Turning Our Town Upside Down #2 Acts 2 Paraclete Power
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Introduction: Let 'er Crawl PREACHER
During a fired-up sermon, the spirit impressed a great
illustration on a local pastor.
He said, "Our church needs to get back to the
basics. We need to become like a babe,
and learn to get up on our hands and knees and crawl like we've never CRAWLED
before. This church needs to CRAWL
before the Lord."
As the pastor paused briefly, From the back of the sanctuary
came a voice crying out, "Let 'er CRAWL preacher, let 'er CRAWL."
The pastor continued, "Then we need to work on studying
the word and strengthening ourselves to where we can STAND and be strong in our
faith. We need to STAND for the
LORD."
From the back of the sanctuary the voice replied back,
"Let 'er STAND preacher, let 'er STAND."
Encouraged even more, the pastor continued his illustration
by saying, "The church needs to then take one step at a time, putting one
foot in front of the other until we can WALK with the Lord the way we
should. This church needs to WALK for
the Lord."
From the back of the sanctuary the voice replied back,
"Let 'er WALK preacher, let 'er WALK."
By now the Pastor was fully inspired by the encouraging brother
in the back. Spurred on by the response
the pastor continued with enthusiasm, "The church needs to then get into a
stride where we can RUN for God. But first, it's going to take each and every
member of this church, each and every one of you, to join in. You're each going to have to make a commitment
to tithe, you're each going to make a commitment to study the Word daily,
you're each going to have to commit to pray daily, and you're each going to
have to commit to assembling here as part of this body each and every time the
church doors are open. Then and only
then, can this church RUN for the Lord."
After an exceptionally long and thoughtful pause the voice
cried out from the back of the sanctuary with a somewhat disappointed tone,
"Let 'er CRAWL Preacher, Let 'er CRAWL."
Today as we continue our theme “Turning our town upside down
from the book of Acts we want to see what made the first church at Jerusalem a
running church. A church that turned their town upside down.
Background: Luke, the only Gentile to write any of the Bible,
wrote both Luke and Acts as a history to a man by the name of Theophilus. Whose
name means friend of God. He was probably also a Gentile Christian that may
have asked or even commission Luke to write a full history of the story of
Jesus and the Apostles.
Let’s read Acts 1:1-5
The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began
both to do and teach, Until the day in
which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given
commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after
his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and
speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 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. For John truly baptized with water; but ye
shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
As Luke’s gospel was about the work of Jesus Christ, Luke’s
second book is about the work of the Holy Spirit. It is often labeled as the
Acts of the Apostles but if we look at the one unifying force of the book, it
should probably be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus from the Mount of Olives told his disciples to wait in
Jerusalem for the promise of the Father. “The Promise” was the most looked for
and prayed for prophesy of the Old Testament second only to the coming of the
Messiah. That promise was the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is that day that we
read about in Acts chapter 2, the day we call the Day of Pentecost.
Prerequisites of the Power Acts 2:1
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all
with one accord in one place.
Pentecost Power
In just this opening verse I see 4 things that had to take
place if the church was going to receive power from Jesus Christ through the
Holy Spirit.
First there was Obedience to Jesus. Jesus told them to "Tarry at Jerusalem” Had they left or
ignored his command they would have missed the Baptism of the Spirit.
Secondly, they had to have Faith in God's Word. When Jesus
told them, "Ye shall receive power" they had to believe it. The
belief then would lead them to the third prerequisite of power,
Patience The had to wait until 50 days from the time Jesus
was crucified, 10 day after His ascension. For the Spirit would come “When the Day of Pentecost was fully
come"
Finally, we can see from the verse that they had Unity. The
Word of God says they were "all with one accord in one place" and it
was in that spirit of unity that the Spirit of God was able to empower the
church that day.
Let me quickly add this, the baptism of the Spirit was a one
time event. Jesus immersed His church in the Holy Spirit. Such an event never
occurred again. It was meant to show that the church was now God’s house of
witness. Just as he had shown when His glory filled the Temple and Tabernacle
when they were finished. So they church that day was immersed and the
individuals were indwelt and filled. After the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit
is given to each of us when we accept Jesus as our Savior.
Let’s apply these same prerequisites for power to our
church.
Present Power
Obedience
Obedience is the yardstick God uses to measure a church 1
Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required
in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Revelation 3:8-11 I
know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can
shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not
denied my name. …
Because thou hast kept the word of my
patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come
upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which
thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Obedient in duty Matthew 28:19-20 Go, teach, baptize
Obedient in giving Philippians 4:15-19 Give because my God shall supply all your
need.
Obedient in relationships 1 John 3:11 we should love one another.
Obedient in praying 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
Faith
Do we really believe God?
The first Church did.
They waited where He had told them because they believed the promise
that He had given.
What about us? Do we
really believe the promises Jesus has left us?
Galatians 6:7-9 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the
flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit
reap life everlasting. And let us not be
weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Patient Expectation
We must wait upon the Lord
Not passively wasting time but being involved in the fight.
We wait not for the fight to begin but for the victory that will come if we
fight.
1 Corinthians 3: 6 I
have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
Isa 55:10 For as the
rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but
watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to
the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So
shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me
void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the
thing whereto I sent it.
Unity
Paul ties unity to the God head itself. Unity that is
necessary if we are to have God’s power.
