What are you waiting for?

Intro:

Last week we talked about how Joshua (name meaning God is my salvation) overcame 5 threatening armies. Had the Israelite leaders put their feet on the necks of the 5 kings.. Jesus is our Joshua! He by the Cross overcame our enemies, and with His Power has us join with Him by giving us victory over our enemies.. The enemy that wants to hold you back. The enemy that wants you to retain your mental strongholds. Your approach to life. God wants to give us a new mind, an authority that comes from Him, to live in a way where we can own the land of promise!

Today, I want to examine the last chapter in the Gospel of Luke.. In the final sayings of Jesus to His disciples we gain some insight to limitations we all have- and then what can be done about it!!

The Gospel of Luke was written by Dr. Luke, a follower of the apostle Paul. He also wrote the book of Acts which is like the 2nd book in his series. So, this moment sets up the exciting moment of the launch of the early church..

Luke 24:45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Prayer

Story:

Transition

Limits:

WE come up to limits everyday, multiple times. I used to love all you can eat buffets, because at least in theory, there were no limits in how much you could eat!! Now, I have self imposed limits on how much I eat.. Because going past the limits that way may very well cause me to encroach on the stretching limit of my pants!

— We have boundaries or city limits..

— We have physical limits. For instance, there’s a range that you can physically drop with no harm…

— You get the idea,

— Some limits, when you hit them they are instructive:

a. Could be a growth point.. Maybe in your job you hit your limit in your capacity for certain jobs.. You could get the training you need..

b. could be a stopping point.. You find your out of your depth.. Your wound became infected, you need a doctor!

So in this story, we find some limits..

1. limited understanding

— This is an incredible passage “Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures”

— The last chapter in Luke deals with post resurrection..

— They were having a hard time processing the facts..

— Jesus was dead, now He appears to be alive..

— So there’s this process they have to be led along bit by bit.. There’s the women who found the empty tomb.. Now He’s eating fish in front of them.. Proving He’s not just a ghost..

— Before this there’s the story of the two men travelling to Emmaus, and as they’re discussing the events of Jesus’ execution, Jesus comes along and talks with them.. They didn’t know it was Him!!

— Luke 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

— Then later 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

— So, this theme emerges in the 24th chapter, later Jesus is doing the same with His disciples.. Showing them the Scriptures and how they were fulfilled..

— Then HE OPENED THEIR MINDS.

— Three years with Jesus, the miracles, the preaching, the education.. Being Jewish men privileged to be among the people that have received the Word of God.. Many Jewish boys by the age of 12 had memorized the entirety of the first 5 books of the bible (pentateuch)

— YET, even with all those legs up, there was still a limitation on their understanding..

— When He opens their mind, it’s more than just intellect… He’s opening their heart and their head, they both need expanding to receive the Gospel..

— in ++ Eph 1:18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

— In biblical usage the heart is the whole inward self, comprising mind as well as emotion. So ‘the eyes of the heart’ are simply our ‘inner eyes’, which need to be opened or ‘enlightened’ before we can grasp God’s truth.

— Later in Eph Paul speaking of non christians.. We see greater clarity between the mind and heart..

++Ephesians 4:18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

— So how do we apply this? Unless Jesus opens the eyes of my heart I will be LIMITED in my understanding..

— In praying for you, I plead that by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus would reveal Himself to us through His Word!

— I will prepare, I will study, I will read.. But at the end of the Day, this process that works outside of all of that.. Jesus open our Eyes! We want to have our “hearts burning within us!”

— We need to acknowledge that we are limited in our understanding, but He is faithful to open our hearts. To reveal Himself to us!

— And the timing is instructive.. The opening of His disciples mind cost something. As He comes showing His nail scarred hands, He is showing the receipt for the payment.

— Today, the beginning point of our increased understanding starts with the Gospel. It starts with the reality, that I was darkened in my understanding. I was dead in my sin! I wasn’t just limited in understanding, but I was a dead man walking. But Jesus was preached to me. My heart came alive, my mind came alive. He showed me His nail pierced hands!!

— But I don’t want to go back to walking that way. I need Jesus continually preached to me!! I can get a hard heart…

— Open my eyes Lord, I want to see Jesus!

“I have read the Bible through one hundred times and always with increasing delight. I look upon it as a lost day when I have not a good time over the Word of God.”—- George Mueller

++“But I have always made it a rule never to begin work till I have had a good season with God. The vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Word in our life and thoughts.” — George Mueller

2. Limited Power

— “Stay in the city until you are clothed with Power from on high.”

