Sermon Cloud

The Power to Live Jesus' Life

Naturally Supernatural, Part 6
October 28, 2007       Ray Befus


This morning I'd like to talk with you about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and especially stepping into the Holy Spirit's ministry for the first time.  Most people who have a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit describe it in dramatic terms-they were overwhelmed or overcome, nuked or fried, swept away or blown away.  Some, having read the book of Acts describe their experience with the Holy Spirit as being baptized in the Holy Spirit-dunked, immersed, and stuck on the spin cycle.  The way I described my first experience with the Holy Spirit was, "What's going on here!?!"  I felt as though electricity was buzzing into my body, from the top of my head, down into my hands.

Clearly, in West Michigan, the subject of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit has been a controversial subject.  Trying to be nice, people will try to avoid the controversy by saying something that you won't read in the Bible: Seek Not, Forbid Not-as though the Holy Spirit is like gasoline (alright in the garage, but don't bring it in the house).  You need to know that West Michigan isn't the world.  It's not even close to the center of the world.  W MI is an unusual place.  We have an unusual number of very conservative churches, denominational headquarters, and Christian schools in West Michigan.  Both the Catholics and Protestants of W MI are very conservative.

Many of the pastors and professors in W MI's Protestant, conservative churches and schools were trained by Bible-loving, white, obsessive-compulsive, left brain male rationalists in schools like Biola University, Dallas Theological Seminary, Grace Theological Seminary, Trinity Evangelical Seminary, and Western Conservative Seminary in California.  As a very conservative group of people, many of the pastors and professors we've grown up with in W MI honor the Bible but teach, live and minister as through the Holy Spirit died along with the last Apostle.  They do not expect God to speak to them, heal their children, or show up in church on a Sunday like this.  They're convinced that all that's left for God's people in this dispensation is to go to church, study the Bible and, to be as good as they can be . . . and encourage each other keep going to church, studying the Bible and, being as good as we can be . . . until Jesus returns.

Breaking News!  A group of conservative scholars, representing the seminaries I just mentioned, have recently collaborated on a book (Biblical Studies Press, 2005): Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit?-An Investigation into the Ministry of the Holy Spirit Today.

These scholars are entertaining some controversial possibilities-although the Apostles died in the First Century, "the Holy Spirit did not . . . although charismatics have sometimes given a higher priority to experience than to relationship [with God], rationalistic evangelicals have just as frequently given a higher priority to knowledge [about God] than to relationship [with God] . . . this emphasis on knowledge over relationship can produce in us bibliolotry . . . the net effect of such biblioloatry is a depersonalization of God . . . part of the motivation for depersonalizing God is an increasing craving for control . . . God is still a God of healing and miracles . . .  many of the power brokers of evangelicalism, since the turn of the [twentieth] century have been white, obsessive-compulsive males".  MUCH OF THE CONTROVERSY AMONG CONSERVATIVES SURROUNDING THE HOLY SPIRIT MIGHT HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF EITHER BLACKS OR WOMEN HAD BEEN GIVEN A GREATER VOICE in our conservative seminaries and Bible colleges.  Please don't kill the messenger.  I'm just reporting what I read!

I'm not saying you should read this book.  I'm hoping that you're just reading Gary Best's book, Naturally Supernatural, underlining key statements, looking up the Scriptures he cites, discussing the chapters with your home group, and practicing at school and work.  This is week six in our fall spiritual growth series we're calling Naturally Supernatural.  I hope you're stretching and growing this fall.  Please do plan to make your final fall investment participation in our Healing Prayer Training Seminar November 16-17, a Friday night and Saturday.  

TRANS: Pray-invite the HS to blow into the room like the wind.

I.  EVERY CHRISTIAN HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE AND GROW AND KEEP ON GOING (I Corinthians 12:13; Romans 8:9, 14-17; Ephesians 1:13-14).

Along with biblical Christians everywhere, we believe that at the moment a man or woman invites Jesus into his or her life, trusting Jesus for forgiveness, freedom, and the future, the Holy Spirit-the Spirit of Jesus-comes to take up residence in that person's life.  In generations past, this has been called the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit.  The Apostle Paul describes this event as a baptism-baptism by-with (or) -in the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 12:13).  

