there was a huge deposit of oil underneath his
land, Fish said in a second sermon.
The oil always had been there, and the sheep farmer had been
an unaware millionaire, Fish noted. “There’s a difference between
ownership and experiential possession.”
It is the same with the Holy Spirit, Fish explained. Many Christians
simply do not realize they have access to the Holy Spirit, even though the Bible
calls on them to walk in his ways, he said in a sermon based on Galatians 5:16,
25.
The key is to do so a step at a time, day by day, hour by hour,
taking care not to grieve the Holy Spirit, Fish noted.
Ephesians 4 shows that Christians can grieve the Holy Spirit
in various ways, including through lying, stealing, corrupt words, bitterness,
anger, evil speaking, unkindness and unforgiveness, Fish explained.
All such things represent sins against others. Indeed, people
are more likely to grieve the Spirit in the midst of their personal relationships
than in any other way, Fish said.
Walking in the way of God also means not quenching the Holy
Spirit through sins of omission, Fish continued.
“It’s just as wrong for you not to do what you ought
to do as it is for you to do what you ought not to do,” Fish warned.
The Holy Spirit is an active person – and his primary
activity is redemption, helping others see the need for Christ and turning them
toward the savior, Fish explained. “If your life is not being used redemptively,
you are quenching the Holy Spirit. The opposite of quenching the Holy Spirit
is availability to the Spirit and sensitivity to his leadership.”
However, despite such biblical admonitions, Fish acknowledged
that all Christians both grieve and quench the Holy Spirit. The answer is immediate
confession and immediate acceptance of the forgiveness and grace of God.
The key in both steps is “immediate,” Fish said,
explaining that one must not wait to confess sins. “If the only time you
confess your sins is before bed at night, the only time you walk with God is
in your sleep,” he said.
Likewise, a Christian should not come back to God again and
again to seek forgiveness for the same sin, Fish said. That is just satan’s
way of keeping one on a guilt trip, he said.
Instead, persons must confess and accept the forgiveness of
God right away, enabling them then to follow the command of Scripture to live
in the Spirit, Fish said.
“Walk,” he counseled. “Live your life –
step-by-step, day-by-day – controlled by the Spirit of God.”
Unfortunately, though, many Christians are wading in ankle-deep
water formed by the river of living water when they should be swimming in much
deeper water, Fish warned in a final sermon at last week’s conference.
God has provided abundant encouragement and strength for those
who are willing to be crucified with Christ.
“I want to link what I believe is the prophetic word (of
Ezekiel) with the fulfilling word of the Lord Jesus,” Fish said, noting
both use the analogy of water for the Holy Spirit.
The source of the water mentioned by Ezekiel “is the sanctuary,
a holy place . . . from God,” Fish noted. “The waters – these
spiritual blessings – come from God. This is an inexhaustible source.
There is literally no limit from the standpoint of meeting your needs –
no limit to what the Holy Spirit can do or how long he can do it.”
The streams of living water can flow from within a person,
Fish insisted. “Never should you rely on meetings like this for our inspiration
or stimuli. You are not living on a cup ration.”
The course of the river is by the way of an altar, Fish said.
“On this altar, there is no animal sacrifice. It is an
altar reared on an ugly skull-shaped hill outside of the city of Jerusalem,”
Fish said in reference to the crucifixion of Christ. ” It also comes by
our death with him. ‘If anyone comes after me, take up your death and follow
me.’”
Many people are praying for Pentecost – but Calvary must
come first, Fish noted. He said perhaps Christ says, “Let me see more reflection
of death by you, and I will show you more Pentecost.”
The force of the river of living water brings cleansing as
well as healing – and the need for that is great, Fish continued. “Things
that put you in jail 50 years ago are now condoned as in style,” he pointed
out.
The way to cleanse filth from society is for Christians to
be controlled by the force of the river of living water, he said.
Fish assured listeners the effect of living water is healing
of all kinds – morally, in the church and for the total person.
He also said the water brings fruit – “like being
more like the Lord Jesus Christ and the fruit of other people coming to know
Christ through our witness.”
Fish encouraged Christians to launch into the deep waters of
the Holy Spirit.
“How many people are there in your churches still splashing
around in water ankle deep? When a person is walking in ankle-deep water, there
is an awful lot of us showing.”
Read Part Two of this Feature article
