The Misplaced Gift

Text: Acts 4:1-25: Jn. 18:16-17

John 18:16-17

New International Version (NIV)

16 but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.

17 “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter.

He replied, “I am not.”

Acts 4:1-26

New International Version (NIV)

Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin

4 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is

“‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’[a]

12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

The Believers Pray

23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.[b]’[c]

Introduction:

I think every year I hide a gift trying to keep it a secret and forget about it until Christmas is over then I realize I forgot to give it to one of the girls or Travis. Trying to make sure that I don’t spoil the surprise I kind of ruin the whole lot of fun with my short memory.

There is nothing worse than when you give someone something and they never use it. Especially when you have given someone you care about something you love and would love to have it yourself. You keep waiting to see if they will ever use it but time ticks on and you never see them wear it or make use of it in any way. Part of you wants to ask for it back but you know you can’t. Then you start to wonder why you even bothered to give them that item in the first place. You might say well that’s a poor attitude for someone giving a gift, but think of it like this the purpose of the gift is to be of use to the giver, when it’s not used the purpose of the gift is lost.

There are those of us here who has longed for the gifts of the Sprit. There are those who have longed to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But once we have received it that’s where we seem to stop. It’s almost like the check list has been complete.

Salvation check

Water Baptism check

Baptism in the Holy Spirit check

Well, I am done know until Jesus’ return. Don’t you think God has more than that for us? Don’t you want more than this?

It’s as if we took this check list and made it like trophies and placed on a shelf in our spiritual life and kept it there. These items are blessings, gifts to be used not looked at. The Holy Spirit is meant for more than that in our lives.

Tonight, I want to speak to you on:

1. Who is the Holy Spirit?

2. How do you receive the Holy Spirit?

3. What do you do after you receive the Holy Spirit?

We need to take a moment and evaluate our life and allow our hearts to be challenged by the Holy Spirit to fulfill our purposes as true followers of God.

The Holy Spirit was given to us by God as a comfort and help when Jesus returned to the Father. We have this wonderful gift until the rapture of the church. Tonight we need to realize that we have not been putting enough emphasis on the Holy Spirit in our lives. The numbers reported at our last General Conference of those being baptized has been low throughout our movement. Is it because we all have received? Or is it because we are not hungry for it?

When we talk about the Holy Spirit it creates a desire for it. Then the answer would be let’s talk about the Holy Spirit more, let’s desire the Holy Spirit more, let’s use the Holy Spirit more!!!!

I know that the God works uniquely in various places and times, and I do think this explains part of the difference. However I also believe that the Spirit is more obviously active in places where people are desperate for Him, humbled before Him and not distracted by their pursuit of wealth or comforts.

So what does that mean for us?

The Holy Spirit is absolutely vital to our situation today. Of course, He is always vital but perhaps especially now. If the Holy Spirit does not move we will not produce genuine fruit – no matter how much effort or money we expend.

Francis Chan wrote “The church becomes irrelevant when it becomes purely a human creation. We are not all we were made to be when everything in our lives and churches can be explained apart from the work and presence of the Spirit of God.”

My prayer is that your changed life would produce this kind of astonishment: “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.” Act 4:13

1. Who is the Holy Spirit?

· He is God

· He is the Third person of the Trinity

· He was sent by Jesus to be a Helper

When do we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives?

The first encounter is through salvation

Rom 8:9

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.

Second the Holy Spirit will baptize us if we ask

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.

According to Acts 2 the Holy Spirit fell in the upper room and baptized everyone. Everyone who was baptized spoke in a language they didn’t learn, as a sign that they were now Spirit-baptized and empowered for witness.

Peter gained boldness when after receiving the baptism. He was changed from a man who denied Christ to a man who stood in front of Jewish authorities and proclaimed Jesus as God!

As the Holy Spirit baptizes the sign that is given is speaking in tongues!

This is the initial evidence.

We need the Holy Spirit for:

· The power to witness

· As a prayer language

· To walk in daily

· For Boldness

2. How do you receive the Holy Spirit?

This is the challenge many seem to deal with. This is something that many seem to stumble or struggle with. Personally, when I was seeking for my baptism I thought it was the hardest thing in the world to receive. I saw my mother hunger for a while as well but once I received it the wait was well worth it.

