These are notes on the sermon, Keys To A Spirit-Filled Life, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, August 13, 2023, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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God’s heart for every believer is to live a blessed, victorious, healthy, and morally upright life. And He desires for us to be satisfied with many good days!
While the general life expectancy is only 70–80 years, we can trust God to live longer and fuller days!
“How do I know that this is God’s will for me? Didn’t the children of Israel live only an average of 70 to 80 years?”
“For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; we finish our years like a sigh. The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.”
—Psalm 90:9–11 NKJV
While this psalm by Moses says that the children of Israel lived only 70 to 80 years, we see that they were living under God’s wrath and judgment. Their relatively short lives (as compared to Abraham's and Isaac's) were a result of their rebellion against God.
For us who are living under the new covenant of grace today, this is not our reality! Instead, God’s promise to us is:
“With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”
—Psalm 91:16 NKJV
This means that we can enjoy a good long life with the only criteria being our satisfaction! Being satisfied does not merely refer to living a life full of days. It is also about enjoying a good quality of life! The Hebrew word for “satisfy” is sāḇa, which means to be satisfied and fulfilled to a point of satiation. This is the kind of life that God desires for us to enjoy.
When we look at the men of faith in the Bible, we also see that many of them were blessed with good, long, and satisfying days! Abraham lived till the good old age of 175. And when he passed on, the Bible describes him as a man who was “satisfied with life” (Gen. 25:8 NASB). The same was also said of his son, Isaac (Gen. 35:29 YLT), and King David (1 Chron. 29:28 YLT). Similarly, God’s heart is for us to be satisfied with good days.
We can be satisfied with good days regardless of our age. The world might tell us that our strength will dwindle with age and that our best days are behind us. But God’s promise to us is that as our days are, so shall our strength be (Deut. 33:25). Instead of allowing ourselves to be conformed to the thinking and patterns of the world (Rom. 12:2), let’s lay hold of God’s Word and walk in the reality of this promise (see Your Best Days Are Ahead)!
We can enjoy good days filled with beautiful kairos (favorable and opportune) moments when we are filled with the Holy Spirit.
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time (‘kairos’), because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.”
—Ephesians 5:15–18 NKJV
These verses show us God’s heart for us in these end times, where the enemy is trying to snatch time from us and turn it into evil days. This is why our heavenly Father tells us to walk circumspectly, to walk accurately, and not to be unwise. Instead of letting time pass us by, we can choose to redeem the time, seize every moment, and make it count. Psalm 90:12 tells us that when we number our days, we gain a heart of wisdom. And this wisdom will help us to make our days purposeful.
In Greek, the word “time” in the phrase “redeem the time” is “kairos.” This means that instead of evil days, we, as children of God, can enjoy good days filled with beautiful kairos (favorable and opportune) moments. And for those of us who feel that we’ve lost time, take heart in knowing that you can still redeem the time and have beautiful moments!
So how do we walk wisely and redeem the time? Verse 18 tells us the key: by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, He will lead us to do the right things at the right time. He will cause us to supernaturally enjoy kairos (favorable and opportune) moments with our family and loved ones.
The anointing of the Holy Spirit is like oil. When it flows in the different areas of our lives, there will be an ease and restfulness, a smoothness. This anointing is what will cause us to experience success, whether it’s our marriages, relationships, or even parenting. For example, when we are filled with the Spirit, He will guide us on how to interact with our children, how as wives, we are to submit to our husbands as unto the Lord (Eph. 5:22), and as husbands, how to love our wives just as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25).
Especially in these dark days of turmoil and upheaval, God wants us to be filled with the Spirit because He will keep us in a state of peace that surpasses understanding (Phil. 4:7). He does not want us troubled by or fearful of the things we see happening in the world. Neither does He want us to worry about our future, finances, or even our health. Instead, when we are filled with the Spirit, we find that we overflow with the Lord’s joy, peace, and hope (Rom. 15:13).
For those of us who are in the midst of a challenge, know that this season will not be for long. Even though the days are evil in the world, for you, child of God, God’s Word promises that there will only be an evil day (Eph. 6:13). God has promised that the good days you will get to enjoy will vastly outnumber your days of trouble. So take courage! Your Good Shepherd is with you, and He will walk you through this valley.
So replenish yourself at the feet of our Lord Jesus. Let His rod and His staff comfort you (Ps. 23:4). Beloved, don’t let your troubles trap you in a mentality of fear, lack, or persecution. The Lord who holds all things together (Col. 1:17), is in control of your situation. And you can choose to rejoice today!
What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?
“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
—Ephesians 5:18–20 NKJV
“be filled with the Spirit”—In Greek, this phrase is in the present passive voice. This means that we are to allow ourselves to be in a state of being filled with the Holy Spirit constantly. And how do we do that?
