Depending on the Spirit

Galatians 3:1–5 “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?”

The false idea - the central confidence of life should be in the self. The cross is a fatal blow to the face of pride and the transfer of that central confidence to the One Real Perfect Man, who was, and is, also God.

The process of transformation does not depend on our self-discipline as much as it depends on our willingness to embrace God’s help. If self-discipline is helpful at all - it is because it helps us cooperate with the Spirit. Discipleship- look first to the Spirit.

Depending on the Spirit’s power

“Imagine visiting a town at night that appears to have no lights, no televisions—not even alarm clocks. And then imagine learning that the town’s power supply is virtually infinite, but that no one in the town had thought to turn any of their electrical appliances on. Wouldn’t that town seem like a silly place to you? Yet the Church is all too often like that town. God has given us the power of His Spirit to fulfill His mission in the world, yet few Christians have even begun to depend on His power.” - Craig Keener

Are they satisfied to continue on their own and depend on themselves.

Spirit’s power at work in Acts

Luke in Acts demonstrates, the Spirit’s power at work in the believers. Especially in Acts 2, we see the Spirit’s empowerment to be a witness, and the Spirit’s power to transform.

My argument today: Is if we wish to evangelize our world today...

Evangelism: literally sharing good news about Jesus… We love that, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news...”

If we wish to evangelize our world today... we cannot do it in our own strength.

Think about this: the early church lacked all the “equipment” that today we assume we need to get the job done. They lacked Christian literature, mass communications, rapid transportation, the majority were from the lower class - lacking silver and gold… But because they had a radical dependence on the power of God, they turned their world upside down. Why did they fully depend on the power of God?

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.””

The disciples continued to do his work, knowing that he was still working through them because of His Spirit. The ascension of Jesus to heaven and the sending of his spirit was not the end of His work but the continuation of His work.

Equipped Differently

Not all of us are equipped the same way to witness the same way. Even in the book of Acts, we see different ministries that were equipped in different ways - Apollos could debate, Peter performed signs, other Christians carried the message of the good news as they travelled.

But each of us is called to witness, and God’s Spirit will not fail us if we learn to depend on him. And sometimes God is just waiting for us to pray - Ephesians 6:19–20 “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”

Bill Moser story of praying, then 2 hours later an invite, and then testify.

They asked him, “Have you seen improvement.” “You meet with him about biblical things?” “What is the Gospel?” “What about the holiness of God?” “What about the blood of Jesus?” Then the DA said, “You are giving these men hope.”

Important Note

The incredible events of signs, wonders and miracles in the book of Acts, had nothing to do with the greatness of the men or because they were apostles (because they were not all apostles), but rather it was because of the greatness of Jesus by and through His Spirit in those who trusted Him and obeyed.

Acts 3:12 [In the healing of man] “When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?”

Depending on the Spirit.

Learn from Elijah & Elisha

We can learn from Elijah’s example of faith, perseverance, and faithfulness.

NT Gospel writers:

Jesus raised a widow’s son like Elijah - 1 Kings 17:17, Luke 7:11,

Jesus multiplied food like Elijah & Elisha - 1 Kings 17:13, 2 Kings 4:42, Luke 9:10,

Jesus even alluded to the account of Elijah’s call of Elisha - 1 Kings 19:19, Luke 9:61;

Jesus compared his mission to the disenfranchised (Gentiles) with the ministries of Elijah and Elisha - Luke 4:24)

Additionally, we see distinct parallels in Acts 1 & 2 with Elijah passing the mantle on to Elisha, so the ascending Jesus empowered his church with the Spirit to carry on his mission to the ends of the earth.

And:

James 5:17 “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.”

In many ways, Elijah is a model for us.

When James makes Elijah’s faith a model for ours, why shouldn’t we be able to trust God for miracles? Why shouldn’t we ask and believe for signs and wonders?

As we see in the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit gives us boldness to ask for things in accordance with God’s will because we walk in his desires for his work in the world rather than our own agendas

Miraculous gifts, in the New Testament, are not just for the apostles or even just for prominent, named individuals. They are for ordinary, anonymous, regular people.

This Model is not easy

Also some practical implications of this model of Elijah… Is not exactly the comfy easy life of luxury.

Ate from raven’s mouths and drank from a brook - not exactly luxury.

Elisha explicitly repudiated the valuing of material possessions highly.

Elijah confronted hostile government officials, he lived outside the confines of his own society, and repeatedly risked death for the honor of the one who had called him.

The NT call of discipleship, a Spirit-filled life like Elijah’s or Elisha’s means that we must value nothing so much that we cannot readily surrender it for God’s call.

