THE HOLY SPIRIT - POWER TO PREACH THE GOSPEL

THE HOLY SPIRIT - POWER TO PREACH THE GOSPEL Selected Passages from Acts June 18, 2000 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Last week we looked at the person and the purpose of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. This week, in the second of our three-part series on the Holy Spirit, I would like to present a biblical reminder of the primary reason the Holy Spirit has been sent to the church (namely, to empower the church to preach the gospel), and how we personally avail ourselves of His powerful presence. Let me begin with a benediction. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 Working backward through the thought of those two powerful verses, here is what the apostle Paul was saying. God is to receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever. To bring Him that glory some things are going to happen which boggle our minds-things for which we can hardly have the faith to ask for or even imagine. These things have to do with the expansion of God's kingdom. This, of course, happens when people hear and respond to the gospel of Christ. And right in the middle of that text he says that the gospel is empowered through His power at work within us. I believe it would be helpful for us to look again at how the Power of God poured out in His Holy Spirit, made the preaching of the gospel effective in the early church. Let's rehearse this truth. Turn to the book of 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. Jesus' promise to the disciples just before He was taken bodily out of this world to heaven was the same as had been foretold by John the Baptist, "I baptize you with water but one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Luke 3:16) Please notice the connection between the promised power and the purpose of the power-"You will be my witnesses." It is the Lord's high priority to get the good news of his salvation out to people. Knowing it will take supernatural power to get that done, He promises the power of the Holy Spirit will come on His disciples and make them strong witnesses for Him. 2:1-3 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them. Here the Lord fulfills the promise by sending the Holy Spirit in power to enable the preaching of the gospel. In fact, the gospel is heard in their own language/dialects by dozens of out of town visitors. A rather unusual demonstration, isn't it? But this is the way God chose to work. You've heard the old barb about what does an 800 lb. gorilla do? "Anything he wants!" Well what does the almighty, omniscient, eternal God do when He wants to get His message out? Anything He wants. In this case he chose to demonstrate to the disciples and the watching crowds a miraculous event that got their attention and permitted the preaching of the gospel. So powerfully persuasive was the word the apostles preached that day under the anointing of the Holy Spirit that 3,000 people surrendered their lives to Christ. What other kinds of Holy Spirit power were poured out in the early days of the church? In Acts 3, the Holy Spirit empowers Peter to heal a cripple. 3:1-8 - One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer-at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God. And guess what happens? All the people around were astonished, and came running to them in Solomon's Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them, "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? And he goes on to preach the gospel, and hundreds come to salvation in Christ through faith. 4:29-31 - Peter and John are arrested for preaching the resurrection of Jesus, and when they are released they go to the believers' prayer meeting to tell the brothers and sisters they have been threatened not to preach anymore. So they lift up their voices together and the appeal to God to hear the threats and deal with them. And their prayer ends with a courageous request: Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. 5:1-14 - Two people connected with the young church try to deceive the church on a financial matter. The Spirit enables Peter to discern it, he prophesies their death for lying to God and they both die. The result of this most alarming work of the Holy Spirit? Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade. No one else dared join them even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the lord and were added to their number. The Holy Spirit empowers Kingdom Expansion and He does it in most unique and variegated ways: miraculous use of languages previously unknown to the speakers, the healing of a lame man, the shaking of a building and the killing of a couple of liars! Later the Holy Spirit will miraculously lead a church deacon out of town to meet with an Ethiopian in order to share the gospel with him. The foreigner is converted and baptized and Peter is miraculously translateed to another town. Result? All of Africa receives the gospel. A man named Saul is knocked from His horse and blinded by a vision of the resurrected Lord. He is converted and becomes history's greatest missionary evangelist. The result? Huge territories of the Roman empire