The Greatest Birthday Gift

This Sunday is a celebration of the Day of Pentecost.  Some scholars refer to this as the birthday of the Church.  We won’t deal with that debate here today.  However, it is the day that God gave a great gift to His followers.  Just as Jesus was an incredible gift of salvation to the world, so the Holy Spirit is a similarly incredible gift to those who believe on Jesus.  In fact, Jesus had told his followers not to leave Jerusalem until they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit would be taking the place of Jesus.  Just as Jesus taught, so the Holy Spirit would teach.  The Holy Spirit would also work through the Church to heal and do miracles.  The Holy Spirit would be a comforter just as Jesus was to his disciples.  Ultimately, the Holy Spirit would do all that Jesus did, but without the physical limitations and restraints.  Thus today, as hundreds of millions of believers awake, they are instantly greeted by the presence of God’s Spirit.  He who is called the Promise of the Father is with us.  So, today we celebrate that no matter how dark and difficult our situation is, God is with us through His Holy Spirit and that is more than enough.

We are going to look at Peter’s sermon following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2 and verses 36-39.

You Shall Receive The Holy Spirit

When the Holy Spirit is poured out on the disciples, they are in Jerusalem.  The resulting worship and praise of God in many different languages at the same time causes a ruckus that draws the attention of a large crowd.  At this point Peter begins to explain what is happening and why.  They are receiving the Promise of the Father because they are followers of Jesus.  The people recognize that they are in danger of missing out on this promise that they all had been waiting for and so they ask what they should do.  Peter’s answer gives them the hope that they can experience the outpouring of the Holy Spirit for themselves.  It’s not too late.

But, in order to receive the Holy Spirit, the people needed to do some things.  First they needed to repent.  They needed to definitely repent of participating in the death of Jesus.  However, it was their sinful hearts that led up to this act.  They needed to see their own sinfulness before God and turn away from it- both the actions and the mindset that led up to them.  The beautiful thing is that they were “cut to the heart” by Peter’s words.  This is a way of saying that Peter’s words pierced their hearts with sorrow and grief.  I say it is beautiful because it is the very work of the Holy Spirit that Jesus said would be in John 16:8.  “[The Holy Spirit] will convict the world of sin.”  Though the Spirit is being poured out on believers in Jesus, He is also graciously working in the hearts of unbelievers to convict them of their sin.  Conviction of our sin enables us to desire something better.  The word “repent” literally means to turn away from one thing and towards another.  They needed to turn away from the way they were and towards the person and teaching of Jesus Christ.  Of course some will refuse this grace of the Holy Spirit.  Such refusal only hardens us further to His conviction.  At some point an individual can become so hard that they will never repent.

The second thing that is necessary is to identify with Jesus.  I say it this way because we can focus on being baptized all the while losing sight of Jesus.  Baptism is not the critical word in the phrase, “Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.”  It is actually “Jesus Christ.”  They were used to being baptized in the cleansing rituals in response to the law.  But they were doing it in obedience to the Law of Moses. Now they are to do the cleansing ritual in obedience to Jesus Christ.  This purposeful identification with Jesus is the key point.  We turn from our sins and publically identify with Jesus and his people.  I am a follower of Jesus.  Today there are many baptized people who are letting their sins lead them to identify with the Spirit of this World, rather than picking up their cross and following Jesus.  We redefine who Jesus is and what he would do because we do not want to let go of our sins.  God’s Spirit is given to those who want to turn away from sin and towards Jesus.  In those days there was only one Jesus and the society was polarized as for or against Jesus.  But today we have many different images of Jesus.  This is why it is so important to go into the Bible for yourself and discover who Jesus really is; not what someone says he is.  Are you following the true Jesus or a politically correct Jesus?  Are you following the true Jesus or a socially acceptable Jesus?  Only the true Jesus opens the door for the Spirit of God.  Any other “Jesus” opens the door for the spirit of this Age.