Share my experience with seeking

To receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit:

· You need to understand the gift is for you

· Hunger for everything God has for you

· Realize that you need more power to witness for Jesus more effectively

· Ask God to baptize you

· Believe that He will do it

· Worship Jesus

· Speak the language He gives you

Do we have to wait sometimes?

We don’t have to wait as the disciples had to for the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit

The reasons we wait sometimes are because:

· We are expecting a great, earth shattering experience and none happens

· We need to know that each person’s experience is different

· Don’t think it has to happen a certain way

· The language may sound strange – Remember Satan is a liar

· Fear of doing something offensive to the spirit

· Pride – we are afraid of how we might react when God touches us.

Remember God never makes you do anything! It is when you have encountered the power of God we need to spread the word about it. Once we have encounter the power of the Holy Spirit we will be forever changed, we need to keep that fire ignited in our lives.

3. What do you do after you receive the Holy Spirit?

Once you receive the Holy Spirit do not think that you have

1. “arrived” spiritually

2. Badge of Spirituality

3. There’s nothing more to receive

This is only just the beginning the next step is to seek for the gifts of the spirit to be used in your life and for the fruits of the Spirit to be evident in your life!

Gifts of the Spirit are:

Word of Knowledge

Word of Wisdom

Gift of Prophecy

Gift of Faith

Gift of Healings

Working of Miracles

Discerning of Spirits

Different kinds of tongues

Interpretation of Tongues

Fruits of the Spirit:

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self Control

The gifts of the spirit are meant:

1. To defy or build up the body

2. For the entire body (no select few)

3. Through one believer for another

4. To be eagerly sought

5. Subject to the guidance of spiritual leadership

The gifts are not:

1. For individual blessing

2. Meant to correct individuals

3. Badges of spirituality

Is there any such thing as too much of God?

Is there a point when a person can be satisfied with the amount of intimacy, knowledge, and power of God he/she experiences?

I don’t see how there can be, because doesn’t every encounter with God only cause us to thirst for Him more?

Believers can never be “done” with God. He is infinite and we are finite; there will always be more of His character to discover, more of His love to experience and more of His power to use for His purposes.

I know only that when you surrender fully to the Spirit, Christ will be magnified, not you.

John 16:14 NLT

He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.

Conclusion

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power”

1 Corinthians 4:20 NLT

For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.

I am tired of merely talking about God. I want to see God move through me, through Faith Pentecostal Church, and through the worldwide body of Christ.

The challenge to this church this evening to all those who have received the baptism in the spirit is to make use of it. The baptism is not merely a one-time only deal. We are meant to walk daily in the spirit, use out boldness to witness, and use our prayer language.

Take down the trophy and use it, don’t look at it.

Romans 8:9 NIV

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.

According to this verse, if I am a believer, the Spirit of God dwells in me. Paul reiterates that the truth in

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NIV

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Our bodies are the Spirit’s temple. The Holy Spirit makes His home in our bodies. We are His place of dwelling.

Doesn’t that challenge us to be seekers of the Spirit, to keep us on track and ever seeking His presence and power?

When those outside the church see no difference in our lives they begin to question our integrity, our sanity, or even worse our God.

James 3:11 NLT

Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?

We need to begin afresh by re-examining our preconceived ideas about the Holy Spirit and what it means to be a temple of the Spirit. There is much more to God and following in the way of Jesus than getting a bunch of talented people together to hold a church service.

The challenge is this tonight if you are here first of all and have not yet received the baptism in the Holy Spirit now is the time to come forward and receive it!

This is a gift you need to have present in your life; it is here for you right now. Do not focus on the gift but worship Jesus and do not be afraid to speak the language He gives you.

Secondly, if you are here and already have been baptized now is the time for you to spend with God figuring out what’s next. How long has it been since you have used that prayer language? How long has it been since you have sought His face for His will to be done in and through you?

We are desperate for your spirit

We are crying out for more

Your glory changes those who see it

Your presence is all we’re longing for

Oh Lord, We long for more of you

For more of you

We ask for more of you

More of you

We long for more of you

You are found by those who seek you

You are closer than we think

You alone can bring the breakthrough

So all we are to you we bring

We won’t be satisfied with hype or fame

We’re laying down lives to make your name great

Repeat

http://avantesoundcollective.bandcamp.com/