are evangelized and the Greek-speaking world hears the gospel. Later Peter experiences a repeated vision, is miraculously introduced to a group of Greek god-fearers; he starts to preach to them, and BOOM-the Holy Spirit falls on them as He did on the apostles and disciples at Pentecost. They began speaking in other languages just as they had! Again the miracle power of the Holy Spirit is displayed in unique and spectacular ways, the gospel is preached and people get saved. All through the book of Acts the Holy Spirit keeps filling believers, working miracles and healings, casting out demons, raising dead people, giving visions and prophecies and divine direction. And all with this goal: to empower the preaching of the gospel. These manifestations are called "signs and wonders" nine times in the New Testament, and a dozen clearly different sign phenomena produce great evangelistic growth in the church. Let me ask a question as I draw your attention back to the prayer of the church in Jerusalem. There they prayed Lord.enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders, through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. (Acts 4:29-30) The question is this - "What might God do if Metro-East Christian Fellowship prayed such a prayer?" An attendant question - "Do you think God is still interested in using signs and wonders to draw attention to the preaching of the gospel today?" We have bemoaned and shaken our heads about how people just don't seem to be open to the gospel, how the strongholds and resistance to the gospel has resulted in such few conversions around us. Do you think that the power of the Holy Spirit manifested in signs and wonders like those manifested in the first century might empower the preaching of the gospel in the dawning twenty-first century? Let me briefly review a couple of compelling truths: 1. It is still the purpose of God to reach lost people through the gospel, isn't it? 2. The Holy Spirit has not gone away-He is still the precious possession of the church today, isn't He? 3. It is still true, isn't it, that Jesus is the one mediator between God and people and their only hope of salvation. 4. And James 4:2 is still true, You have not because you ask not, isn't it? I believe, and I know you believe, that God is still able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. The Lord is speaking a challenge to me-to us-and really it's as much a DARE as it is a challenge. He is inviting us to draw on His resources to empower the preaching of the gospel-to dare to ask Him for signs and wonders to attend the preaching of the word in the St. Louis metro-east. In his astonishing little book, Power Through Prayer, E.M. Bounds wrote: What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can use-men of prayer, mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men-men of prayer. Listen, among the many things the Lord has been showing us lately in our experience with Him is that He answers prayer. Right? He has worked wonders among us-miracles of healing, restoration, salvation. His grace and mercy have been lavished on us in great numbers of answered prayers. I believe He wants to teach us that He answers our prayers, that He is willing to move among us if we ask Him! I believe the large and small answers to our prayers are "faith-builders" to bring us to ask Him for more, for miracles and signs and wonders that will grab the attention of people He wants to save, so they will listen to the gospel we bring them. I was reminded of the impact that answered prayers have in the lives of people for whom we pray just yesterday. I visited my uncle Ray, who is in the hospital recovering from a stroke. After we visited awhile about how he was feeling and a few family issues, I asked if I could pray for him. Instantly he said Yes. I was a little shocked at how quickly he responded. I prayed for him as I laid my hands on his weakened right arm. I heard him weeping as I prayed for his healing. Just after my Amen Ray wiped his eyes and said, "Do you remember Corry?" It took me a moment and then I realized he was talking about his grandson, and I remembered with him back three years ago-the day of my dad's funeral. Corry's parents had brought him to the funeral dinner at our previous worship center and shared with me and others the terrible nerve disorder he was suffering. One look at the three year old boy convinced me he was not well. His eyes were crossed, he seemed to have limited control over his legs, and he couldn't stand for even a full minute. I asked if a couple of us could pray for Corry. They consented, we anointed him with oil and prayed for his healing in the name of Jesus, and agreed in faith that the Lord was able to bring the boy complete health, despite the fact that the doctors had no real diagnosis, let alone any cure. Ray showed me a picture that he'd been carrying. It was a picture of Corry standing straight and tall in his baseball uniform, smiling. He is now seven years old and playing T-ball-the picture of health. Ray could barely speak as he shared how Corry had gotten better and better after that prayer until one day the family realized he was completely well. He