Do you ever feel like a plastic bag (Awesome Words)

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind
Wanting to start again

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards
One blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep
Six feet under screaming
But no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you
Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine 

(May GOD bless this song writer for these words)

Yeah sometimes there is no hope. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt like you are just been blown through the wind like plastic bag, drifting here and there where ever the wind seems to take you that where you are going.

Have you ever felt like wanting to start again and again so maybe you can start it right for a change?

Do you feel like you are so paper thin that you just get torn apart all the time.

Are you just like that house of cards just waiting to crash in and fall over like its just getting to you.

Do you ever feel like you buried so deep in all that paper work that you just cant cope with the pressure just pushing you under so you just want to burry your self?

Does it seem like no one ever hears your pain, no one hears a thing.

Well here comes the answer its in the words of the song there is a chance for you and for me, why cause there a spark in you and me which just has to be ignited so it can shine.

Are you getting the message God spark in you all you need to do is ignite the light and let it burn….

So maybe this seems like old news.

Something you already know yes we know we need Jesus pastor that why we come here every Sunday.

Well do you

Have you seen the answer its in the book His words to us.

Yeah pastor we know all of that tell us something new today after all that why we are here to here a new message.

Sorry but maybe you have heard this one before.

How to Experience a Fresh Touch from God

Ephesians 4:30; I Thessalonians 5:19; Galatians 5:16

       As you are turning to Ephesians 4v30 I want to ask you a question: do you need a fresh touch from God on your life today?  I'm talking about a touch from God that will refresh your walk and renew your worship and revitalize your witness! 

       How we need a fresh touch from God!  We need to be like Jacob when he wrestled with God and said to God, "I will not let you go until you bless me."  Or Moses .. who cried out to God, "Please show me Your glory."

       Jacob and Moses ... like many of us ... were in need of a fresh touch from God.  They needed the joy back into their life.  They needed the peace back into his life.  They longed for the wind of God to move across their life!  And I dare say that across this building are some men and women and boys and girls that need the wind of God to move across their life today!

We need a fresh touch from God and the good news is that we can experience it!  We can experience the wind of God blowing across our life!  In fact .. God longs to give us a fresh touch! 

We say, "If God wants to give me a fresh touch .. what's the hold up?"  It's not "what's the hold up" .. it is "who is the hold up."  And all we have to do to discover who the hold up is .. is to look in a mirror.  That's what we find beginning in Ephesians 4 as we learn. How To Experience A Fresh Touch from God.

So take God's Word and join me in the New Testament book of Ephesians 4. I want to show you how you can experience a fresh touch from God.  A touch that will refresh your walk with God!  A touch that will renew your worship of God!  A touch that will revitalize your witness of God!

       Here's how to experience a fresh touch from God:

(1)        GRIEVE NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Ephesians 4.30, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." 

Now learn this about receiving Jesus Christ: when you turn from a lifestyle of sin and receive Jesus into your life .. the Holy Spirit enters you!  He takes up residence in your life.

The Holy Spirit is God within us!  And the Bible says that it's possible for us to grieve Him! 

What does that mean to grieve the Holy Spirit?  Well .. the Greek word translated grieve means "sorrow, to cause to grieve, to make sorrowful."  It's no wonder so many Christians look so gloomy .. act so gloomy .. and have such little joy!  They have grieved the very one who produces the joy!

What do you mean?"  Well .. do you remember that passage of scripture that talks about the fruit of the Spirit?  Galatians 5.22-23!   It's the Holy Spirit that produces love, joy, peace ...  when He's not being grieved!  The Holy Spirit produces long-suffering, kindness, and goodness .. when He's not being grieved!  The Holy Spirit produces faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control .. when He's not being grieved!

Now you ask, "How do I grieve the Holy Spirit?"  By having known sin in your life!  That's how you grieve Him!  By having sin in your life and you know it's there and you're saying, "Lord, you can have my life .. You can have this area .. You can have that area .. but this area over here is mine."

When we do that .. we grieve the Holy Spirit!  And then wonder why there's no joy .. no peace .. no hunger for the Word of God .. no purity .. no burden for souls.  How can there be when we're grieving the very One who produces those things in your life?  No wonder we act like we do!  No wonder we look like we do! 

It's like that man who was going squirrel hunting who hunted without a gun.  One day his friend asked him, "how are you going to kill squirrels without a gun?"  He said, "Just come with me and I'll show you."  So off they went into the woods.

They hadn't gone very far until suddenly a squirrel ran up a tree and rather than shooting a gun .. the hunter made an ugly face at the squirrel and the squirrel dropped dead.  His friend said, "That's amazing.  I've never seen anybody do that before.  Is that a family trait?"  The hunter said, "Yes, my mother-in-law can do it too.  But we don't let her hunt anymore with us because she tears up the meat too bad."  I believe I've seen that face before.  No joy!  No kindness!  No gentleness!  You can experience a fresh touch from God today!  You really can and here's how it happens:

(2) QUENCH NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Now turn please to 1 Thessalonians 5.19, "Do not quench the Spirit."  Not only can you grieve Him ... you can quench Him.