“speaking”—Here, the Greek word for “speaking” is in the present active voice. This shows us that our part is to speak actively! And we are to speak “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Psalms here refer to the book of Psalms in the Bible. Hymns refer to songs about the Lord written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And spiritual songs refer to singing and praying in tongues.
Taking all these together, we can see that the key to living a Spirit-filled life is by praising the Lord! When we speak psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, we engage with the Holy Spirit within us, and He fills us with His power and anointing.
Let’s take a look at the following verses that showcase this:
“And Elisha said, ‘As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. But now bring me a musician.’ Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him. And he said, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Make this valley full of ditches.”’”
—2 Kings 3:14–16 NKJV
In this story, the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom had formed an alliance in hopes of defeating Moab together. However, when their plan seemed to be failing, they decided to approach Elisha, the prophet, for help.
Elisha did not seem pleased to see the kings, but still received a word of wisdom for them when the Spirit of God fell upon him. But take note of what the Bible said before that: “Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.” The Spirit of God fell upon Elisha when the musician worshiped God! So here we see that praise was the key to Elisha receiving the power of the Holy Spirit and being Spirit-led in advising the kings!
“For he was wiser than all men—than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five.
—1 Kings 4:29–32 NKJV
These verses highlight the different wise men King Solomon’s wisdom was said to have excelled. Here’s an interesting insight—they were all descendants of Judah, which means praise, and they were all worship leaders!
Let’s take a closer look at the meaning of their names:
Ethan—“ever-flowing”
Heman—“faithful”
Chalcol—“to provide or supply”
There is also a special nugget in the first mention of the root word for this name. “Chalcol” comes from the word kul, which means to “provide for” when it first appeared in Genesis 45:11. In context, Genesis 45:10–11 says:
“You shall dwell in the land of Goshen (drawing near), and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.”
What these verses tell us is that, for the Israelites, in the place of Goshen or “drawing near” to their earthly Joseph, there will be provision. So likewise, when we draw near to our heavenly Joseph, our Lord Jesus, we will experience His provision!
Darda—“pearl of wisdom”
Put together, the names of these men mean that when we let praise flow continually from our lips, and we do this faithfully, we will experience God’s provision and wisdom in our lives! The more we praise and worship our Lord Jesus, the more we get to experience His blessings for us and see good days. So let’s start praising and singing to the Lord!
“Satisfy us early with your mercy that we may rejoice and be glad all our days”
—Psalm 90:14 NKJV
When we start our days by enjoying the Lord’s goodness, we get to experience a joy that fills our entire day, independent of the circumstances we might be faced with. For example, if there are areas in our lives where we are more prone to being irritable or short-tempered, when we choose to praise and flow with the Spirit, we often find ourselves in a better disposition. And where we would have lost our cool easily, we may find that we are more calm and composed.
“Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you.”
—Isaiah 60:1–5 NKJV
“Therefore your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day or night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles, and their kings in procession. . . . But you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.”
—Isaiah 60:11,18 NKJV
Again, through these verses, we see God’s heart for us in the end times. Even though the world is getting darker, the Church will shine brighter and brighter—so much that the people around us will see God’s glory upon us! When we continually praise and worship our Lord Jesus, especially in these last days, we shift things in the spiritual realm. Not only do we get to experience His blessings and provisions, but also many people, even those of influence in the world, will be drawn to us and desire to know our Lord Jesus for themselves!
So beloved, if you desire to enjoy days of heaven on earth, start singing and worshiping the Lord! The more you worship and praise our Lord Jesus, the more you will see good days!
Time can fly . . . or it can crawl.
It crawls when things are hard, progress is slow, and the light at the end of the tunnel feels out of reach. And yet time flies by in the blink of an eye on the good days, doesn’t it? On the days when things are looking up, when you’re enjoying the rewards you worked hard for, or when you’re finally on that long-awaited holiday with your loved ones . . .
Before it’s “back to reality.”
Beloved, what if the reverse can be true for you? That instead of life being filled with difficult days only interspersed with brief moments of reprieve, life can be filled with deeply satisfying days, and the challenging seasons can be overcome quickly?
That’s God’s heart and will for you.
Just look at the men of faith who walked with God in the Bible and see how they were blessed with many satisfying days. When Abraham finally passed on at a good old age, he was “satisfied with life” (Gen. 25:8 NASB). The same is said of his son, Isaac (Gen. 35:29 YLT), and also of King David (1 Chron. 29:28 YLT). It is even said of Job, whom most of us know to have gone through extremely hard times. Yet his difficult days were vastly outnumbered by the good days God blessed him with afterward (Job 42:12, 17 YLT).
So beloved, even if you’ve had to face many troubles in life . . .
Even if you’re in a challenging season right now . . .
Even if many years have passed and you don’t know how to get the time back . . .
God’s Word invites you to hope for many good days in your future.
We hope these sermon notes blessed you! If they did, we encourage you to get the sermon and allow the Lord to speak to you personally as you watch or listen to it.
© Copyright JosephPrince.com 2023
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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