If you do those two things, repent and identify with the true Jesus, God will keep His word.  He is not a liar.  God has been faithful to convict the hearts of people in this world, calling them out from this world to become a part of a community that is being saved from judgment.  Not just that, but, He is also empowering us to work with the Holy Spirit in this.  Peter is the prime example.  The Spirit came upon him and enabled him to preach the truth to his generation.  It was a hard truth and one that Peter would have ran away from in his own flesh.  But now he boldly proclaims to them that they killed the Messiah and need to repent and believe on Jesus.

Now God will always empower those He calls.  His will is two-fold.  Regarding me, the Spirit helps me to keep turning from sin and to strengthen my faith in Jesus.  This is more than maintaining a status quo.  But rather a day by day growing in our understanding of sin’s hold in our life and the trustworthiness of Jesus.  Thus our position in Christ should become stronger over time.  In regards to others, the Spirit enables me to love them with Spirit-filled actions that come from Spirit-led motivations.  Now for believers this is helping to build up their faith.  But towards the lost it is helping to lead them to Christ.

There has never been a time that Christians could do such a work without the Holy Spirit.  No amount of technology and psychological analysis will enable us to do what only the Holy Spirit can do.  We have been given the Holy Spirit because the work cannot be done without Him.  In fact, He is not just another component in this.  He is the Key component.  So what should we do?  We must first make sure that we are turning from sin and towards the true Jesus.  Then we must recognize that God is faithful and the Holy Spirit is with me.  You will not always feel like the Holy Spirit is present, but remind yourself that it is true nonetheless.  Then ask for His help.  Don’t wait until you have tried everything.  Instead begin each day by asking the Holy Spirit for His leading, help, comfort, correction, and guidance.  Then walk by faith.  Whether it is doing what God’s Word says, or responding to a prompting in our heart, we need to walk by faith.  Of course “promptings in our heart” are subjective.  But that does not mean they cannot be real.  God calls us to be mature children who are learning and have learned how to discern the difference between my flesh and the Holy Spirit.  If your heart is in the right place and you are carefully walking out what you believe the Lord is saying to you then God will help you.  Even when you make mistakes, He will help you to see that and grow, and learn.  Let’s be led by the Spirit of God and not the spirit of this world!

Best Birthday Gift Audio

The Holy Spirit Empowers Us

Today is Pentecost Sunday.  For the Church of Jesus it is sort of like our birthday.  So this will be a perfect day to finish our series on the Work of the Holy Spirit.  We are going to see today that He is the source of power that God wants us to rely upon in this life.

Pentecost Is A Feast Of The Lord

Under the Old Covenant with Israel, God had commanded them to celebrate 7 feasts.  They are sometimes referred to as the Feasts of Israel.  But it is technically more correct to call them the feasts of the Lord.  Pentecost is feast number four in this list if you start at the beginning of the year.

1. Passover

2. Unleavened Bread

3. First Fruits

4. Weeks (Pentecost)

5. Trumpets

6. Day of Atonement

7. Tabernacles (Booths)

The first three Feasts happened several weeks into Spring and thus were called the Spring feasts.  They would happen in rapid succession together.  Pentecost usually is considered a part of the Spring feasts.  However, there is a clear separation of 50 days between it and the first 3 feasts.  Originally the feast was called the feast of weeks because you would count off 7 weeks and then on the next day the feast would begin.  As the Greek language became dominate, the Greek term for 50 (i.e. Pentecost) was used.  Of course with the New Testament being written in Greek, the term stuck.

The last three Feasts similarly happen in rapid succession at the beginning of Fall.  These are the Fall Feasts.  So, the Feast of Pentecost was conspicuous in its separation between the other two groups of Feasts.

Jesus revealed to his disciples that these feasts had prophetic significance.  In fact, each time Israel had celebrated them in the way prescribed by the Lord, they were acting out a prophecy of things to come.  The first 3 Feasts point to the first coming of Christ.  The last three point to the 2^nd Coming of Christ.  So what was Pentecost?  Well let’s walk through them.