It's because of this Holy Spirit baptism that men and women who invite Jesus into their lives feel different.  They feel that God has become their Father and friend.  It's very personal.  They report feelings like being clean, free, at peace, close to God.  They become more sensitive to sin and broken relationships.  They become more patient and loving.  They talk about feeling led to be more thoughtful, attentive to other people's needs, more generous with the poor.  The Bible becomes more interesting and understandable.  They seem to enjoy praying, and talk to God with the kind of honesty and humility usually reserved for close friends.  They feel energized to serve other people in need.  These feelings, produced by the Holy Spirit, give Christians a sense of assurance that they really are God's children.  And, when these same men and women struggle with doubt and fear, and feel like walking out on the church, it is the Holy Spirit that keeps them steady, or draws them back after a season of struggling, compromising, or even rebelling.

If a man or woman comes to church, reads the Bible, prays about his or her fears, and even wears a cross but doesn't have this kind of relationship with the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul says that we should be concerned that this family member or friend may not be genuinely born again.  Salvation is often a journey toward a vital, transforming personal faith, and this loved one isn't all the way home . . . yet.

TRANS:  So, it's right to talk about the baptism of the Holy Spirit as an event every Christian passes through at the beginning of his or her life with God.  But, there is another baptizing experience Christians have with the Holy Spirit, and it is an empowering for speaking out to share the good news of God's goodness and grace with others.  This second baptism is an empowering talk to neighbors and co-workers, to heal the sick, to set people free who are imprisoned by addictions, to cast out demons, and to care for the poor.  THERE IS ONE HOLY SPIRIT, BUT SCRIPTURE SEEMS TO DESCRIBE TWO DIFFERENT BAPTISMS-one that results in a transformed life, another that results in an influential, Jesus-like ministry.  This second Holy Spirit baptism is frequently described in the book of Acts.

II.  EVERY WITNESS NEEDS THE POWER TO speak for god AND TO HEAL THE SICK.

A.  Jesus told all of his followers to wait for the power the Holy Spirit gives (Acts 1:4-8).

The men and women Jesus was talking to were born again.  They had been commissioned to take over Jesus' kingdom ministry.  They would give the rest of their lives to teaching what Jesus taught and performing his works-healing the sick, setting captives free, casting out demons, and caring for the poor.

To live Jesus' life and carry on Jesus' work, they needed the power that energized Jesus-the Holy Spirit's power.  So, Jesus told them twice not to launch into this new chapter in their lives together until they had experience a baptism with the Holy Spirit, an experience in which the Holy Spirit would come upon them.  This baptism wouldn't be something they would experience inside (a deeply personal, heart-felt experience; cf. John 7:37-39).  This would be like feeling the wind blow on their faces, a force coming upon them from outside of themselves (cf. John 3:8).

This event is described in Acts 2:1-4.

Notice: v. 3, the tongues of fire came and rested on them; v. 17 "I will pour out my Spirit on all people;" v. 33 "poured out what you now see and hear".  This baptism came on them like an outpouring of water.  It wasn't a ministry of the Holy Spirit inside them, but a ministry of the Holy Spirit that came on them from outside.  And the result was that these men and women said and did things that were supernatural.

c.  

It's true, EVERY CHRISTIAN HAS THE POWER (INSIDE) TO CHANGE AND GROW AND KEEP ON GOING.  It's also true that EVERY WITNESS NEEDS THE POWER TO speak for god AND TO HEAL THE SICK.  And this power comes from a baptism or outpouring of the Holy Spirit on people like them and us.

That's right . . .  If we're going to live naturally supernatural lives, not just at church, but also at home, at school, at work, and in the neighborhood, we need the same power that energized Jesus himself . . . the power of the Holy Spirit.  We need to experience this baptism or outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our church . . . in our lives here and now.

If you're thinking, "Yes, that's what I'm waiting for" . . . "I'm waiting for an outpouring of God's power in my life so I can get started "Doin' the Stuff Jesus' did, I've got a few valuable insights for youj.

B.  Waiting is a focused activity (it's not like sitting on your hands, balancing a pencil on your upper lip until God comes along and blows your sock off).

1.  While waiting, they devoted themselves to prayer (intense, earnest, daily corporate prayer) and studying (and applying) Scripture (Acts 1:14; 2:1, 42).  Given 1:14, what do you think they were doing on the day of Pentecost?  Watching Joyce Meyer on Christian television?  V. 42, at the end of the chapter, gives us insight into what they were doing together daily from chapter 1 onward.