— KNOW YOUR LIMITS. He kept them in City limits. Don’t even try on your own.. You need Power!

— I don’t know what your history is when it comes to the Holy Spirit

— Many of us don’t have a clear understanding when it comes to this subject.

— Most of us get God the Father, God the Son, what is the role of the Holy Spirit?

— For some, we think of Him as associated with the crazy Christians.. Those chandelierians, people who swing from the chandelier! Crazies!

— The Holy Spirit is GOD! ! As much God as the Father, the Son.

— The church age, which we are in now, and that was inaugurated at the Resurrection of Jesus! He was risen on a Sunday, we gather on a Sunday! But it was unleashed at Pentecost! Church age ever since sustained by the work of the person of the Holy Spirit!

— Jesus spoke multiple times about the Holy Spirit and His role in our lives..

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

— Jesus stresses the Need for the active work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and the Holy Spirit will stress JESUS!

— A lot of our concern about the Holy Spirit stems from people having a misguided conception of who the Holy Spirit is..

— It’s not emotionalism, though we experience emotions in His presence. It’s not an excuse when we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to abuse people, or extract money from people..

— Story++ Faith Healing

— Can I say this, don’t put limitations on God because of your limited understanding of how he works or because of bad experiences!

— I’m thankful I didn’t let that bad experience stop me from experiencing the true Power of the Holy Spirit..

— I believe the enemy wants more than anything to get us to get away from the working of the Holy Spirit, so we can be “safe”

A. We need His Power working IN US:

— He works in us: Eph. 1: 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

— Before you are saved, the Holy Spirit convinces you of your sin: John 16:8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

— When the Gospel is preached, even today!! Some of you sense your need, your sin.. It’s the Holy Spirit working on you, showing your need for salvation.. For help!!

— I can’t do that, but the Holy Spirit is working!!

— Then, when we are saved the things we used to do we are bothered.. It’s evidence of our salvation, that we live by our convictions..

— Then HE helps us from the inside! Those things you couldn’t help doing before, you were limited in your ability to stop before, He gives power over sin!

— Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

— He guides us, He leads us, it’s those moments He wants us to get in the Word, to Pray..

B. We need His Power working ON US:

— Acts 2:1 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. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

— Then, Peter in vs. 14 who just recently acted the coward denying Jesus, is boldly preaching to the crowds.. Like out of nowhere,

— He quotes the prophet Joel saying that this prophecy is being fulfilled!

Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29  Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

— We are still in the day church! The Holy Spirit is still working today!

— Three thousand people were added to the church THAT DAY

— Their preaching continued to cause such a ruckus that the elite religious of the day tried to stop them.. They remarked:

++Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus

— He is still empowering people for ministry, we need more!

3. What are we waiting for

— the wait is over, we need more of Him!

to the unbeliever, I want to let you know there is a remedy. You feel convinced about your sin? That’s proof He’s moving..

— May I point you to His nail scarred hands that bled for you! The Holy Spirit points to the fact that Jesus died for you

— He is opening your mind today, maybe it was closed to the things of God before.. But you feel a cracking open, that is His grace! Maybe like the men who met Jesus on their way to Emmaus, your heart is burning.. There is something to this!

— Application for you? Believe Jesus! Romans 10: 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

To all of us:

Take the limits off when it comes to the Holy Spirit working in your life:

— Maybe we’ve been in a dry spell,

— The reality is, we can limit the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives:

We can grieve the Holy Spirit Eph. 4, we can resist the Holy Spirit Acts 7, And we can live in such a way that we have a form of godliness and deny His power

— 2 Timothy 3:1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

— That was speaking to people who practice religion, we go to church, we check the boxes, but it doesn’t produce the fruit.

— We may have become complacent in our walk.. We have limited His work..

— so today, We welcome His work in us, God do what you want to do! Surrender to His work!

— It may be easy to see the work God has to do in someone else, but I am not asking to be convicted about someone else’s sin, I need help addressing my own!

Gal 5:22 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.

Take the Limits off Him working through us:

— The world needs a church with Power

— I don’t want to settle for a doctrine that limits the power of God working

— Look at the church in Iran, look at the church in China,

— These aren’t filled with lukewarm Christians. They rely on power everyday. They pray earnestly in who to share their faith with, if they share with the wrong person that could mean death!

— The word in Greek “power” is dynamis. We have and need explosive power!

— We are anticipating a move of God, where His people are baptized and moving in power!

Eph 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,

— PRAY OUT CHLOE TO THE MISSION FIELD