The Spirit
Fully Devoted: A Study in Acts • Sermon • Submitted
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· 4 viewsBelievers have the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit and we must choose to receive or reject Him.
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Introduction
Introduction
Did you ever have “that guy” on your team that made your team so much better than it it had been?
Nathaniel Zook
We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone…. [We] have imitated the world, sought popular favor, manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord and produced a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost.
-A. W. Tozer-
Acts 2:1-3
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
2 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
We don’t know where they met - some say in house (probably not THE upper room) - some say Temple courts.
We do know WHEN it happened:
Pentecost
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .
Middle of three annual Jewish feasts and typically known as Feast of Harvest or the Feast of Weeks
took place 7 weeks / 50 days after Passover, which was when the grain harvesting began
The Message of Acts 1. Luke’s Narrative: The Event of Pentecost (2:1–13)
(pentēkostos means ‘fiftieth’)
(pentēkostos means ‘fiftieth’) after the Passover, which was when the grain harvesting began.
Originally, it was the middle of the three annual Jewish harvest festivals, and was called either the Feast of Harvest, because it celebrated the completion of the grain harvest, or the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, because it took place seven weeks or fifty days (pentēkostos means ‘fiftieth’) after the Passover, which was when the grain harvesting began.
Deut
Deut
16 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.
Some time after the end of OT and before NT, Pentecost was observed as the anniversary of the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai which was thought to have happened fifty days after the Exodus.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .
2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
I feel like we need to pause here in the story and have a little chat about the Holy Spirit.
Often viewed as the ‘crazy uncle’ of the Trinity.
High church - the Father
Protestant church - Jesus
Charismatic church - Holy Spirit
we often play down the other Persons of the Trinity because of abuses of the characteristics of the other stream of church
Jesus I like - I can picture him - long flowing hair. . .
(show worst picture of Jesus)
What is the Holy Spirit like?
Casper the Ghost? Poltergeist?
What does the Holy Spirit do?
God the Father - I have a father so I can picture it.
Jesus the Son / Savior / Messiah
Fleshing out the implications of these two truths will
The Holy Spirit is a Person.
The Holy Spirit is a Person.
R.A. Torrey
“It is of the highest importance from the standpoint of experience that we know the Holy Spirit as a person. Thousands and tens of thousands of men and women can testify to the blessing that has come into their own lives as they have come to know the Holy Spirit, not merely as a gracious influence, but as a real person, just as real as Jesus Christ Himself, an ever-present, loving friend and mighty helper, who is not only always by their side but dwells in their heart every day and every hour, and who is ready to undertake for them in every emergency of life. “
-R. A. Torrey, The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit., p.10
He has his own thoughts and even prayers for believers:
27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
He has emotions
10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
He has his own desires and wills
11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
He does the actions of a person
- searches
- speaks
- groans
The Holy Spirit is God.
The Holy Spirit is God.
The Holy Spirit is equated with God
- Lying to Holy Spirit is lying to God
He is eternal -
He is holy -
He is all-knowing -
All-powerful -
Present everywhere -
The Work of the Holy Spirit:
convicts
bears witness to Jesus
regenerates and renews us from death to life
brings freedom
forms Christ in us
develops Christlikeness in us - the fruit of the Spirit
teaches us
prays with us and for us
calls, directs, and guides us
Known as the Comforter, Advocate, Helper
The Holy Spirit’s Presence moves the place of God to the people of God. (1-3)
The Holy Spirit’s Presence moves the place of God to the people of God. (1-3)
there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, . . . 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
All throughout the OT wind and fire were used as representations of God’s presence.
Ezekiel blowing on the dry bones
Moses and the burning bush
Pillar of fire
18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
The pillar of fire that once rested in the singular location of the Tabernacle to indicate the presence of God is now resting individually on each believer.
Where once those who followed Yahweh would travel to one place to meet with and experience the presence of God, now followers of Jesus have that presence with them continually.
The one Temple to which many came is now many temples that are sent.
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
1. God dwells in your space.
You’re not alone.
You’re not abandoned.
You don’t need to make a pilgrimage to find God, to be near to Him.
ILLUST - one of the greatest parts of marriage is that my wife is always with me. We are in each other’s space
This takes away fear and brings complete joy
2. You take God to your places.
Wherever you go, you are the church, the temple.
You are the presence of God, not this building.
But I am tired of living in a way that looks exactly like people who do not have the Holy Spirit of God living in them. I want to consistently live with an awareness of His strength. I want to be different today from what I was yesterday as the fruit of the Spirit becomes more manifest in me. I want to live so that I am truly submitted to the Spirit’s leading on a daily basis. Christ said it is better for us that the Spirit came, and I want to live like I know that is true. I don’t want to keep crawling when I have the ability to fly.
Chan, Francis. Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit (pp. 38-39). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.
Acts 2:4-11
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.
These Jews were in Jerusalem because of the Pentecost feast.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .
6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
The Holy Spirit’s Power replicates Jesus in us and authenticates the gospel through us. (4-11)
The Holy Spirit’s Power replicates Jesus in us and authenticates the gospel through us. (4-11)
This is a show of the Spirit’s POWER.
There is a reason I don’t preach in our hispanic service. I’m not sure what my text would be but the only points of my sermon would be:
“Glory to God”
“Where is the bathroom?”
Holy Spirit is not bound by location or language.
The Holy Spirit is fully devoted to spreading the gospel through the world.
There is nothing that can stop him or will stop him.
Physical boundaries cannot stop the Holy Spirit
The people listed were from East - West, North - South
The people had all travelled from all around the known world to celebrate Pentecost.
The disciple’s mission was to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and the mission began by bringing people from the ends of the earth to one place in Jerusalem to hear the gospel
ILLUST - Muslims having visions of Jesus
In 2007, Dudley Woodberry and others published a study that recounted interviews with 750 former Muslims who had converted to evangelical Christianity. Many of the reasons they gave for their conversion would be expected—the love of God, a changing view of the Bible, and an attraction to Christians who loved others. But one reason might come as a surprise: the experience of a dream they believed to be from God.
These study results aren’t isolated. Mission Frontiers magazine has reported that out of 600 Muslim converts, 25 percent experienced a dream that led to their conversion. The great missionary Lillias Trotter also reported dreams that drove Muslims to Christ.
A friend of mine tells of a Persian migrant who arrived at a refugee center at 6 a.m., visibly upset. He told his story to a Persian pastor: During the night he saw someone dressed in white raise his hand and say, “Stand up and follow me.” The Persian man said, “Who are you?” The man in white replied, “I am the Alpha and the Omega. I’m the way to heaven. No one can go to the Father, except through me.”
He began to ask the Persian pastor: “Who is he? What am I going to do? Why did he ask me to follow him? How shall I go? Tell me.”
In response, the pastor held out his Bible and asked, “Have you seen this before?”
“No,” he replied.
“Do you know what it is?”
“No.”
The pastor then opened to the Book of Revelation: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” The man started crying and said, “How can I accept him? How can I follow him?” So the pastor led him in prayer and peace came over him. The pastor then gave the man a Bible and told him to hide it, since the Muslims in the camps could cause him trouble.
But the man replied, “The Jesus that I met today, he’s more powerful than the Muslims in the camp.” He left and an hour later returned with 10 more Persians and told the pastor, “These people want a Bible.”
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/muslims-dream-jesus/
Language barriers cannot stop the Holy Spirit
God has brought these people from all over the world together but they can’t all speak to each other.
They didn’t have Google translate
The Holy Spirit did something amazing: He supernaturally enables the disciples to speak foreign languages. I would love this!
There is a reason I don’t preach in our hispanic service. I’m not sure what my text would be but the only points of my sermon would be:
“Glory to God”
“Where is the bathroom?”
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
This brings up the issue of the gift of tongues.
There are two types of tongues: known language and unknown (heavenly) language
- each heard in their own language
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
The two types of tongues have two different purposes.
known language - public evangelism
unknown language - private worship (not authenticate)
,
2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. . . . 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .
Problem comes in when the private becomes public
Some things private should not be done in public (nose-picking)
This is why Paul in - tells the Corinthian church that if people are going to speak in tongues in during public worship it must be done orderly and with an interpretation otherwise it is unfruitful.
That which is meant to be fruitful for one person in worship becomes a stumbling block for many in worship.
The two types of tongues are still valid for today.
Cessationists / Continuationists
English Standard Version Chapter 13
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
Some say “perfect” here refers to the closing of the Canon - the finishing of the Bible.
The context is when Jesus returns
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face” - then - When Bible is complete?
Evangelism will end in heaven, Prophecy will end in heaven
Love will never end (13)
“But there has been so much abuse!”
the abuse of something does not mean you get rid of it. (i.e., teaching)
And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
ILLUST - videos of people with extraordinary talents dressed up as ordinary people in order to amaze onlookers.
The Holy Spirit empowers believers to do the work of the ministry.
ILLUST - videos of people with extraordinary talents dressed up as ordinary people in order to amaze onlookers.
not degrees, not natural abilities, not good looks, not money, resources, fame.
If you have the Holy Spirit (and if you have trusted in Jesus then you do) then you have EVERYTHING you need to do the ministry.
When you come to
I want to live my life in such a way that the only logical explanation is that the All-powerful, Eternal God of the universe that made everyone and everything has placed His Spirit in me and is working through me.
Years ago our pastor told about a southern plantation owner who left a $50,000 inheritance (perhaps equivalent to half a million dollars today) to a former slave who'd served him faithfully all his life. The estate's lawyer duly notified the old man and told him the money was deposited at a local bank. Weeks went by, and the former slave never called for any of his inheritance. Finally, the banker called him in and told him again he had $50,000 available to draw on at any time. "Sir," the old man replied, "do you think I can have fifty cents to buy a sack of cornmeal?" That story illustrates the plight of many Christians today. Paul wrote of preaching "the unsearchable riches of Christ" () -referring not to financial wealth but to the glorious truths of the gospel. It's as if each of us has $50,000 available in the gospel, yet most of us are hoping we can squeeze out fifty cents' worth. We don't understand the riches of the gospel any more than the former slave understood his inheritance.