Now what does that mean?  To quench the Holy Spirit?  Well .. the word translated "quench” means "to put out a fire, to extinguish a fire." Present Tense: "do not quench and keep on quenching the Holy Spirit."

You will never experience a fresh touch from God as long as you are grieving the Holy Spirit by having unconfessed sin in your life!  And if you are quenching the Holy Spirit: by suppressing .. stifling .. extinguishing the Holy Spirit!

Now you say, "So how does that happen?  How do I quench the Holy Spirit in my life?"  Here's how: by saying "no" when God says "yes."  When you say "later" when God says "now." 

Several times in the scriptures the Holy Spirit is compared to a flame of fire!  And now Paul tells us that when we say "no" when God says "yes" .. when we say "later" when God says "now" ... that we suppress .. we stifle .. we extinguish the flaming fire of the Holy Spirit in our life!

You say, "How does it happen?"  Here's how:  when the Holy Spirit tugs at your heart and says, "Give your heart to Jesus" and you say "no" or you say "when I get out of my teenage years" .. you quench the Holy Spirit!

Or when the Holy Spirit says to you, "Dedicate your life to full time Christian service" and you say, "not now .. later after I've sowed my wild oats" ... you quench the Holy Spirit!

Or when the Holy Spirit says to you, "tell that lost person about Jesus and how to be saved" .. and you say, "the time isn't right" or "if I did that I might offend them" .. you quench the Holy Spirit!

Or when the Holy Spirit says to you, "give 1/10 of your income through the local church" and you say, "Not possible .. I cannot afford it" .. you quench the Holy Spirit!

Or when the Holy Spirit says to you, "Get that immorality out of your life" and you say, "later, not until my lust is satisfied" .. you quench the Holy Spirit.

Every time you say "no" when God says "yes."  When you say "later" when God says "now"...  you quench ..you  stifle .. you extinguish the Spirit of God in your life!  You pour cold water on the fire of God!  Have you quenched the Holy Spirit?  Are you saying "no" to His "yes?"  Are you saying "later" to His "now?"  Is your life marked by obedience?  Disobedience grieves Him and quenches His work in your life.

If you want to experience a fresh touch from God in your life:

(3) WALK IN THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Galatians 5.16, "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."  Do you see the word "walk?"  to walk around.  It refers to how you conduct your life .. your lifestyle .. our choices.  Paul uses one of those Present Tense verbs which reads literally "walk and keep on walking in the Spirit."  You see .. you're either walking the spirit or walking in the flesh! 

Well .. in verse 19-21 .. Paul describes those walking in the flesh: 

Gal 5:19 What human nature does is quite plain. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions;

Gal 5:20  in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they become jealous, angry, and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups;

Gal 5:21  they are envious, get drunk, have orgies, and do other things like these. I warn you now as I have before: those who do these things will not possess the Kingdom of God.

 ... And then he describes those who are walking in the Spirit in Galatians 5.22-23, "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against such there is no law."

A fresh touch from God is just moments away!

 (4) Be Filled with the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5.18, "be filled with the Spirit.  Are you filled with the Holy Spirit?  You say, "What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?"  Circle the word "filled" to fill .. the idea of the word is "to control" .. it is giving God permission to control .. to dominate your life.)

 Well .. do you see the expression: "but be filled with the Spirit?"  First .. it is a Present Tense verb: it could be translated, "be filled and keep on being filled."  It speaks of a repeated event.  Second .. it is in the Imperative: in other words .. this is a command for every Christian.  If you're not a spirit filled Christian .. then you're living in rebellion to the Word of God.  Third .. it's in the Passive Voice: in other words .. being Spirit filled is something God does in our life as we live the surrendered life.

Years ago I heard about a couple of men out soul winning.  They came upon a car on the side of the road and decided to stop to help.  Well .. this very old woman was sitting in her car upset and so the two soul winners asked her what the problem was.  She said, "I don't know .. it just won't start."

Well .. they checked it over and realized the problem .. she was out of gas.  So .. one of the men said, "Mam, we discovered what the problem is .. you're out of gas."  She said, "Well .. will it hurt to drive it home in that condition?"

      

I'm afraid that a lot of us are just out of gas.  There's no spiritual fueling .. no spiritual filling.  No wonder there is no joy .. no excitement for the things of God .. no passion for souls.  We need a fresh touch from God!  Here's what makes that touch possible:

(1) GRIEVE NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Do you have any known sin you refuse to confess and repent of?

(2) QUENCH NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Are you saying "no" when God's saying "yes?"  Are you saying "later" when God's saying "now?"

(3) WALK IN THE SPIRIT.

       Is the Holy Spirit guiding your choices?

 (4) BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT.

       "Lord, control my thoughts .. my eyes .. my hands .. my mind ..my tongue "      We need to be like Jacob who cried out to God, "I will not let You go until You bless me."

       Before you can experience a Fresh touch from God .. you've got to experience the First touch of God!

You don't have to feel like a waste of space

You're original, cannot be replaced

If you only knew what the future holds

After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed

So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road

So why don’t you open that closed door

and allow your self to be lead by

CHRIST down the road of life to

His PERFECT PLACE HEAVEN. Amen