Passover spoke of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross so that the angel of death (our punishment) would “Passover” us.

Unleavened Bread spoke of who Jesus was.  He was the bread from heaven that had no corrupting influence of sin within him (leaven or yeast) , which was provide by God the Father.  The disciples of Jesus spiritually “fed” upon who he was.

First Fruits points to the resurrection of Jesus.  Not only was he resurrected, but also several Old Testament saints.  They were the first fruits that recognized the later full harvest that would come in and be resurrected to God.

Pentecost was also connected to the harvest.  It was a celebration of the summer harvest and points to the Church being filled with the Power of the Spirit to be a witness to the world.  The last 2,000 years have been a Spirit-empowered harvest time.  Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles all point to the coming of Jesus to be King over the earth.  There will be separation and judgment to the wicked and atonement and grace for righteous.  Those who are worthy will be allowed to dwell with Jesus forever in new resurrected bodies.  Thus we will “tabernacle” (dwell) with him, never to be separated.

All of the first four feasts had their prophetic fulfillment exactly on that day.  Thus we can see the reason for the separation between Pentecost and the other two sets.  Though it would begin shortly after Christ’s fulfillment of the first 3, it would initiate a long period of time in which the Harvest was gathered.  Now don’t get depressed that we are only on feast 4.  When the next three happen they will also happen in rapid succession.  Will they also happen exactly on the feast days?  I guess we will have to wait and see.  It would fit the pattern, but there is no such statement in Scripture.

At Pentecost The Holy Spirit Came To

This brings us to the Feast of Pentecost that happened 50 days after the Passover in which Jesus was sacrificed.  This was the day that the Promised Spirit of God was to be poured out upon the Church.  Now the Holy Spirit had been active in their lives already.  It was the Spirit that had drawn each of them to the Lord and convinced them that He was the Christ.  But this day is the day in which the Holy Spirit came to officially take His place among believers.  He was the Other Helper that Jesus had promised them.  Only this Helper was not limited to a human body.

He also came to supply them with power.  Clearly not all believers had the same scope and level of power in the things they did.  Even Luke records that the Lord did unusual miracles through Paul and Peter.  But all of them were empowered for the ministry and work to which they had been called.  Thus the majority of them were empowered for the “Normal Life.”  You know what I mean: growing up, getting married, giving yourself to a task that helps your fellow-man (AKA a job), raising kids, being a light to the world, and passing the Truth to the next generation.  Do we need God’s power for such tasks?  Isn’t that rhetorical?  Be careful of being dissatisfied with the task that God has given you.  By definition there are few apostles, but many believers.  Paul would start a church but then leave it in the hands of capable leaders who would lead Spirit-filled believers.  We can despise the day of “small things” when we have an inordinate desire for “something better.”  In Jesus there is nothing better than Normal (as defined by God not the world). 

However, we should never let satisfaction be about the mere physical satisfaction of life.  That kind of satisfaction will lead to laziness, drunkenness, spiritual sleep, and even spiritual death.  Thus we should be about our Father’s business: point out Jesus to a lost world.

Lastly the Holy Spirit came to lead them in being a witness to the world of Jesus.  When we think of the picture of a harvest, we see the workers and master as people.  But the truth is that even the wheat being harvested is made up of lost people.  No farmer asks wheat if they would like to be harvested.  You don’t see a guy out in front of a combine trying to convince the alfalfa to just surrender to what he is about to do.  People are more than wheat.  Yet, in the end they must believe and surrender themselves to a process by which they are bundled together with other believers (local churches).  Then, in the midst of that, they are drawn into the Master’s house. 

