The Spirit Filled Life — E.A. Johnston

The Need for Spirit-Filled Authority

I will never forget sitting with my homiletical mentor, Dr. Stephen Olford, in his private study. There in his command post, Dr. Olford's private conversations were as gripping as his preaching. And I recall a particular day when we were discussing the spirit-filled life and how few men in ministry really knew what it meant experientially because they did not want to make the sacrifice to have it.

And that is why there is so little authority in our pulpits today, friends. And I remember Dr. Olford sharing a story with me about a preacher who once expressed an interest in learning more about the spirit-filled life and he wanted to know if Dr. Olford would take the time to teach it to him.

Stephen Olford had offered to meet with this preacher but the man never followed through. And a day came when this man came and preached at the church where Stephen Olford and I were members. And he had the audience rolling in the aisles with laughter.

And when he was through preaching, the congregation gave him a round of applause. And I remember, friends, the man and his message that day and how popular he had become within his denomination. Then Dr. Olford dropped a bombshell on me with the following statement.

He said, I wrote that man a letter after he preached at our church and I reminded him in the letter that he had once asked me to teach him about the spirit-filled life but he never followed through on it.

And then I said, I see that you have become quite in demand and popular but let me ask you, my brother, where is the power? Where is the power? I will always remember that story, friends, because when Stephen Olford preached, he preached with authority and power.

Preaching for Transformation Rather Than Entertainment

Power from an anointing of the Holy Spirit. You see, friends, preaching is meant to be transforming, not entertaining. I'm afraid we have more Jay Leno's in our pulpits today who want to make you laugh and entertain you.

But when Stephen Olford preached, it was to transform the life for God and eternity. I want to share with you, friends, the dynamic of the spirit-filled life and I believe I can break it down into the following headings which best describe this anointing.

The Four Dynamics of the Spirit-Filled Life

Number one, brokenness. Number two, yieldedness. Number three, holiness. Number four, usefulness. Every born-again believer should be interested in these vital truths which mark a man of God. I believe we're so far gone into apostasy within our big denominations that only a Holy Ghost revival will save us from ourselves.

What we call church today, friends, is an aberration and perversion of the New Testament standard. This message is for the hungry believer who wants more power with God and influence with man. This message is for the weary missionary on the foreign field who desires a deeper walk with Christ and attending authority from on high in their witness of the Christ who came down here so we can go up there.

This message is for the beat-up pastor who's thinking about throwing in the towel because man has disappointed you. Don't do it, friend. This message is for the weary brother evangelist out there who's more concerned about perishing souls and saving them more than they are and counting nickels and noses and bragging on how many came forward in a meeting.

And this message is for the discouraged believer who can't seem to gain the life of victory in Christ and all you know is discouragement and defeat. Don't give up, friend. I pray, friends, that the Holy Spirit of Almighty God will attend this message and transform a life through it for Jesus Christ is the transformer.

He can change your life, friend, if you're serious about that change. I know this to be true for my own walk with him. God gets serious with those who get serious with him. But what costs counts and what counts costs.

Brokenness and the Cost of Spiritual Power

Let's now examine these four heads. Number one, brokenness. Oh, friends, it is the broken alabaster box that releases the sweet fragrance. How we fight against brokenness in Christ and suffering for the sake of the gospel.

Look at Jesus' broken body on the cross as a sacrifice for sin. Isaiah 57, 15 declares, for thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Brokenness. It's necessary if you want power with God, your will must be broken. I remember Alan Redpath, pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, saying, before God will use a man, he must first smash him.

Are you willing to be smashed, friend? Are you willing to have your preconceived dreams about your future smashed for his glory and the spread of the gospel? Your goal may be to have a big church, brother pastor, and success in ministry.

God's best for you may be obscurity and a small church. Brokenness. If you want to study in brokenness, friend, then spend some time in Isaiah chapter 53. The next dynamic to the spirit-filled life is yieldedness.

Yieldedness and Full Surrender to Christ

Oh, friends, how we fight against God on this one. How many years of my own life have been wasted because of my refusal to yield. He is Lord. He is Lord. If you want a deeper walk with him, friends, then you must surrender all.

I remember well my personal jabbock where I wrestled with God. He said, if I am to use you like few other men, then you will have to live like few men do. This was the final battleground between self and the cross.

It was either future usefulness for God or a life of uselessness for me. A self had to be willingly annihilated daily on the cross, and there had to be a full surrender to his Lordship in consecration from that point forward until he came or called.

There was no turning back. Yieldedness. Are you willing to die for Christ, friend, if it came down to it? Persecution is on the way to this country. You may be given an opportunity to find out just how yielded you really are.

Holiness and Separation from Sin

Number three, holiness. My Bible declares, a holiness without no one will see the Lord. A life of holiness. Is it something you pursue? Are you jealous for God and his glory? Are you willing to look like an eyeball in the eyes of the world?

I got rid of my television years ago because God told me to, and that one thing has made me the biggest eyeball among my church friends who love watching sports. Golf used to be a big deal in my life.

I used to love watching golf tournaments on TV. I can't tell you who won the Masters in the last five years. I don't care. The same with football. The same with basketball and baseball. I don't care who wins.

It doesn't matter in eternity. What takes up your time, friend, will reflect in your walk with a holy God. Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Holiness. God is holy. I will share this with you, friends.

There was a standard temptation that Satan always used on me. He knows our weak points because he is an authority on sin. I had what I consider a final breakthrough in a specific area of my life where Satan always tempted me sore.

The last time he came to me with this temptation, I said out loud, I would rather go to hell than sin against you, Lord. That devil left me immediately and completely. You see, friends, Satan has limited power.

He has no power to send you to hell. Only a holy and just God has the power to do that. Jesus said so himself, and fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

When I told the Lord that I was more willing to be sent to hell rather than sin willingly against him, that's when the devil packed his bags and left. Holiness, how serious are you about it? And lastly, the fourth dynamic to the spirit-filled life is this, usefulness.

Usefulness in the Hands of God

I like reading Christian biography, and I have benefited greatly from it through the years. I guess that's why I became a Christian biographer, because I know the importance of reading the lives of men and women whom God has been pleased to make useful in his hands, and they all have these common denominators of the spirit-filled life.

Brokenness, yieldedness, holiness, and usefulness. How bad do you want it, friend? How bad do you want power with God and influence with man? Let us pray.