Truthfully, this is easier said than done. In the context of that kind of relationship, Elijah, nurtured by years of an intimate relationship with God (though a man just like us) teaches us two things.

This faith is one entirely dependent on the power of God and it’s a faith that worked miracles, signs and wonders only at God’s command (1 Kings 18:36). See Lamentations 3:37-38

This faith and dependence remembers that we are God’s servant, empowered to only do God’s will.

The power and the orders come from God alone, not from ourselves.

Once we realize the power and the orders come from God: we will be ready for God to send us and use us the way He sees fit.

We should pray for God to grant signs to his church for its work of evangelism (Acts 4:29-30).

We should be ready for the life of faith God asks of each of us - with signs, suffering, and sufficiency in him alone.

Pray that God will raise up men and women of God with spiritual gifts to reach our generation.

Why is this important?

We are in the midst of a cosmic battle. It is not a fight we can win in our own strength.

The devil freely demonstrates his power in people

Satan does not mind trotting forth his power. If the world is to recognize that God’s power is greater, God’s representatives must believe it and act accordingly.

Sometimes we have no choice. During my first year in Bible college, I was preaching at a street mission when a demon-possessed man began shouting that he was “Antichrist” and “Lucifer.” (Leave it to a demon to take Scripture out of context; neither title in the Bible referred to a demon. Lecturing the demon on elementary principles of biblical interpretation, however, would not have been a helpful approach to the situation.)

I had always assumed that I was spiritually prepared to cast out a demon, but remembering the story of the seven sons of Sceva, I found myself too scared to attempt it. What if the man jumped on me and began ripping my clothes off, as in Acts 19? Other workers escorted the man out, and I finished my sermon as best I could. The man might have come to the mission for deliverance, but we cast out the man rather than the demon. Ashamed at my failure, I realized that most of the “demons” I’d tried to cast out in prayer previously weren’t real demons at all and that I did not have enough faith for the real thing. I resolved to become a stronger man of faith, and some months later I was tested again.

This time I was visiting a recently converted widow whose daughter was experiencing some serious problems. As I was praying for them outside, the Spirit suddenly led me back into the house to a door that opened to a stairwell, and down the stairs toward another door in the basement. I found myself unable to approach that door, however. An evil presence radiated menacingly from that room, and it felt like it was the ghost of the widow’s husband. Knowing that “ghosts” are merely demons impersonating deceased people, I prayed upstairs and then marched down the stairs again, my strength renewed. I threw open the door and in Jesus’ name commanded the spirit to depart, never to return. Instantly it was gone. As I rejoined the widow, she informed me of three matters I hadn’t known:

(1) the basement room was directly beneath her daughter’s bedroom;

(2) her former husband had been involved with the occult, and his belongings were stored in that room; and

(3) a man she had dated a year before, who claimed to have psychic powers, had tried to confront the “ghost” of her husband in that room, but it had chased him away instead.

In Mark - Three Things

John announces: Spirit-baptizer with the Holy Spirit (1:8),

The Spirit descends on Jesus (1:10),

The Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness for conflict with the devil (1:12).

The progression of these three paragraphs means that the promised Spirit-baptizer himself is the model for the Spirit-baptized life, and the Spirit-baptized life is a life victorious conflict with the devil’s kingdom.

Mark is quite different than the kind of charismatics today who only emphasize the blessings of serving god. Mark recognized that the spirit empowers us to do exploits for God but also to suffer for his honor. As in the book of Acts, irrefutable signs of God’s activity lead not only to conversions but to active hostility and persecution.

Some believe that Mark wrote his Gospel for the suffering church in Rome. Same as Paul - Romans 8:22-26. The Spirit makes the present bearable by reminding us that we live for another world because we belong to another world. We are here, not as citizens of this age, but as its invaders called to be faithful to the Lord of the world to come.

Not all of us are equipped the same way to witness the same way.

The Disciples after Jesus’ death

Think of the events of the crucifixion and resurrection, it was not a short-lived spurt of defiant courage, but a steady flame of conviction which baffled, embarrassed, and infuriated the authorities for years as the movement began to spread throughout the then-known world.

When Jesus was with them they learned to trust him as he empowered them and assigned them, in other words, they went out to minister only because he sent them (Luke 10)

In Acts, after Jesus’ ascension, they continued to do his work, knowing that he was still working through them because of His Spirit. The ascension of Jesus to heaven and the sending of his spirit was not the end of His work but the continuation of His work.

Just as they looked to Jesus when He was with them, they looked to Jesus and trusted him when He ascended and today, it is still Jesus to whom we look. Jesus began it and by his spirit he is continuing through us.