Final Thoughts

Pentecost is not about strange languages, although God does manifest himself through speaking in tongues.  Pentecost is mainly about harvest.  The Spirit of the Lord takes believers and fills them with His power to be His harvesters on this earth.  He first gives us power to be a follower of Christ.  He also gives us power to open our mouths and speak the words and deeds of Jesus to others.  Lastly He gives us power “to do” like Jesus did, that is to live a Spirit-led and Spirit-empowered life.

Don’t let the pleasures of life cause you to be absent from the Lord’s harvest field.  He is looking for workers.  Won’t you go and labor for Him today?

The HS Empowers Audio

The Holy Spirit Helps Moms

This was Mother’s Day weekend and so we want to be thankful for moms and encourage them.  I am going to use the series we have been doing on the Holy Spirit to do exactly that.  However, I also want this to be an exercise for all of us in which we see how to take biblical truth and apply it to our particular life.

Being a mom is often a thankless job.  We do not want to be like the 9 lepers who did not return and thank Jesus.  We need to often go back to the moms in our life and recognize what they have done for us. 

Now, moms and dads are tasked with raising their family for God and being a continuous influence towards Him on into their lives.  We see this early in the Scriptures in Deuteronomy 6.  Parents are instructed to teach the Word of God and thus the Ways of God to their kids as they go about each day.  It is an on the job learning experience.  Moms, you need to know and trust that the Holy Spirit is helping you in this task.  As we look at the different ways He is helping you, first make sure these are happening in your life and second share these things with your family.

He Helps You Bring Your Family To Salvation

In John 16:8 we are told, “when He [The Holy Spirit] has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.”  The greatest need for any person is to be in right-relationship with God and, thus, to believe on Jesus.  It can be easy to throw our hands up and want to quit when kids seemingly don’t respond as we hope.  In fact, many will continue this into their adult lives causing much grief and sorrow for moms.  Let me just encourage you, mom, that the Holy Spirit hasn’t given up on your kid.  He is working every day to point out their sin, show them what is right, and warn them of judgment.  You might grow weary in these things, but He doesn’t.  Take strength from that.  Keep strong even when you feel unappreciated because God knows how you feel.

Now, God’s best plan is a mom and a dad encouraging each other in this as they cooperate with His Holy Spirit.  However, even a single-mom is not alone in this battle.  God will supply even more grace for those who do not have the best situation.  If your kids are without a father, then trust that in a way you may not understand, God will become their father.  In fact, for yourself, though you be without a husband, God himself will give you extra grace if you will look to Him for it.  Now for us in the Church, we need to have the heart of God that sees those who are “without” and choose to step in and fill up the gap.  Thus we cannot say to moms, “Just trust in Jesus.”  As true as those words are, if we say them so that we don’t do anything, then we are denying the very heart of who Jesus is.

He Helps Moms Set Their Family Apart For God

Romans 15:16 says, “…ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”  Like Joshua, we all need to make the resolution, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”  Your determination to share Jesus with your family will make a difference that sets them apart from others.  They will think differently from those who have never been taught the ways of God.  So make sure you are in the Word, living the Word, and speaking the Word into your kid’s lives.  Let them see that you too needed the Gospel to cover your sins.  Help them to know that before God you are actually their older sister, just teaching them the ropes.

Yet, moms also need a chance to “recharge.”  God designed us to recharge.  No one can last long without laying down and sleeping at night.  Often stepping away from a project for a moment can open the door to new creativity.  We need times to spiritually, physically and emotionally recharge and these are often closer together than we think.  They really are interwoven together.  When you step away from the task at hand you can grow in understanding that this is not a quick work.  It is a long range plan that works because line upon line, precept upon precept, one layer on top of another layer makes a difference over the long haul.  In fact we need to recognize this in one another and be quick to help each other recharge.  Find someone who “can’t take a break,” and help them get one, or seven. 

He Helps Moms Protect Their Families

Ephesians 6:13, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”  Raising a family is warfare.  No, you are not fighting your kids, though it may feel like that at times.  First of all know that you must maintain your own spiritual health.  This is the first line of defense.  If Satan can discourage you then your young ones will become fair game as you wallow in despair.

