Don't Stand Stiff Like a Royal Guard: Spirit-Filled Meetings

Sermon outline

Every believer is a vital member of the body of Christ, and a Spirit-filled meeting depends on each one turning up, walking in love and boldly taking part through Spirit-led preaching, praying in tongues, singing in the Spirit and prayer.

1. You are a vital member of the body: don't forsake the assembling

   A born-again believer does not stay home because of cold, wind, rain or offence, but is found in the house of the Lord, at prayer meetings, scripture reading and leaders' meetings. God speaks through the preacher, the teacher and the Holy Spirit, and the preached Word washes your mind and spirit. If you are struggling to come into God's presence, something is wrong: deal with it, ask forgiveness and come back, because there is no condemnation.

   Illustration: A finger or an arm deciding to stay in bed while the rest of the body goes to work. He also points to Adam and Eve hiding from God after they disobeyed, and says leaving church on a Sunday is like having a spiritual bath.

   “When you leave the church on a Sunday morning, you had a spiritual bath.”

   • Hebrews 10:25
   • 1 Corinthians 14:26
   • Ephesians 5:26
   • 1 Thessalonians 4:18
   • Hebrews 3:13
   • Genesis 3:8-11

2. Love one another fervently

   Believers are to love one another with a pure heart, even when others are unkind. Offended people hide from each other, but he urges the church to go after the person, greet them warmly and be kind, which heaps coals of fire on their head.

   Illustration: A Christian driver sped off when he saw him and even ran a red robot, so he chased him until he was alongside, hooted and waved until the man had to greet him back. He jokes that the person you avoid on earth may be your permanent neighbour in heaven, with the Pickfords removal truck arriving next door.

   “People are ugly to you. Don't be ugly back to them. Just be nice to them.”

   • 1 Peter 1:22
   • Romans 12:20

3. 1. Preaching under the inspiration and influence of the Holy Ghost

   Whether at a cell meeting, at work or in church, the preacher does not lean on human wisdom or experience but on the Holy Ghost, who may redirect the message at any moment. The gospel comes in power, not in word only, and it changes lives in a moment: people are saved, filled with the Spirit and set free from depression and oppression. Christians still face affliction, but the Holy Ghost within helps them overcome.

   “Our gospel did not come with just man's wisdom. It came with power.”

   • 1 Thessalonians 1:5
   • 1 Thessalonians 1:6
   • 1 Peter 1:12

4. 2. Praying in the Holy Ghost

   In a Spirit-filled meeting you must not be shy to pray in tongues: you speak mysteries to God and He gives answers in your spirit. Praying in the Holy Ghost charges up your spiritual battery and saturates you with the anointing, so do it at prayer meetings, at home and without waiting to be encouraged. He stops the church mid-prayer to get them to put body, mind, soul and spirit into it, and then shares how he prays before every service.

   Illustration: He tells the church not to stand stiff like a royal guard, pointing to how people in Pastor Chris's church in Nigeria march as they pray. He then describes his own routine before a service: praying in tongues while walking around, declaring his hands, feet and words anointed, adding prophetic actions for the church's increase, pointing at his mountains until he sees them as ashes, and thanking God for the bills that will be paid.

   “So don't stand stiff, you know, like a royal guard.”

   • 1 Corinthians 14:2
   • 1 John 4:4
   • Psalm 42:1

5. Singing with the Spirit and giving thanks

   As well as praying with the Spirit and the understanding, believers sing with the Spirit and with the understanding, even making up their own songs in the Holy Ghost. Praise is normal for a Spirit-filled Christian, and when a challenge hits you and you don't know what to do, give thanks, because all things are working together for your good. Endure hardness as a good soldier and your promotion will come.

   Illustration: Joseph was thrown in the pit and later into prison after being wrongly accused, but he kept his spirit right and it promoted him. A baby must be carried and fed, but a mature believer sleeps like a king, gets up like a warrior and roars like a lion.

   “He sleeps like a king. He gets up like a warrior. He roars like a lion.”

   • 1 Corinthians 14:15
   • Psalm 103:1
   • Ephesians 5:19-21
   • Romans 8:28
   • Genesis 37:24
   • Genesis 39:20
   • 2 Timothy 2:3
   • Revelation 12:11

6. 4. Individual prayer

   The early church lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and when believers pray they join the angels in praise and the Lord answers them back. Come to the meeting in an attitude of prayer, join the morning prayer meeting, and pray for yourself, your family and your situations so that when the Word comes you receive your solution. Break out of timidity: be God-conscious, not self-conscious, and never apologise for being a Christian.

   Illustration: He keeps a preaching ringtone on the loudest setting, so heads turn in the bank and in restaurants. He says that when he was a drunkard he never apologised, so he will not apologise now that he is born again, and he challenges people who turn off Christian music when someone gets in the car or hide their Bible on a plane.

   “Break out of timidity.”

   • Acts 4:24
   • Revelation 19:6
   • Proverbs 28:1
   • John 10:30
   • John 8:23
   • Mark 11:23