Go and Show them the Spirit
Notes
Transcript
So far we have discussed Jesus, the Cross, the Father, and the Word. This week we are to one of my favorites and it is the Spirit. The idea of using the spirit for evangelism is one that I do not see near enough study on. We study on how to talk, how to look, how to present things to people. We do not however study enough on the Spirit of God. I will be honest this comes as a part of Baptist culture and it is not because we do not believe in the Spirit or see the Spirit's importance. It is generally because when the Spirit is talked about we often go back to our own prejudices about the spirit and some folks who misuse the spirit. Last year we did a 9 week study on the Fruits of the Spirit and we discussed how the Spirit changes our complete being. Today we will be in a refresher class for the spirit. The greatest key that God have us after Jesus left this world was the Spirit. Jesus told His disciples that the Spirit would come and would remind them of His teachings, the Spirit would advocate for them, and would lead them in the truth. Why is it that we do not focus on this in our lives? When you look at the searches for Christianity and faith you see the top searches being things like. How do I pray better? How can I love better? How can I, how can I. All the searches start with How can I. The fact is that you cannot. In our lives we are incapable of doing on our own the things that God desires for us to do. The twelve disciples lived with Jesus and still failed at following His commands. Not one person in this room or on this planet is capable of living the way that God commands us to live, without the spirit. Today we will start in Acts 1: 7-8
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
We will not stay here though, I hope you are ready to read the scriptures and enjoy this journey in the Word today. The Spirit of God is sent to give us the power to live in our world and to be living evangelists, loving the lost at all costs for the kingdom of our Father.
Author Jamie Buckingham once visited a dam on the Columbia River. He'd always thought that the water spilling over the top provided the power, not realizing that it was just froth, that deep within turbines and generators transformed the power of tons and tons of water to electricity--quietly, without notice, not like the flashy froth on top.
So it is with us. The thing that makes us great is not all the things we do on the outside but the one who lives on the inside to make the actions outwardly possible. This morning we will see 3 aspects of what the Spirit does for us and how His indwelling of us will change us into living evangelists. First the Spirit fills you, Second the Spirit gives you power, and Third the Spirit makes you a witness. Stand with me as we read our scripture passage this morning.
The Spirit Fills You
The Spirit Fills You
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
What does it mean when the scripture says that the Holy spirit comes upon you? There are many who believe that we are continually filled with the Holy Spirit but the Scripture does not indicate this. Over and over in scripture we find that people are filled with the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit comes upon them. We are not seeing this I ask for forgiveness of my sins and now I have the Holy Spirit continuously filling me. The spirit of God is given when we repent and when we turn from our sins. Here is what the Bible says
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
There is this idea in the christian realm that when I ask for forgiveness of my sins that the Spirit of God comes and lives in me and is continuously inside me and I do not have anything to worry about moving forward. While the Spirit of God dwells inside of all those who believe in God, the Spirit does not necessarily fill you. If this were true then why are we so weak? Why is it that if the literal power of God is living in you that you do not change the world around you in powerful ways? The spirit of God fills you when you are in a state of repentance. Repentance remember is not a state of feeling bad for doing something bad. Repentance is a state of turning away from our sin and running the other way. The fact is that many Christians have become OK with living in their sins and occasionally feeling bad for it and because of this they are never filled with the Holy Spirit. I do believe that when you ask for forgiveness of your sins that the availability of the Holy Spirit is continuously with you but the Spirit fill you when your heart is in a place of Sin. We must be people who are repentant of our sins and not simply embarrassed and feel bad for our sins. Is this to say that you are ever capable of living a holy life completely? No we will all stumble and we will all fall. Read what the scripture says.
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
You will be tempted and when you are overtaken it happens to all men. The occasional failure in sin is not the same a s someone who chooses to live in and justify their sin. There is a definite distinction here. The first step in showing others the spirit is to first be filled with the Holy Spirit. This requires a check to be in place. You have to have a place and time where you evaluate your current stated and reflect on whether or not you are in a place of being filled with the Holy Spirit. What does the Bible say about being filled with the Holy Spirit?
1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.
You do have to be careful though in this that you do not over rotate and begin to live in legalism. The challenge here is to live in a life of complete repentance yet not move so far as to fall into legalism. Read this-
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
The Holy Spirit fills us when we are in a state of repentance to our Father, a state of seeking Him and His will in our lives, a state of desiring to overcome sin knowing that we will stumble and fall and yet in our stumbling and failing our God does not give up on us because He has already rescued us. Are you living in a state of repentance so that the Holy Spirit can fill you? Do not try to live in a life of legalism but live in a life of constant reflection of God’s grace and His power to forgive. When you seek to love the Lord you will not have as much time time figure out how to sin. When you are taking the time to pray, read your Bible, and love your neighbor, the time to sin is limited.
Speaking to a large audience, D.L. Moody held up a glass and asked, "How can I get the air out of this glass?" One man shouted, "Suck it out with a pump!" Moody replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass." After numerous other suggestions Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed." He then went on to explain that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by "sucking out a sin here and there," but by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit fills you when you are in a life of repentance. Understanding of your state before Christ, understanding of your freedom in Christ, and a desire to never again chain yourself to Sin. When you are in this state to seek the Spirit and repent from your sins the Spirit will fill you. When the Spirit fills you what will He do?
The Spirit gives you Power
The Spirit gives you Power
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
When the Spirit comes upon you you receive power. What does it mean?
Lexham Theological Wordbook δύναμις
δύναμις (dynamis). n. fem. power, deed of power. Literally, it describes the ability to perform an activity; by extension, it refers to someone in a position of power or the force of a person’s action.