Gerald Bridges;Jerry Bridges. Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journey Devotional (p. 7). Kindle Edition.
We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
not indwelling - we receive the Spirit’s presence once and for all when we trust in Jesus, but the filling of the Holy Spirit happens again and again so that we can become more like Jesus and to be supernaturally gifted and empowered for Kingdom work.
we can be filled again and again supernaturally by the Holy Spirit for work and worship.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders,
31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him
52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
It is time for us to stop expecting the church to feed us and start asking the Holy Spirit to fill us so we can BE the church.
we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
The gifts of the Spirit always point to Jesus.
Years ago our pastor told about a southern plantation owner who left a $50,000 inheritance (perhaps equivalent to half a million dollars today) to a former slave who'd served him faithfully all his life. The estate's lawyer duly notified the old man and told him the money was deposited at a local bank. Weeks went by, and the former slave never called for any of his inheritance. Finally, the banker called him in and told him again he had $50,000 available to draw on at any time. "Sir," the old man replied, "do you think I can have fifty cents to buy a sack of cornmeal?" That story illustrates the plight of many Christians today. Paul wrote of preaching "the unsearchable riches of Christ" () -referring not to financial wealth but to the glorious truths of the gospel. It's as if each of us has $50,000 available in the gospel, yet most of us are hoping we can squeeze out fifty cents' worth. We don't understand the riches of the gospel any more than the former slave understood his inheritance.
Gerald Bridges;Jerry Bridges. Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journey Devotional (p. 7). Kindle Edition.
What if Peter had been silent about what the Spirit was doing?
Acts 2:12-13
12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .
Our response to the Holy Spirit is to either receive or reject Him. (12-13)
Our response to the Holy Spirit is to either receive or reject Him. (12-13)
All were amazed / All were perplexed. Some mocked.
These either couldn’t or wouldn’t believe that God could act in this way.
If you witnessed phenomenal move of the Holy Spirit similar to what the disciples experienced at Pentecost, would you end up cheering or jeering?
The distance between rejecting the Spirit and receiving the Spirit is obedience. Obedience to the Holy Spirit allows for the work of the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Shanna’s story of healing.
ILLUST - Receive or Reject the power
When a hurricane hit South Florida, Norena's home was one of many that was severely damaged. The elderly woman received an insurance settlement, and the repair work began. However, when the money ran out, so did the contractor, leaving an unfinished home with no electricity. Norena has been living without power ever since.
The astounding part of this story is that the hurricane was not Katrina, but Andrew. Hurricane Andrew struck in 1992. Norena has been living in that dark, unfinished house for 15 years. No heat when the winter chill settled over South Florida. No air conditioning when the mercury climbed into the 90's and the humidity clung to 100 percent. Not one hot shower.
Without money to finish the repairs, Norena just got by with a small lamp and a single burner. Her neighbors didn't seem to notice the absence of power. Acting on a tip, the mayor of Miami-Dade got involved. It only took a few hours of work by electrical contractor Kent Crook to return power to the house.
CBS News says Norena plans to let the water get really hot, and then take her first bubble bath in a decade and a half. "It's hard to describe having [the electricity]…to switch on," she said. "It's overwhelming."
One of your neighbors may be living without the power of the Spirit right now.
How do you need to respond to the Spirit?
Gerald Bridges;Jerry Bridges. Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journey Devotional (p. 7). Kindle Edition.
The pathway from believing the Spirit can fill us to receiving the Spirit’s filling is Obedience.
I think this illustrates the state many Christians live in today. Still thinking like an orphan, like a slave, with no grasp at all on what is available to us. The goodness; the fellowship; the power. It’s all there; and ours for the taking. “It’s as if we each have $50K available in the gospel; yet most of us are hoping we can squeeze out only $0.50 worth!1
Gerald Bridges;Jerry Bridges. Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journey Devotional (p. 7). Kindle Edition.
But I am tired of living in a way that looks exactly like people who do not have the Holy Spirit of God living in them. I want to consistently live with an awareness of His strength. I want to be different today from what I was yesterday as the fruit of the Spirit becomes more manifest in me. I want to live so that I am truly submitted to the Spirit’s leading on a daily basis. Christ said it is better for us that the Spirit came, and I want to live like I know that is true. I don’t want to keep crawling when I have the ability to fly.
Chan, Francis. Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit (pp. 38-39). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.
{{PLACE THIS BEFORE QUOTE??}}
How do you need to respond to the Spirit?
Don’t respond in secret.
The disciples didn’t.
Some here today:
Need to receive the Spirit for the first time by trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Some need to receive the Holy Spirit for the first time today by trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Some of us know we’ve been rejecting the Spirit’s work in our lives with unconfessed sin.
Come forward and tell us how the Spirit is moving.
Obedience to the Holy Spirit allows for the work of the Holy Spirit.