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Fully Charged, Week #3, The Secret of the Power
Two weeks ago, we started a new series that I am calling “Fully Charged”. The goal of this series is to show how we can live a life that is empowered by the Holy Spirit. I believe that it is the will of God for each of us.
But as I said, that doesn’t mean that every Christian will live that way. The reason that some do not, is not because they don’t want it, but simply they don’t understand the plan of God for their lives or there is fear attached to it.
1 Corinthians 12:1 (ESV) Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.
In the first 2 weeks, we have learned that we have been given a big mission as Christians to fulfill…that mission is called the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19). But in order to accomplish this mission, we have been given help. We also learned that we don’t possess this power in and of ourselves. This power comes from the Holy Spirit.
This week we are going to focus on the SECRET of the power! What do we mean about that? Let’s look back at the prophecy that Jesus gave in Acts 1 about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:4-8 (ESV) 4 And while staying[a] with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Now last week, I mentioned this is passing, but no where in the Bible does it say that Jesus was NOT a prophet. But it does tell us that He was more than a prophet.
In this text, Jesus is not talking about something that they already had, but He is prophesying about what will come.
So to be a Christian and a church that is FULLY CHARGED, we need to tap into the SECRET OF THE POWER! That secret is found not in just believing that the Holy Spirit is real and biblical, but that we need to invite Him to actively come upon our lives.
The bible teaches us that Jesus told them to wait for the promise, and if they obeyed this command, they would receive power to be witnesses. This extra comforter and helper would not just be with them, but would come UPON them. This empowerment would be the secret to effectiveness in their Christian walk.
Let’s take a look at what happened when the prophecy was fulfilled.
Acts 2:1-4 (ESV) When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested[a] on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Probably one of the biggest hangups when it comes to the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes from this short passage of scripture. We don’t have a problem many times with the idea that God gives us a supernatural ability to reach the lost. We don’t have a problem that there is a comforter that is with us. But we struggle with the thought of something so radically changing us that that the Holy Spirit begins to operate in a new way through us and around us.
As a pastor and a believer, I believe that there is a biblical precedent for the idea of speaking in tongues in our lives, because it is an evidence that we have had the power of the Holy Spirit come upon us.
I don’t believe that being spirit-filled somehow puts me in some elite club though.
“The spirit-filled life is not a special, deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people.” -A.W. Tozer
The Holy Spirit as we talked about last week, has been here since the beginning. He was not some sort of Post Resurrection creation for the new church. But something did change after the day of pentecost. (Acts 2)
In the Old Testament, we could the Spirit Empowering certain people. And for the most part, this empowerment was dependent on 3 conditions:
For special leaders only (Number 11:25, 29)
Number 11:25 (ESV) Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.
V.29 (ESV) But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”
In the OT, we see that there were only certain people that the Spirit came upon. They would speak prophet words or receive power for moments. But in 29, Moses makes a statement that is also prophetic. That there would some day be a moment that all the Lord’s people would become prophetic.
2. Followed a 2 stage process or pattern
What do we mean by a two-stage process or pattern. (1) It would be that the Spirit would come upon a person (2) There would be a prophetic confirmation.
This pattern is repeated over 20x in the Bible.
Numbers 11:16-17 (ESV) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone.
Let me add this, the most common outcome of spirit outpouring is verbal. In order to see that empowerment, someone would have to speak what God desires for them to communicate. Moses even said they would prophecy.
3. Primarily was for the benefit of the Jewish people.
These were the 3 primary conditions for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. But in the NT, that would change. Because as Christians, we would become the holders of the presence and power of God.
When you look at the common narrative or story of who God used in the Bible, it usually starts with the ordinary., unworthy and obscure person. They usually were not the character you would expect God would choose. But these ordinary people had an encounter with an extraordinary God.
Let me show you how the secret of the Holy Spirit worked in the Old Testament and it will make sense why it happens the way it does in the New Testament model and for us today.