The word used here is dynamis. You will be able to complete things that are unthinkable not because of your strength, wit, smarts, or any other attribute you can give yourself. You will be able to overcome all things because of the Spirit in you. You will literally become dynamic. The spirit inside of you is the one who brings the power. This means that without the spirit you are powerless. You revert back to the flesh and all of its weaknesses. The Flesh cannot do anything it is weak. What does the Bible say about the flesh?
41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
The Flesh is weak. It is time for us to stop thinking that in some way or another we do not need the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to overcome our flesh. When you are not being filled with the Spirit you will find yourself with the following behaviors.
Hate- you will find yourself capable of hating those that God has called you to love.
Depression- Nothing will make you happy no matter what is going on in your life.
While some things may bring you temporary happiness you will have to chase the next thing because you will be in a constant state of depression.
Anxiety- When you are not seeking the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit you will be in a constant state of concern.
impatience- You will not be OK with waiting, you will want what you want when you want it.
Meanness- You will find yourself being mean to even people you are called to love
Badness- You will seek ill will
Faithlessness- You will lack that God can handle anything in your life
Harshness- in words, actions, and deeds you will treat others harshly
lack of self control- You will not be able to control your feelings.
Those who are filled with the spirit have the ability in all things to love all people. The most heinous people a person filled with the spirit can still feel compassion for. A person filled with the spirit lacks the depressive natures because the spirit brings Joy. The spirit brings peace and a person filled with the spirit has peace about them that is unexplainable. They will be patient with all people regardless of the situation. The Spirit brings kindness and goodness. The ones filled with the Spirit are faithful and know that God is faithful. The spirit will cause you to speak softly and not return anger to others. Lastly the spirit will help you control your behaviors.
The flesh wants to give you reasons to justify the behaviors that are opposite of the Spirit. The flesh tells you that you have the right to hate people for whatever reason you find to hate them regardless of the fact that the spirit calls us to love all people even our enemies. The Flesh is weak and you have to stop being OK with being weak.
I know something about being OK with being weak. I work out and I enjoy going to the gym. I have hit a milestone on the bench press and I am finally able to bench press consistently 315lbs. I am proud of this. It is something I have been working towards and have finally reached it. The problem though is that my gut and the rest of my body is not really showing anything healthy. The reason for this is that no matter how strong I am I have chosen to be weak. When it comes to my cardio and my eating habits I have chosen to be weak. I chose not to run and if you see me running you should too. I choose not to eat healthy. The fact is that I have chosen to never be as strong as I could be because I am OK with benching 315lbs and not really maximizing my potential.
Does this sound like your faith? Are you OK with being powerless? You are giving up your power when you choose to return to your spouse a negative response. You are choosing to be weak when you treat your neighbor with disrespect. You are choosing to be powerless when you follow the flesh and allow it to justify your behaviors that are against how Jesus has called you to live. The world calls it being powerful for yourself or standing up for yourself. The Bible calls it weakness. When you choose to live according to the flesh and to justify poor behavior you are OK with being weak. What does the Bible say that the Spirit will do?
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
The Spirit gives you power to overcome the flesh, to overcome the enemy, to overcome the world. The ways of the Spirit look like weakness to the world but in fact are complete power. The ability to override your desires and to seek the desires and behaviors of our God is pure power. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit fills you! When you repent and seek God, you will be filled with the Holy Spirit and will overcome the flesh. That is not all though. When you begin to live a dynamically changed life you will be witnesses!!!
The Spirit makes you a Witness
The Spirit makes you a Witness
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Jesus told the disciples that they would receive Power, and that they would become witnesses. Are you ready to have power in your life and to be a witness for God? It is time for the church to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. Not seeking the will of the flesh but overcoming the flesh with the Spirit. Understanding that it is only in the Spirit and a heart of repentance that we will find the true power that can be in all of us with the Spirit. When the Spirit fills you, the world will ask what is wrong with you! Why does that person live, talk, walk, and even drive differently? Why is there something about that person that cannot be explained. How are they so successful? How can they find joy in pain? How are they so different? Se Jesus did not tell the disciples to go witness. He told them that when the Spirit filled them that they would be the witnesses. People would look at them and see the difference in them. The world would not be able to deny the difference. They would see the power of God in the believers and this would not be able to be contained. The power of God would be talked about in Jerusalem and Judea, then to Samaria and to the Ends of the Earth!!! The word Witness used here is martys which is where we get both testimony and martyr. Many of these believers did become martyrs for the Faith but all of them testified to the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit living in you will testify of Christ. The funny thing is that when the Spirit lives in you and is filling you, no words are necessary to show the power of our God. You are not good at talking? That is OK, you don’t have too just live a life filled with the Spirit, He will do the talking.
I have a group of friends that we all went into some type of ministry around the same time. We all started out by saying I want to do this amazing thing or that amazing thing. I want to be the greatest preacher of all time or I want to be the most amazing worship leader. We spent time trying to polish those skills. Some found slight success but most of us found that the harder we worked on being the best the further from that goal we got. The harder we focused on our speaking abilities and the more we focused on our musical skills the further we were from being the dynamic people we wanted to be. Some have left the ministry but for those of us still there it is amazing to see the change in our hearts. I do not focus on being the best preacher in the world. I focus on being filled with the Spirit and living a life that honors God, if along the way I become a great preacher then to God be the glory, if not to God be the Glory. My friends in worship do not desire to be the next Third day they simply seek to exalt God in their lives and in worship, if God elevates them to a bigger stage then to God be the Glory, if not to God be the Glory.
Seeking to learn skills as opposed to seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit may get you some cool things that you can do but it will not bring you closer to the Heart of God. You want to world to see something in you? You want to be used by God to the ends of the earth? Seek His Spirit. Seek the repentance that brings the power and makes you a living testimony! In closing look at what the Bible says about being God’s witnesses.
12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.