Then be vigilant to demonstrate and teach your family to trust in God’s armor.  Teach them the value and necessity of Truth, Right-actions, Sharing the Gospel, Faith in God, Salvation, The Word of God, and Prayer.  Satan is not afraid of burly, muscle-bound, marines.  But he is afraid of a man or woman who will dare to trust God’s armor enough to make it their daily life.  Your presence in the home will help to protect against all that Satan would be free to do if you were “checked out.”

He Helps Moms Share The Gospel With Their Family

Though we may all feel inadequate to try and convince people of the Gospel, kids are an excellent place to “cut our teeth.”  First of all, they trust you probably more than anyone else.  However, they are difficult at times.  Help your kids to “get” the Gospel.  Though we are to correct our kids, our correction should always have direction.  Sometimes we can be so focused on stopping wrong action that we can forget that we are still sinners saved by grace ourselves.  We can use times of correction to remind kids of the reason why we need Jesus.  Use the correction to turn their eyes into the direction of Jesus and God’s provision for them.

He Helps Moms Pray For Their Family

Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.  For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered.”  Raising kids will drive you to your knees, which is good.  However, we feel so inadequate at times.  The answer is not to tell ourselves that we are all-sufficient.  But rather, it is to recognize that God has promised to help us in our weaknesses.  When we are weak then God’s strength will become more visible.  As you pray for your kids know that God is praying with you.  And, when you are at a loss for what to pray, know that He is not.  The Spirit intercedes for you and on your behalf.  Take encouragement from this reality.

Final Thoughts

We need women who will choose to raise kids for Jesus.  In the midst of a world that looks like it is going to hell in a hand basket, courageous moms who dare to raise kids for Jesus are precious.  Choose to be that woman.  Even if you have failed, know that God can help you stand upon the failures of the past and move forward.  He is all-sufficient and will supply your need no matter how great it is.

We also need a Church that will come alongside of moms and lovingly assist them.  It isn’t easy raising kids and we don’t need a constant reminder of how far short we fall.  But we do need those who will come alongside and help lift us up. 

Lastly, we all need to remember that it is not ALL up to us.  Are you a big part of it?  Yes, of course!  But do you shoulder the sole responsibility?  No.  God Himself is in the harness with you, not to mention the personal responsibility your children have for themselves.  Take time today to rest and say, “Yes, Lord, I will continue to partner with you to point my kids in the right direction.  Amen.”

Holy Spirit and Moms Audio

The Holy Spirit in Prayer

Today we are going to look at ways in which the Holy Spirit helps us in prayer.  I would first like to remind us that in Luke 10:1 it says that Jesus told a parable to teach his disciples that they ought to always pray and never give up.  We all have found that this is easier said than done.  We easily weary of prayer, especially when we don’t think it is helping.  Our flesh fights against this spiritual work of communicating with the God of Heaven.  We need to recognize the source of this resistance and not let it win out in the end.

He Helps Our Weaknesses

Let’s look at the passage in Romans 8:26-27.  Here we are told that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses.  This is in keeping with the description that Jesus gives of Him in John 14-16.  He is called The Helper repeatedly.  We need help because we have weak areas in our life.  Like children who need the help of parents, so we need the help of God’s Spirit to do what we couldn’t without Him.

In this passage we are told that one way the Holy Spirit helps us is by interceding for us.  There are times in prayer when we just don’t know how to pray or for what to pray.  We can be at a loss for words and yet still grieving inside.  Now this passage in Romans 8 has earlier spoken about the whole creation groaning for the curse to be removed and believers groaning for the resurrection.  Here the groan has to do with a situation we want to pray about but are too weak to do so (physically or intellectually).  It can be difficulties in relationships, or wisdom for direction.  In either case we need help.  This passage talks about the Spirit making intercession for us with “groaning which cannot be uttered.”  What we see here is the truth that the Spirit is able to “interpret” our groaning heart.  In fact, the wording implies that Spirit Himself is groaning.  The picture seems to be that it is in actuality the Spirit Himself who groans through us before the Father.   Now God knows the heart and why it groans, whether the groan is saying, “come quickly, Lord,” or “Lord, I am hurt.  Please heal me!”

