The Spirit filled life part 3

Intro:

This morning, I want to take a quick look back at what we have learned concerning the Holy Spirit over the last few weeks.

Jesus is the good shepherd who has life in Himself, but it is the Spirit who gives life. John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”

The sheep know his voice and follow through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is first an inward ministry. John 14:16–17 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

To live by the Spirit, we must set our minds on spiritual things. Romans 8:5–6 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

The inward ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives leads us through a process of sanctification that is seen and felt through righteous living. The effect of the inward work is also intended to have an outward effect.

There is a kingdom mandate that has been given to all believers by Jesus. The act of salvation is an indescribable gift, but it is not the end of our walk. Every believer has been called by God to advance His kingdom purpose in the earth.

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Submit:

The kingdom mandate given to all believers by Jesus Christ is what is known as the great commission. The great commission is recorded in two places in the gospels. Before we read the two passages, I want you to understand what a commission is.

A commission is an instruction, command, or duty given to a person or group of people. A group of people officially charged with a particular function.

Turn to Matthew 28:18-20 lets read it together.

Matthew 28:18–20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Now let’s read Mark 16:14-20.

Mark 16:14–20 “Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.”

Why go?

We are commanded to. Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth. When we say yes to Him, we come under that authority.

What are we commanded to do?

Preach the gospel, make disciples, baptize, and teach people to observe all that He has commanded.

How are we to go?

In the power of the Holy Spirit. We are to cast out demons, speak with new tongues, lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

Mark 16:20 “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.”

A few important elements to see in this verse:

1. They went in obedience to the command of God. There was an outward work that accompanied their belief in Jesus. It wasn’t profession only.

2. The Lord worked with them through accompanying signs and wonders. There was an outflow of power. The word power here is the greek word dynamis, which is characterized by supernatural power that exerts influence over natural reality.

So, as the disciples followed the command of Jesus to preach, teach, baptize, and make disciples he accompanied them with the demonstration of power. For what purpose? To confirm the word.

The power of God demonstrated gives testimony to the validity of the word of God. The word confirming means to verify or confirm the truth of. The intent of the demonstration of power is to confirm that the word is true.

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Apply:

This is what I will refer to as the outward ministry of the Holy Spirit. Each believer in Christ needs the baptism of power to be effective in assignment. I believe that this is a different experience than the receiving of the spirit at the point of salvation.

When surrender our lives to Christ, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13-14.

Ephesians 1:13–14 “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”

Yet we see instruction in the book of Acts 1:4-8 for the disciples to wait until they were endued with power from on high.

What this points to is the reality that our ability to be effective with our assignment is directly connected to our relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus told the disciples in Acts 1:4-8 that they needed to wait.

Acts 1:4–8 “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.””

The purpose of power was to be filled to continue the work of Christ kingdom advancement. John 14:12.

John 14:12 ““Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

Reaching the world will require the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We will not reason or instruct people into the kingdom of God. The kingdom must be preached, taught, modeled, and confirmed with power. There must be personal encounter. Hearing, seeing, doing, and experiencing.

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Closing:

It can certainly feel a bit overwhelming to become aware of the magnitude of the assignment we have been given, but we can be at rest knowing that we don’t go alone.

It is not by our own strength or capacity that the kingdom will advance. It is the Lord who will be at work both in us and through us. I believe that we owe the world an encounter with Jesus.

To give people an authentic encounter first we need to be near to Jesus. We need to be a people of personal encounter. Then we need to follow Jesus direction to the disciples. Wait to be endued with power from on high, but understand this is not an idle waiting. It a period that is marked by preparation, presence, and prayer.

We will struggle to advance the kingdom and impact others if we don’t make the decision to go all in. We must wholly surrender to Jesus. We must live the life of a disciple.

If we carry the mentality that attempts to fit a little bit of God into our busy schedule we will likely never see power.

Power demonstrated is an overflow of time spent with Him. Over the next few weeks we are going to dive into the word to gain understanding of how God moves through us with power.

Let’s Pray!

Holy Spirit open our hearts and minds to receive understanding. Help us to prepare to receive all that you have for us. (Invite to the place of encounter)

Salvation.