Ephesians 4:1-6 I
therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the
vocation wherewith ye are called, With
all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in
love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of
the Spirit in the bond of peace. There
is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your
calling; One Lord, one faith, one
baptism, One God and Father of all, who
is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Illustration: Revival comes from God to those who have
prepared for it only.
Brother Hugh Atkinson was the pastor of Metropolitan Baptist
Church. In a message he preached at a conference at Independent Baptist College
he made this statement about Revival. "God will send revival in His own
time but only to those who have prepared for it.”
The same is true for God’s power in the church. God sends it
but we will only be able to receive it if we have prepared for it.
Presence of Power Acts 2:2-4
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues
like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The Power is seen in the Upper Room
Let’s break this down step by step.
There was a sound of a rushing and mighty wind that filled
the room.
Then there were cloven tongues of fire, which sat on each of
them.
They were filled with Holy Spirit
And they began to speak in other tongues.
This was the baptism of the Church by Jesus in the Holy
Spirit
Mark 1:8 I indeed
have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
They were immersed in the Spirit and also filled with the
Spirit.
They spoke in tongues, the word simple means other languages.
We know that because the other people outside the church could understand.
It was this power, the power of God’s Holy Spirit, that
changed the apostles from cowards to heroes, and the church from an obscure
sect of Jewish believers to the most visible and powerful force for change in
all the world even to this day.
What Paraclete Power Looks Like Today
It is not in Sign Miracles like the day of Pentecost.
(If flames started descending in this place I'd yell fire
and call 911.) No, those signs were to
authenticate the church as God's house of witness.
Power today is not seen in miraculous signs but in the miracle
of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. That power is seen in souls being transformed from hell
bound to heaven bound.
In families that really are families able to endure the
hardships of this world and only become stronger. In lives being changed from waste to worth. In communities being turned upside down by the power of the
Gospel. It's seen in sinful habits being broken, in life long
weaknesses being make into strengths, in despair being turned into hope. It's seen in the ability to love one another and especially
in the ability to forgive one another.
The power must come from the Holy Spirit operating in all of
us and through all of us as the church. We must learn again that the power of
the Holy Spirit is what turned the world upside down in the first century and
the same Holy Spirit that will turn our town upside down today and upside down
in this world is right side up with God. This power is the key that will make the
difference.
Quote: "If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the
church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the
difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament
church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the
difference" - A. W. Tozer
Illustration: The American Red Cross was gathering supplies, medicine,
clothing, food and the like for the suffering people of Biafra. Inside one of
the boxes that showed up at the collecting depot one day was a letter. It said,
"We have recently been converted and because of our conversion we want to
try to help. We won't ever need these again. Can you use them for something?"
Inside the box were several Ku Klux Klan sheets. The sheets were cut down to
strips and eventually used to bandage the wounds of people in Africa.
It could hardly be
more dramatic-from symbols of hatred to bandages of love because of the new
creation (and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.) - Maxie Dunnam,
Commentary on Galatians
Product of Power Acts 2:5-6, 14, 40-41
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out
of every nation under heaven. Now when
this was noised abroad, the multitude came together,
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his
voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at
Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words
40-41 And with many other words did he testify and exhort,
saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were
baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand
souls.
The Effects of God’s Power in the First Church
To the first church on the day of Pentecost it was
undeniable.
The church is suddenly front and center in Jerusalem.
The new pastor of the church at Jerusalem, Peter, who once
denied the name of Jesus and hid in fear, is now filled with boldness in his preaching
and confront the very people who were hunting him. Pointing his finger in their
face and says, ye have taken,
and by wicked hands have crucified and slain, the Messiah of God." - “Acts 2:23
After that message, 3000 souls are added to the church in one
day. Now that is power! That is turning a town upside down.
The Effects of God’s Power in our Church.
Our community must take notice
The world is longing for what the reality of God.
What they have seen too often is anything but real.
If a church truly is empowered by the Spirit of God, sincere
hurting and searching people will come.
The pastor will be filled with boldness
This isn’t loudness, it isn’t even tears or eloquent speech.
It is outside of anything I can manufacture or do within
myself. It is the power of the Holy
Spirit. It is being swept up and swept
away in His will and way. It is becoming
an observer while the Holy Spirit uses this body to do that which He will
do.
Souls will be added.
Quote: "What the Church needs to-day is not more
machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men
whom the Holy Ghost can use men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost
does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery,
but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men, …." - E.M. Bounds
Illustration: Church of the Open Door Rev 3:7-8
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These
things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David,
he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know
thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it:
for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
Conclusion:
Don’t we want this?
Don’t we all want to experience the power of the Holy Spirit, to feel
Him working in our lives to change us, remake us, empower us, to know He’s
working in our families to protect and guide them, to experience Him working in
our Church to grow and mature it? Don’t
we want to be the church that Jesus has opened a door that no man can shut?
The Holy Spirit always comes in power, but only to those who
have prepared for that power. We must
examine ourselves and ask, Are we prepared?
Are we obeying Jesus’ commands? Do we have faith in His Word? Are we
patiently fighting the righteous fight while we wait for victory? Are we united
as a church in love and in calling?
We can’t know when Jesus will open a great and effectual
door, we can’t know when Jesus will send a revival, but we must keep our selves
always ready, always prepared. Are you prepared this morning? For though we
cannot know when, we do know this, that He will not act if we are not ready.
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