spoke of how thankful the family is to God. And I realized that my praying for Ray reminded him of that prayer three years ago. People are affected by the touch of God in their lives in answer to our prayers. Now Ray is a believer, but I'm not sure that's true of the others in the family. But I am sure of this-they are much more ready today than they were 3 years ago to hear and respond to the gospel of the God who healed their boy. I want to encourage you, believer, to be bold in praying for God's miracles in the lives of those around you. Several of our callers in Neighborhood West had the opportunity to pray for people they met as they visited door to door. I am confident that God is answering those prayers for healing and provision and peace, because He wants to use those answers to build people's trust in Him and His church, and to draw them to salvation in Jesus. Remember, it is not YOU doing this ministry-it is the Holy Spirit-HIS power at work within you. Most of us are shy to step out and pray for miracles as signs and wonders. We're afraid we'll look foolish if the answer doesn't come in like we thought it should. Lord, deliver us from such petty self-consciousness! Here we are worried about how WE might LOOK, when an answered prayer might be used of God to snatch that person from the flames of hell! Listen, if God decides not to answer our prayer just the way we think He ought to, He is big enough to defend Himself. We don't have to apologize for Him. We are simply called to obediently minister the gospel to people. Here is the key. We begin by praying and seeking the filling of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We need to be able to hear His voice and know what He wants to do in the lives of those around us. Then we can confidently step to the plate and boldly minister in the name of the Lord. If we want His direction, we need to diligently do what Ephesians 5:18 says, Keep on being filled with the Spirit. We must also be bold to ask Him for special anointings of faith and boldness so we can minister in His power when we're out of our league. Another means of ministering in the fullness of the Holy Spirit is to make it a practice to place yourself in "sky-diving scenarios". You know the trick to sky-diving-it is to just JUMP. Once you've jumped, you're committed! The act of faith on the part of a Christian is to jump into ministry situations where you can only rely on the Holy Spirit to get you through it. Sky-diving jumps are when you step out in faith to obey God when you cannot predict how it's all going to turn out. You may have seen the African impala at the zoo. They are amazing animals. They are able to jump ten feet high and they can bound 30 linear feet in a single leap. But you can put an African impala in a zoo behind a 3 foot wall and it will never escape. The reason? The impala won't jump anywhere unless it can see where it is going to land before it jumps.  Too many of us have to see just exactly how we're going to land before we jump into ministry to people. And if we can't reasonably predict that we're going to land safely and comfortably we never jump. But without faith it is impossible to please God. And here is exactly how you minister to people in the fullness of the power of the Spirit. You get a nudge from the Spirit and you JUMP, with nothing to support you but God. The Lord promised to the disciples that when they found themselves in the most intimidating circumstances ministering for Him that they should not worry what they would say, because the Spirit would give it to them when they needed it. Here's what I believe the Lord is saying to us this morning-TRUST MY SPIRIT to do the work, and POSTURE YOURSELF for ministry. How do we learn to trust Him more, be more filled with Him, and serve in His power? 1. The next time you feel His nudge, jump into ministry (don't think about it, or take the time to predict what might happen if you step out-just do it-jump!) and posture yourself to be totally dependent on Him. 2. Commit to radical obedience to Him. Speak to the Holy Spirit in you tomorrow morning, "I am committing myself into your care and your power. I vow to move out into whatever risks you lead me to today. (Please don't let me down!)" 3. Open yourself to more of His fullness. Ratchet up in worship (Never prayed aloud? Never clapped or shouted or danced or raised your hands in worship? [these are all biblical actions] Then step out in faith and try it. Take a risk. He will sustain you) 4. Step out in faith in a new area for yourself. Jump into a witnessing opportunity with someone who intimidates you and trust the Holy Spirit to give you what to say and to empower you to present the gospel in a winsome way. Stretch yourself in giving-give the Lord a sacrificial contribution out of the money you'd rather keep for yourself. Take a risk and try to reconcile with someone with whom you've had a falling out. To grow in fullness in the Holy Spirit very often takes these kinds of leaps of faith where you are forced to rely on Him and not on yourself. It is a decision to have a SUPERNATURAL faith, and not a natural faith. STEP OUT INTO THE DEEPER WATER.       [Back to Top]