So remember there are 2 stages to this…
PROPHET | STAGE ONE | STAGE TWO | ||
SEEING | HEARING | FEELING | VERBAL CONFIRMATION | |
MOSES EXODUS 3:1-4:12 | BURNING BUSH EXODUS 3:2 | GOD SPOKE EXODUS 3:4 | SIGNS EXODUS 4:1-9 | EMPOWERED TO SPEAK EXODUS 4:12 |
ISAIAH ISAIAH 6:1-9 | SAW THE LORD ISAIAH 6:1 | GOD SPOKE ISAIAH 6:8 | HOT COAL ISAIAH 6:7 | PROPHESIED ISAIAH 6:9 |
JEREMIAH JER 1:11-6:9 | SAW VISION JER 1:11-12 | GOD SPOKE JER 1:5 | GOD TOUCHED MOUTH JER 1:5 | GOD’S WORD IN HIS MOUTH JER 6:9 |
DANIEL DANIEL 10:5-19 | SAW BEING DANIEL 10:5 | HEARD SPEAK DANIEL 10:9 | FELL, TOUCHED, TREMBLING DANIEL 10:8, 16 | STRENGTHEN TO SPEAK DANIEL 10:19 |
This OT pattern was what we saw God do through the power of the Holy Spirit. The prophet Joel wrote:
Joel 2:28-29 (ESV) “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
Joel said, the condition that the spirit came upon us would now change from the elite to all who call themselves the sons and daughters of God. Under the conditions of the old Testament, there would only be 12 who would qualify for this empowerment, but God shattered all of that by making it available to everyone!
PROPHET | STAGE ONE | STAGE TWO | ||
SEEING | HEARING | FEELING | VERBAL CONFIRMATION | |
CHRISTIANS AT PENTECOST ACTS 2:1-4 | APEARED AS FLAMES ACTS 2:3 | HEARD A SOUND LIKE WIND ACTS 2:2 (AS OF=LIKE) | FIRE RESTED ON EACH OF THEM ACTS 2:3-4 (AS OF=LIKE) | SPOKE IN OTHER TONGUES THEN PROPHESIED TO THE CROWDS ACTS 2:4, 14 |
This power that was reserved for just the elite, is now being poured out on all! Look at Acts 2:38-39 shows us that the Gentiles (those who weren’t Jews) were now partakers in the power!
Acts 2:38-39 (ESV) And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
When the Holy Spirit comes upon our lives, our potential becomes limitless. The same guy that couldn’t stand in front of one person who was accusing him at the crucifixion, became a container and holder of the Holy Spirit. He became a witness to those who were far off. Acts 2:41, tells us that they added about 3,000 people that day to the kingdom!
You say, what does speaking in tongues have to do with this experience? It is the prophetic confirmation of the experience that empowered you to be a witness. The gentiles received not only salvation, but also the empowerment of the Holy Spirit!
You and I can have the live a life empowered by the Holy Spirit, but we have to understand that this was not something for a different time, but for our lives today. It has purpose and we can walk in the purpose that God designed us for. Our job just as the early church is to wait on the promise. To accept it and be diligent until we receive it.
How do we receive it today? There is only one prerequisite for receiving the power that God has for your life…that is to be saved believer. It is available to all who profess Jesus as Lord.
If you want to be baptized, you have to be within range of the baptizer. You have to want it. That comes when we do three things:
Get Vulnerable To get salvation, you had to humble yourself and understand
that sin is the problem and Jesus is the answer. If you want the baptism, you have to draw near to Jesus understanding that prayer is being vulnerable.
Get Awareness This is about being aware of his presence around your life.
His presence wont scare you, nor will you be out of control. He surrounds us with just enough of his presence to help you be confident.
Cooperation You have to learn to cooperate with His leading. He will not
just zap you with anything. There will be small nudging in your life from Him. Don’t worry if it seems like babbling…if you understand it all, it’s not in God’s ability but in your ability.
You may think you have to know it all, but the truth is, it will be normal to have a mix of intellectual questions. Your brain may not like it but your spirit will love it!