No Man is An Island

Recap

In Jesus’ baptism, we see a powerful demonstration of what God intended to do in human flesh through the baptism in the Holy Spirit

This is different than having the Holy Spirit in you at your time of salvation

This is the baptism in the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus knew his believers would need to live in the world and be effective for the Kingdom of Heaven.

It’s not just an experience, but a lifestyle

It’s a confirming lifestyle - children of God

It’s a commending lifestyle - God’s mark of approval upon our lives

It’s a Great Commission lifestyle - Going and making a difference.

In that great commission, Jesus sends his church into their world, but first he tells them to not to go until they are first endued with the power that they will need to go and do it.

(Jeannie)

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit empowers us

emboldens us

emblazes us.

The Holy Spirit in and on our lives brings God the glory through our lives.

In - Jesus prophecies about himself and his church that this is what they would be because of his Holy Spirit upon them.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

So Jesus wanted His Church to be filled or baptized in the power and presence of the His Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit of Presence

he wanted this because he was getting ready to leave them.

They had been use to him doing everything. They saw miracles all around them.

They had gotten pretty used to having him around.

They enjoyed the benefits of being with him

But now he is telling them it’s their turn and they are scared.

Look what he tells them in John 16

John 16:7 NKJV

Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

They could see no good in his leaving them. In fact, we see that Jesus has held off saying some of these things that he is saying now, because he knew that they weren’t ready to handle it before.

But look what he says here - It is to your advantage that I go away.

No longer would they be able to experience God’s presence and power through him, now he wanted to bless them with God’s presence and power through them.

You see brothers and sisters. When Jesus was with them they had God’s presence through him with them.

But they weren’t experiencing these things in their own lives. They are living through him. And how many know that when you trust in someone for something in life, when they have to go away, it is a very nerve wracking time?

Why? They were your sustanance

They were your provider

They were your strength and your hope.

This is where the disciples are at this moment.

We all want Jesus with us. But what is better? To have Jesus here walking and talking with us, or to have Jesus in us.

If he doesn’t leave and go to the father, they won’t experience him in them.

He couldn’t be everywhere when he was here in the flesh

But through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is everywhere that we are at any given moment.

And each of us too. Think about how far Jesus’ Words and compassion can reach when it’s through us.

This was why he told his followers to wait for the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

he says, if I stay, you are limited. But when I go, my presence is not just with you, but it is now in you.

As the title of the message insinuates - without the Power and Presence of the Holy Spirit in your life - you are going at it alone. And that’s hard.

Today we will leave this place at the end of this message. Even though it Church Family Week, most of us still won’t be together til next Sunday again.

We are going to walk out of this room that has been electrified by the power of God.

We are going to walk back into our lives and situations that surround us.

We are going back to work to the same situations that we left Friday or yesterday.

We are not going to have that feeling that we have right now.

Our faith will be tested

Our Christian walk will be stressed

Life comes at us fast

And if this is all that we have. If we are a church that does not believe in the baptism in the Holy Spirit than this is all that we have. And we will struggle until next Sunday morning.

But because we believe in the pentecostal lifestyle - the spirit filled life. Because we believe that this is for each of us as believers.

We leave this place with the powerful presence of God in and around our lives. And we can walk in victory in every area of our lives

We bring the presence of God into our homes

We bring the presence of God into our work environments

We bring the presence of God into every situation that may surround us or even come against us.

That’s the Holy Spirit of presence.

When the disciples were away from Jesus they were alone

When we are away from each other, we are never alone. Through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are very much in the presence of God every moment of every day.

The Holy Spirit of Wisdom

He is the Holy Spirit of presence

And he is the Holy Spirit of Wisdom.

John 14:16–17 NKJV

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.

Jesus says, this helper will be with you everywhere you go. And know this - he is the spirit of truth.

That word truth in the hebrew and greek means - certain, stable, trustworthy, honesty, faithful, permenant, consistant - from it we get our word for Amen

This Baptism in the Holy Spirit moves our lives into the dynamic of this word truth.

If you want to know the plans of God in your life.

If you want to know the faithfulness of God beyond your human emotion and feelings

If you want to be a person who bears these qualities of God in their lives

You need the baptism of the Holy spirit.

God’s wisdom lasts forever

God’s wisdom is above our situations and circumstances

God’s wisdom is eternal

God’s wisdom is constant and stable

How many know that we need God’s wisdom?

(break of thought)

If I told you that you could know your future, what would you do?

