Together we will Shine

HOOK

Happy mother’s day!

52 days after we were ordered to shelter in place— how are you doing so far? — The light at the end of the tunnel is shining brighter!

We are on the 2nd phase of reopening the state— church is included among other high risk establishments on phase 3— the Governor did not mention a specific timeline as to when it’s gonna be— but we already formed our church reopening committee to prepare for the safe and happy reopening of our church to the public

Life will never be the same for all us— with social distancing, face covering, frequent hand washing—life will never be the same!

Life was never the same for the disciples of the Lord either— but “When they stayed ‘Together’, They received power and they communicated to whoever”

“There is power when we are together!”

Keep in mind that these are ordinary folks— some of them are fishermen, tax collectors, zealots— ordinary as we are.. their lives was changed by their encounter and association with Jesus

Their lives were never the same after Jesus— these ordinary people did extraordinary things

They were able to do what they did because the Holy Spirit enabled them—

We followed through the events that took place after the resurrection of Jesus— and we learned rich wisdom and practical applications from them

Let’s take a quick look— back on those things we heard from the Lord that led us to where we are now—

Easter changed everything!— He gave us Peace, Purpose and Promises

On the second appearance of the Lord to his disciples after resurrecting from the dead—we learned lessons how we should Deal with our Doubts

We deal with our doubts by holding on to His Word, meditating on His Works, and trusting on His Worthiness

And on his 3rd appearance, we learned that Obedience is Key to Miracle— [3rd Appearance FISH] Our Faith leads to obedience, Instructions are found in the word of God, we should Show our obedience to others, and we must let Jesus be the king of our Hearts

And after Jesus ascended to heaven, the lives of the disciples was never the same again— they became his witnesses— they became His Carriers of Hope

To a be carriers of HOPE— we should Help others whenever we can, we must Open up our homes, Positivity is key, and we must Encourage the people wherever we are

Remember that these wisdom and timeless principles are from the events of the first day of passover [death of Jesus], leading up to the Festival of the Weeks [otherwise known as The Pentecost or Festival of the First Fruits], which is 50 days apart

In one occasion, while eating— Jesus told them not to leave Jerusalem and wait for the gift the Father had promised— so they lingered in Jerusalem until the day of the Pentecost came— the Holy Spirit came on them

Life was never the same for the disciples after that!— They stayed together, and received power, and communicated to whoever

They were enabled to communicate beyond their language [nationality, religion, culture and tradition] and began doing amazing things.

Right of the bat, after reading our text this morning— you can see three things:

1. They stayed Together— in one place. The venue was kinda vague. It’s just recorded as “one place” and “whole house”— the most likely place for the gathering is the upper room where they have been praying— perhaps it was near the temple where large crowds woulds assemble of a feast day

2. They Received the Power— all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. Who is them?— the 120 that who was in attendance when they cast lot to name the replacement of Judas [find this story right before our text today, Chapter 1 of Acts

3. They Communicated to Whoever— people from different regions who were in Jerusalem for the Festival heard their own language spoken— they were amazed and perplexed.

Open your Bible to Acts 2:1-13— once you get there, type Amen please!

Acts 2:1–13 NIV

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

LOOK

THEY WERE ALL TOGETHER [V. 1]

They stayed together

Together is better

There’s Power when we’re Together

ALL OF THEM WERE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT [V. 4]

They received the power

To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be energized and controlled by the third person of the Godhead

Spirit-filling leads to renewal, obedience, boldness in testimony

Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit— Luke 4:1

Luke 4:1 NIV

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

“Full of the Spirit” is a consistent quality of Christian Character

Consistent filling of the Holy Spirit will bring you to being “Full of the Spirit”— Ephesians 5:18 says..

Ephesians 5:18 NIV

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,

The present tense of the verb implies the need to be regularly filled and re-filled with the Spirit

This apostolic command will bring conscious experience of Gods’ power

A Spirit-filled believer will manifest the following character:

The Spirit of Christ should rule the believers’ lives

Romans 8:4–6 NIV

4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

The Spirit produces of Christlike character

Romans 15:13 NIV

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit brings liberty [freedom]

Romans 7:6 NIV

6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

Being filled with the Spirit often leads to words of praise

Here are some characteristics with the fullness of the Spirit

The Holy Spirit give us skill wisdom, joy and faith

Skills

Exodus 31:3 NIV

3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—

Wisdom

Deuteronomy 34:9 NIV

9 Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.

Joy

Acts 13:52 NIV

52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Faith

Acts 11:24 NIV

24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

BECAUSE EACH ONE HEARD THEIR OWN LANGUAGE SPOKEN [V. 6]

They communicated to whoever

Some Bible scholars suggest that it was miraculous hearing—

Though we recognize that speaking in tongues is a gift from the Holy Spirit— it will not necessarily manifest in all believers— Paul said in [1 CORINTHIANS 14:23]

1 Corinthians 14:23 NIV

23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

In this season of darkness— “Together we will Shine!”

I have TFC for everyone today! Are you among those who miss The Filipino Channel already?

TOOK

WE MUST STAY TOGETHER

When Paul talked about the supremacy of the Son of God— he told this to the Christians in Colossae

Colossians 1:17–18 NIV

17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

I MUST BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT’S POWER

When Paul talked to the Romans about life through the Spirit, these was his words for them

Romans 8:9 NIV

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.

I SHOULD COMMUNICATE THE GOSPEL TO WHOEVER, WHENEVER

During Paul’s final charge to Timothy— he said

2 Timothy 4:2 NIV

2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.