The Empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
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One of our core doctrines is - We are more sinful than we can ever know. And at the same time, we are more loved than we could ever imagine.
Look at what Paul says in Romans
Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. As the Scriptures say,
“No one is righteous—
not even one.
No one is truly wise;
no one is seeking God.
All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.”
“Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
Their tongues are filled with lies.”
“Snake venom drips from their lips.”
“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
“They rush to commit murder.
Destruction and misery always follow them.
They don’t know where to find peace.”
“They have no fear of God at all.”
Romans 3:9-18
Yet at the same time we are so loved, that Jesus came took our place, paid the penalty for our sins, and then He rose from the dead and He poured the Holy Spirit out on us and in us.
Last week, we discussed how the star breathing, resurrecting, life giving, water walking, sick healing, awesome God dwells in us through His Holy Spirit, that was poured out by Jesus.
Now if that does not cause you to worship- I do not know what will.
Maybe, this quote from
Watchman Nee
Watchman Nee
will help you understand how awe inspiring this truth is.
“I could shout with joy as I think, “The Spirit who dwells within me is no mere influence, but a living Person; He is very God, the infinite God is within my heart!...I would fain repeat it to you a hundred times- the Spirit of God within me is a Person! I am only an earthen vessel, but in that earthen vessel, I carry a treasure of unspeakable worth, even the Lord of glory.”
This is the glory of the Promise of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Through the Holy Spirit
You are given new life
Then, Life Himself moves into you and gives you the will and power to live a life that pleases God.
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Now check this out -
That is only half of the promise. Yes! As awesome as that is, there is even more.
That is only half of the promise. Yes! As awesome as that is, there is even more.
Not only does He give us knew life, and not only does he empower us to live a life that pleases him but he also…………
Empowers us to supernaturally take the life-giving message of Jesus effectively to others. The same Spirit that abides in us, empowers us!
As the Lyric says –
As the Lyric says –
“The King who lives in my heart is, the wind in my sails…!!!!!!”
In other words, the same Holy Ghost who indwells you desires to come upon you and empower you.
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Today we are discussing
The Promise of the EMPOWERMENT of the HOLY SPIRIT!
The Promise of the EMPOWERMENT of the HOLY SPIRIT!
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Let’s look at our Promise text
Joel 28
“Then, after doing all those things,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on servants—men and women alike.
Remember:
Remember:
The Holy Spirit did not live in people.
God’s presence was only abiding in the Tabernacle or Temple on this earth.
And when the Holy Spirit would come upon people it was a brief encounter to accomplish a task.
Not only that but, it was a very small number of people the Holy Spirit would come up to empower.
But look at our text.
But look at our text.
Who is the promise for? ALL
Say it with me – ALL.
Say it with me – ALL.
And what would they do, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on them?
Sons and daughter – Prophecy.
Old men- Will be spoken to by God through dreams.
Even the lowest of the class, servants will be empowered.
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Go with me to the book of Acts
Go with me to the book of Acts
Let me set this up real quick.
Jesus was hung on a cross until he died.
He then was buried
Then the power of the Holy Spirit brought life back to Jesus and He rose from the dead, defeating death and grave.
He then,walked and lived with the disciples for 40 days, teaching them, loving them, preparing them.
Finally, we get to our verse. Jesus is about to leave them, and go to set at the right-hand side of the Father.
And we read.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
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Jesus was hung on a cross until he died.
This sounds so much like the promise Jesus made to Philip in .....
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.
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The Promise, is not only that God will dwell in His people like never before through His Holy Spirit but, that this same Holy Spirit will empower His people.
Now that is an awesome promise.
So lets see the fulfillment
On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.
They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.
Remember our text in Joel? Check out what Peter says when he explains what is happening to Him and all those the Spirit fell on.
Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel:
‘In the last days,’ God says,
‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on my servants—men and women alike—
and they will prophesy.
And I will cause wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below—
blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
The sun will become dark,
and the moon will turn blood red
before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.
But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.’
Peter is saying: That what these people were hearing and seeing was in fact the promise of the Holy Spirit prophesied so long ago by Joel.
And now look what Peter says;
“So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”
Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.”
The Promise is for EVERYONE who is called by the Lord!
The Promise is for EVERYONE who is called by the Lord!
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He then was buried
So, we have this two-sided prophecy and the fulfillment of it.
So, we have this two-sided prophecy and the fulfillment of it.
Then the power of the Holy Spirit brought life back to Jesus and He rose from the dead, defeating death and grave.
1. God will dwell in His people through the Holy Spirit.
2. God will empower His people through this very same Spirit.
He then, hung with the disciples for 40 days, teaching them, loving them, preparing them.
Like the Lyrics say
Finally, we get to our verse. Jesus is about to leave them, and go to set at the right-hand side of the Father.
“The King who lives in my heart, is the wind in my sails.”
God not only desires to dwell in you.
And we read.
He not only wants you to be the temple which carries the very glory and presence of the star breathing God.
He wants to empower your lives!!!
He wants to supernaturally empower you!!!
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So, what is this empowerment for?
So, what is this empowerment for?
I want to give you three reasons God wants to empower you by the Holy Spirit.
I want to give you three reasons God wants to empower you by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit wants to empower your witness of Jesus!
The Holy Spirit wants to empower your witness of Jesus!
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
(both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”
and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”
Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
God desires to expand His Kingdom in the hearts of men and women who are captured by sin and death.
He does this through the Word of God, through your testimony, through your witness.
But our words are weak, and fragile.
His words are powerful and affective. They will accomplish their purpose.
So, God empowers you by having the Holy Spirit speak through your words.
But He wants to do more than just empower your words!
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The Holy Spirit wants to Manifest Himself through you in Supernatural ways that can be a sign to the reality and the power of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit wants to Manifest Himself through you in Supernatural ways that can be a sign to the reality and the power of Jesus.
God wants to empower you to heal the sick through His Spirit.
He wants to empower you to reveal the secrets of their hearts by the power of the Spirit.
So, that through this power they may become convicted, and convinced of God’s presence and turn to Him for life.
When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.
Even so, if unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy. But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”
So you see that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for the benefit of believers, not unbelievers. Even so, if unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy. But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”
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Finally -
Lastly
The Holy Spirit wants to empower you to build one another up.
The Holy Spirit wants to empower you to build one another up.
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
I believe here gifts is better translated manifestations.
These are not yours, but rather the Spirit who lives in you will manifest in these ways.
But why? Look at verse 7. So we can help each other.
So, we can build one another up
Encourage one another through these incredible manifestations.
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Imagine your sick, and your feeling depressed. You come to Life group and Karen, sees you. She hugs you and the Spirit begins to speak through Karen. God begins to tell you through Karen how much he loves you, how important you are to him and how, He has got your problems under control.
Imagine your sick, and your feeling depressed. You come to Life group and Karen, sees you. She hugs you and the Spirit begins to speak through Karen. God begins to tell you through Karen how much he loves you, how important you are to him and how, He has got your problems under control.
And then, Arlen, senses that God desires to heal you. So, he takes your hands and begins to pray that God would bring healing into your body. And by the time Life group is over, your no longer sick and your depression has lifted.
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God desires to empower you all! Young and old, male and female.
He desires to empower your witness!
He desires to manifest through you in supernatural signs that point to the reality and power of Jesus.
And
He desires to manifest through you to build one another up.