2.  A second baptism experience takes place in chapter four.  While waiting, they were proclaiming their faith in Jesus and praying with great fervor (Acts 4:1, 23-24, 31).  Cf. 4:4.  For five thousand men and women to come to faith, all of the believers had to be telling their stories.  Yes, Peter and John were the public voices, but they weren't the only one's telling their story!  V. 29-they all ask for boldness and, they are all filled with the Holy Spirit.

3.  A third baptism experience takes place in chapter 10.  While Cornelius and his friends were waiting, they prayed earnestly and gave to the poor (Acts 10:4, 44-47).  What got God's attention was Cornelius' exceptional praying and his exceptional generosity among the poor.  And, I think it's fair to assume that his family members and friends come to the meeting with Peter because they are fellow travelers on Cornelius' journey.

Waiting doesn't mean withholding yourself from praying and studying, sharing and giving.  Men and who are waiting in faith for an experience of God's power wait in home groups, praying for others and asking for prayer while they wait.  Men and women who are waiting to be filled with God's Holy Spirit, invest themselves in personal and small group Bible study while they wait-reviewing the promises and aligning their lives with what they know.  Men and women waiting for more of God's power to witness, still witness with the little power they have.  They give to the poor with the little faith they have.  People who are waiting for the winds of the Holy Spirit to blow in powerful ways, still pray and study, serve and give with the power they have.

C.  Receiving is a corporate experience (Hebrews 10:25).

1.  In the book of Acts, no one receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit privately or individually.  That doesn't mean people can't have private, individual experiences with the Holy Spirit.  It just means that the norm is that everyone prays and studies and shares and gives together, and the Spirit is poured out on us together.  The church waits together, prays together, serves together, and receives together.  When the wind blows on one here or there, everyone is strengthened.  You may not have the same experience I have at the same time I have it.  You may not respond to the Holy Spirit the way I am, but the power is here among us all.

2.  There are no formulas in the books of Acts the Apostles followed to see an individual here or there baptized with the Holy Spirit.  The only pattern we see is a group of people praying fervently together, studying attentively together, serving generously together, waiting for God to fill them with boldness to begin speaking about their faith with outsiders.

3.  That's why it's so important for you and me to be heavily invested in a faith-filled church (Hebrews 10:25).  No one you meet in Acts would ever say, I want the Spirit, but not the church.  However, by the time Hebrews was written, Christians were already falling for that deception.  Men and women who drift away from a local church often trade being right/safe/in control for being filled with the Holy Spirit to be effective witnesses.

D.  Receiving power is an ongoing need (Ephesians 5:18-20).

Empowering is not a one-time event.  It's a regular need.  As we grow older, our church grows healthier, and needs increase.  We need more power.  So, we increase our investment in prayer, asking to be filled (ILLUS: a balloon can be full, but still become more full).

What is the sign of filling?  Paul says singing and words of gratitude and praise.  We'd think this was silly, if an Apostle hadn't written it.  Singing?  Come on!  Are you serious, Paul?  Truth is, whatever fills our hearts comes out our mouths-even singing in the shower, whistling in the cubicle, humming in the car.  ILLUS: Romance, money, new possessions.

Throughout the book of Acts, men and women who are filled with the Spirit, speak out.  Tongues, praises, prophecy, teaching, and witnessing with unusual courage and boldness.  People who are filled with the Spirit aren't timid and silent.  They are out there, sharing their story.

How do you know if you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit?  You're silent, when you should be sharing your story, in church but also at school, at work, and in the neighborhood.  Not, you don't speak in tongues, but neither to you share fresh stories of God at work in your life.  You don't lead out in prayer, you don't share prophetic encouragement with others, you don't praise God with any noticeable passion.  

How do you know if a church needs to be filled with the Holy Spirit?  People watch and listen to the pastors, but have nothing fresh and exciting to say about their walk with God-either with fellow church members or outsiders.  Church members aren't witnesses.  If Jesus is alive and close, saving and healing right now, you wouldn't discover it from these people. Together, they don't see men and women come into Jesus' kingdom.  As home groups and as early and late congregations, they don't see people come to faith in Jesus.

III.  TOGETHER, WE HAVE ENOUGH POWER FOR EACH ONE OF US TO BEGIN WITNESSING.