Passion of The Holy Spirit

Acts 1:4–11 KJV 1900

4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Dr. Paul Brand was speaking to a medical college in India on : “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” In front of the lectern was an oil lamp, with its cotton wick burning from the shallow dish of oil. As he preached, the lamp ran out of oil, the wick burned dry, and the smoke made him cough. He immediately used the opportunity.

“Some of us here are like this wick,” he said. “We’re trying to shine for the glory of God, but we stink. That’s what happens when we use ourselves as the fuel of our witness rather than the Holy Spirit. Wicks can last indefinitely, burning brightly and without irritating smoke, if the fuel, the Holy Spirit, is in constant supply.”

http://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/rely-on-the-holy-spirit

1. What are our expectations of the Holy Spirit?

Do we expect the Holy Spirit to turn us into super heroes? Did the disciples expect the Holy Spirit to turn them into superheroes?

superhero

noun su·​per·​hero |

Definition of superhero

: a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/superhero

They saw what happened in the garden. They saw an army of 600 trained officers fall on their backside from just two words “I AM” spoke by Jesus Christ.

They also saw Peter cut off an ear and then Jesus reattach it. These are not things you see every day.

John 14:12 ESV

12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

The disciples then had a meeting amongst themselves. This is how I imagine it went down based on how I have seen things go at work. I imagine the disciples were around a fire cooking some fish and had some bread. Similar to what the breakfast Jesus prepared on the shore. Of course Peter would have taken the lead. He was know to stick his foot in his mouth anyway. So Peter probably said, “Hey guys, I have thinking. Tell me what you all think. We saw Jesus perform numerous miracles as we traveled with him for 3 years. His teaching was amazing. The miracles became expected. What He did with the 5 loaves and 2 fishes, that still give me chills. And then when we were in the garden, did you all those 600 soldiers fall backwards and He did not even lift a finger!!! I think The Master is living below His ability. He is the Messiah after all. I think we need to talk to Him about getting rid of the Romans. We do not need to live under their thumb anymore. We are God’s chosen people. We need to have a talk with Him.”

Acts 1:6 ESV

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Jesus did not get mad. Our God is awesome. He is very patient with each and everyone of us. He knows how to talk to us. But He talked straight to them. He kept them focused on the task at hand.

2. What are the Holy Spirit’s expectations of us?

The Holy Spirit expects to use the power He gives us to share the gospel. To be witnesses. There is a boldness and power that comes with the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

noun su·​per·​hero | \ ˈsü-pər-ˌhir-(ˌ)ō , -ˌhē-(ˌ)rō\

acts 5:16

Acts 5:16 ESV

16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

Definition of superhero

I believe we will see these miracles here. As we develop our divine nature more and more and are more and more in tune with the Holy Spirit, we will see these amazing miracles.

: a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers

We are called to be witnesses.

This is what it looked like for the disciples.

Our Jerusalem is Holden.

Our Judea is the state of Missouri.

Our Judea is the state of Missouri.

Our Samaria are the surrounding states.

The uttermost part of the earth.

We have a lot of work to do. We may need to get rid of any preconceived ideas like the disciples. God’s plan is much bigger than we can image. The disciples thought getting rid of Roman rule was the biggest miracle. But Jesus had other plans. More far reaching plans. The disciples were only thinking about their corner of the world. Jesus is thinking about the whole world.

The Holy Spirit wants to move in and through us to accomplish the goal of Jesus Christ. To see more come to a salvation knowledge. For all of humanity to be reconciled to God. To see lives set free from the bondage of sin. To see families put back together. To see each of us with a strong mind fortified with the words of life. To see us living a prosperous life, alive and active in the power of the Gospel.

This is what the Holy Spirit expects of us.

We have a lot of work to do.