So, you may feel like a time of grieving before the Lord is useless, but it God doesn’t really need our words.  He is quite capable of understanding what our heart is feeling without those words.  By yielding to God in these times we can co-labor with the Holy Spirit to communicate though it feels like we are not.

He Helps By Giving Us The Words To Say

Just as the Holy Spirit can interpret our lack of words, so He also helps by supplying us words to say.  We see this in Galatians 4:6, “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’”

Just as important as what we pray for is how we pray.  Here we see that as children of God we approach God as a Father.  In fact the Spirit is working within us to give us the understanding and terminology that God is our Father.  He helps us understand our true position before God, which releases words that God longs to hear from His children.  Paul is speaking to people who had been slaves under the law of God.  But because of Jesus things have changed.  The Spirit had to help them take hold of this internally and vocally.

Another way in which the Holy Spirit supplies words is in the area of Tongues.  In Acts 2:4 it says, “And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”  The Spirit is the source of true speaking in tongues.  In Scripture we see several things in this area.  First, at the Day of Pentecost, we see that the Spirit supplied language that the people hadn’t learned, but was understood by those around them.  This miraculous supply of language clearly demonstrates the power and enabling of the Holy Spirit.  By His help they proclaimed the wonders of God to people in their “heart languages.”

Another thing we see in Scripture is that sometimes the Spirit supplies a language that no one around you knows.  Paul says that the Spirit will also supply an interpretation of the Word that was spoken.  Because it is in a public setting it needs to be interpreted.

A third situation is when a believer is in a private situation and speaks in tongues.  Paul talked about praying with his mind (understanding the words) and praying with his spirit (not understanding the words, speaking in tongues).  There was no need to interpret the language because you are by yourself and you know that God knows what your heart is saying.  This is an encouraging act by which we partner with the Holy Spirit to allow Him to pray through and for us.  The Bible says that through it we can build our self up in faith.

He Helps by Helping Us Repent

This last area is important to remember precisely because our weakness involves our fight against the flesh and sin.  In Zechariah 12:10 God says, “I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of Grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced.  Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”  Here God promises Israel a time when He will help them repent.

He does so by pouring out the Spirit of Grace and Supplication.  This is clearly the Holy Spirit.  However, different descriptors are used of Him.  Grace is similar to the word favor.  As in, “Noah found grace [favor] in the eyes of the Lord.”  It is an action based upon a feeling within God.  What is interesting is that the word for “supplication” is built off the same root as the word Grace.  It literally means to cry out for Grace.  Thus God says He will pour out the Spirit of Grace and “Crying out for Grace.”  Even when we are so lost that we don’t know what to do, God helps us by sending the Spirit which helps us to cry out for grace, Help!  In this context they will see their sin and its effects.  It will cause them to mourn and yet, because God’s Spirit helps them, they will cry out for mercy and grace.

Repentance is not just for the Gentile nations, nor is it just for the Lost.  Repentance is the very path we walk on to come to God.  When we were lost and prayed the “sinner’s prayer,” we only walked through the door of hope.  But believers dare not leave repentance behind them.  Rather, it becomes the life-blood of our relationship with God.  The Spirit leads us in recognizing our sins and repenting of them before God.

Final Thoughts

Though we may often feel “too busy,” God’s Spirit is daily working to help us in prayer.  So take time to see how He is doing that and grow in learning to cooperate with Him.

Also, prayer is more than saying things to God.  It is an intimate expression of our heart to God AND His heart to us.  So we need to take time to listen and meditate before the Lord.  Don’t be afraid of times of silence.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.

Holy Spirit Prayer audio