The Great Outpouring - Pour Out Your Spirit Again

As we start this week it is exciting to be able to celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. At the same time our country is in turmoil.

Over two months ago our country was attacked by a virus. This has lead to people dying but not just by the virus in the body but also how it has affected people in many other ways.

Suicides have skyrocketed. Domestic abuse and mental health issues have increased while people are under house arrest to try and keep people from getting the virus.

Many people are not able to go to church and fellowship with their brothers and sisters. Now we are seeing that over the last for weeks according to Barna research that 50% of them have not even watched or participated in an online church.

This disconnect is getting deeper. People are losing connection with each other and with God.

As I said people are not able to fellowship with their brothers and sisters. This also brings us to this week were a man, George Floyd was murdered by a police officer. A police officer that had a history of hate. It appears that this police officer who was charged with protecting the innocent instead enjoyed the power his position gave him.

To no regard to George this officer kneeled on his neck until his family no longer would ever be able to talk to him. No longer would he be able to play basketball with his friends or go to work. His life was taken from him and all those who love him.

Up to this point I have not posted anything about this on social media because I feel like there are better people than I that can speak to this.

I said earlier that this country has been attacked by a virus but I also believe that we are under an evil attack by forces that we can not see.

We are seeing our country devolve into chaos. People are using the memory of George Floyd to destroy others lives. Innocent people have already died this week at the hands of those who want to use the memory of George Floyd to wreak havoc on our country.

A black business owner was brought to tears at the sight of his business being burned to the ground. He had put his life savings into starting his sports restaurant and the rioters set it on fire. While he was being interviewed rioters came in the back and tried to steal his safe.

His beautiful wife posted the devastation that was brought to them by the rioters.

Notice I said rioters not protesters. Protesting is something anyone can do. People who stand in front of abortion clinics praying are protesting what they are doing to babies, mothers, and fathers. Thy are protesting the murder of the innocent and we can do the same for George Floyd.

What is going on? How do we fix it? Can it be fixed?

I want to start off by telling you that evil exist and will always exist until the end of the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ.

What this officer did was evil and he should be punished to the full extent of the law. What the rioters are doing is evil and they should face justice for their crimes.

You see repaying evil with evil does not fix anything.

Martin Luther King Jr. said this: “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

Love....where does that come from? Directly from God.

1 John 4:7–8 NLT

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Without God there is no way that this will end. There is no way that one race can get along with another. It takes the love of God and that is something that we have but we don’t just need it; our family, our neighbors, our city......everywhere needs this love.

You see we have got to a point that we don’t think we need God. We just need some good counselling, a great job, nice clothes, happy children. All of these are nice but have nothing to do with the love of God and without the love of God evil will grow in this world.

Have you ever thought if it is this bad now what will it be like when all Christians are raptured and none are left? All those people who have the love of God are suddenly gone. You are left with people that are not children of God.

Now I want to show you how awesome our God is. He was already prepared for this 2000 years ago.

Put yourself in that time. Jesus had just left earth. The disciples were not popular. As a matter of fact they would become targeted by the Apostle Paul to death.

Even though they were not popular they listened to Jesus and went into the city and started a prayer meeting. At the end of 10 days the Spirit of God came

Acts 2:1–4 NLT

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

This day is the Pentecost Sunday!

On Pentecost Sunday the church was started. The love of God was poured out.

It wasn’t just poured out to the 120 in the upper room but it was poured out on 3000 that day that came to salvation in Jesus.

The Outpouring of the Spirit brings salvation.

The first thing that we should see in an outpouring is how it brings us closer to God to the point that people are coming to salvation.

So many people want to just see the miraculous signs we need to see salvation. This is the lasting affect of the the outpouring. With salvation comes love. The love that Christ had when He gave up his life on the cross.

2. The Outpouring of the Spirit brings miraculous signs and wonders.

One of the first signs is the speaking in tongues. This is something that every Christian should desire. The initial physical evidence of speaking in tongues is for you and God not for everyone else. God gives you a prayer language that is special between you and him.

But not only speaking in your own prayer language but we have all of the gifts that are laid out in 1 Corinthians 12. Like miracles, healing, supernatural wisdom to name a few.

We should all desire these helpful gifts. These gifts are for us to use to lead people to an abundant life in Christ.

3. The Outpouring of the Spirit brings unity.

We talked about the disciples earlier and the outpouring well there is more to the story. That day there were over 1000 different languages and dialects that were spoken. There was extreme diversity. All that diversity came together in unity specifically because of the outpouring.

We need another outpouring of the Spirit.

As I was saying earlier that the Spirit brings unity.

In 1906 an outpouring of the Spirit occured in California.

You see this was a unique outpouring because it started in Kansas.

A man saw God moving at this college led by a white pastor by the name of Charles Parham. Charles believed that God wanted to do more and they were missing some things so he had his students go out and pray. Without any teaching the outpouring of the Spirit came on them.

Another man heard about this Spiritual experience and wanted to learn more. He came to Brother Charles and asked to be able to attend and learn under him. Pastor Charles said that would be fine but the he would have to sit in the hallway not the classroom. You see this mans name was William J. Seymour, a black minister.

Brother William sat in the hallway everyday learning about the Holy Spirit until a point that God took him on a journey that ended up in California.

In California Brother William started preaching what the he had learned under Pastor Charles and the Azuza Street outpouring happened. Brother William preached from a porch the powerful word of God.

Pastor Charles heard about the outpouring and brought some of His students. When he arrived he was shocked that black and white people were worshiping the Lord together. He even tried to tell William that he couldn’t allow this but William did not change anything. Pastor Charles tried to get people to leave the meeting with little success and the outpouring lasted for 3 years.

During this time many people were saved, healed, Baptized in the Holy Spirit including news people who showed up to report what was going on.

Another unique thing that happened is that someone would start singing a new song and miraculously everyone would start singing together in unison.

Frank Bartleman was a man that attended the outpouring. He said:

“African-Americans, Latinos, whites, and others prayed and sang together, creating a dimension of spiritual unity and equality, almost unprecedented for the time. It allowed men, women, and children to celebrate their unity in Christ and participate as led by the Spirit.” Then Bartleman enthusiastically exclaimed, “The color line was washed away in the blood.”

He meant that in the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, the sin of racial prejudice had been removed by the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ.”

Notice what I said, they were singing in unison. The outpouring of the Spirit brings unity. Red and Yellow, Black and White.

The only way we can heal our country and bring people into unity is through the Holy Spirit. Wherever an outpouring has happened these things I have told you this morning has happened. Why?

2 Corinthians 3:16–18 NLT

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

So what now? Are we ready to see things change? Are we ready to have an eternal impact? Then we must stop making excuses for the evil and begin to cry out to God for an outpouring of His Spirit.

The great thing is he will listen and he will do it.

Listen to the words of William J. Seymour “I can say, through the power of the Spirit, that wherever God can get a people that will come together in one accord and one mind, in the Word of God, the baptism of the Holy Ghost will fall upon them, like in Cornelius house”