You’d say, what is it? Am I going to make it? Am I going to be succesful? Pastor, am I going to get through this situation? Am I going to be healed? How is this going to happen in my life, or what should I expect in this?

We have Christians going to fortune tellers

Our kids are using Ouji boards

People want their palms read or their cards read or their stars read

Look what Jesus says over in

John 16:13 NKJV

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

What’s the Holy Spirit hearing? (Where’s He From?)

He’s hearing Godly things. He is hearing God’s plans, God’s heart, God’s will

And He is hearing your future. - He will tell you of things to come.

How did Jesus know that the woman would be at the well at that time?

How did Jesus know that Zacheus was up in the tree?

How did Jesus know that power left him when the woman touched the hem of his garment?

How did Jesus know to walk a certain way through the crowd when they were going to grab him and kill him?

During his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon his life and was leading him and guiding him.

You want to get the most out of your life?

You want to make the most of each day

You want to be successful in life (the important things of life)

You need the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You need the Holy Spirit of Wisdom and truth in your life.

Don’t attend a seance, don’t get your palm read, don’t touch the ouji board

Get to church, Get into prayer, worship with the brothers and sisters and read your bible. The Holy spirit will reveal the things of God to your heart.

The Holy Spirit Who Teaches

We live in a world where the church is so week. Last week I said that this teaching that this pentecostal experience of the baptism in the Holy spirit is not for today has given us an anemic church.

We’re scared of demons

We can’t pray ourselves out of a wet paper bag

We don’t know what to do about situations and we get mad when God don’t move in ways that we think he should have.

The Apostle Paul calls this spiritual immaturity.

Hebrews 5:12–14 NKJV

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Paul says, you have to keep learning the same principles over and over again. And most of them are the basics.

How many know you aren’t growing if you at least don’t know the basics? Those are the foundations of life that you build upon

Hebrews 5:12-

He says you should be eating the solid food of God’s word, but you are still needing the milk.

My grandson - 1 year - eating food

What does Paul say about these people - they are unskilled in the word of righteousness.

How many know, you don’t want an unskilled doctor doing your brain surgery (or any surgery)

If you work in a dangerous trade - you don’t want an unskilled person working with you

We can’t have believers who are unskilled in the Word of God, weilding the sword of their faith and hacking off spiritual limbs

Paul said the problem is that they are babies. They just never mature.

Say this with me - solid food belongs to those who are mature and they are the ones who will be able to discern between good and evil.

We can’t do this in the church today.

So Paul says, we need mature Christians.

And Jesus gives us hope in :26

John 14:26 NKJV

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 things that I said to you.

Who will teach you all things? The Holy Spirit

Who will cause you to remember all the things that you keep forgetting from the Bible and the teachings that you hear? The Holy Spirit

God’s approval - sealed by the Holy Spirit

Who will mature us then? The Holy Spirit

And look what Jesus says here - He’s just not going to teach us some things, or even just godly things. He will teach us all things.

(hold up Bible), I hold in my hands the answer to every one of your problems.

Every stress that mankind is going through, every struggle in your heart and life, every trap the enemy has set for you - the answers to it all is right here.

The problem is that we don’t know how to find them.

You want help in your marriage - The Holy Spirit can teach you that

You don’t know how to handle money and you need assistance with your finances - He’s the greatest financial advisor on the earth

You need help raising your children? - He’s the Mary Poppins of Heaven

He’s better than FarmersOnly.com if you are lonely and looking for a relationship.

You need to learn how to pray

You need to learn how to be a better dad or mom or sibling

Trust the Holy Spirit

And not only will he teach you but he will bring it back to your remembrance.

I was reading in my devotions yesterday about how the disciples missed something about Jesus’ death.

But after he rose again and went away (the sending of the Holy Spirit) it all made sense.

ILLUS - people sitting in churches all across the country every sunday and never getting it.

We need the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The Church of Christ Today, Needs the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Listen to me Church, for two weeks now I have preached about the Baptism in the Holy Spirit - the result of the day of Pentecost upon the church.

I have not tried to get you to see why speaking in tongues is good or worthwhile

I’m not trying to get you to accept something that is crazy or far out

I’m simply showing you what it really means to be Spirit filled.

I’m trying to get you to see why scriptually you need it and why Jesus wanted you to have it

I’m trying to show you why (without it) our lives and our churches aren’t all that they can be.

ILLUS - Maggie - found out we were pentecostal and left

Closing - Read

Let’s Pray