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Fully Charged, Week #4, The Initial Evidence of the Power
A few 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 these first few 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. We also learned that the secret of the power is allowing the Holy Spirit to come upon you.
This week, we are going to look at the evidence 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.”
In this text, Jesus is not talking about something that they already had, but He is prophesying about what will come.
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.
But how would they know that they had received this power and were now FULLY CHARGED? Just because you have been connected to the power, doesn’t mean that you have FULLY CHARGED. There is a difference. So how do we know the difference? That is what we are talking about EVIDENCE.
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.
Last week, I told you that I believe that one of the biggest separators in the Christian church is the idea of Holy Spirit empowerment. I don’t believe that it makes one better than the other. In God’s eyes, those of us that have prayed a prayer of faith and have received forgiveness are seen the same.
But for whatever reason, the idea of the Holy Spirit filling our lives causes problems for many people. I believe that it comes from fear but also from being uninformed. It has become a tool of the enemy to separate and to diminish the work of the church. Remember, we have learned that the infilling or baptism of the Holy Spirit was God’s plan for helping us reach a lost world.
How does the enemy stop that? By diminishing the capability and availability of the gift of God. This gift was expected in the early church and the Apostles knew the power of the gift after it was received.
In the book Acts, we see 5 separate instances that Holy Spirit baptized believers. This is important, because there had to be something that showed an evidence of a changed life. In each of these moments, we see conversion through faith and then empowerment through the spirit.
If we were to have a water baptism service this afternoon at the lake, there would be evidence of who was a participant. What would be the evidence? They would be wet. The baptism of the Holy Spirit has an evidence as well.
For a person that the Holy Spirit has anointed, we would see them carry the fruits of the Spirit because He clothed them with something new. But there is something that has happened in the Bible that shows an initial evidence even before any of that is seen. Something that signified the immersion or overflow.
5 Instances of Holy Spirit Baptism in Acts:
Acts 2:1-4 (Day of Pentecost)
Acts 8:14-17 (Baptism comes upon the Samaritans)
Acts 9:17 (Baptism of the HS, Saul of Tarsus, the Apostle Paul)
Acts 10:44-47 (Baptism comes to the Gentiles)
Acts 19:2-6 (Baptism comes upon the people of Ephesus)
One thing we notice in these moments is a pattern, just as we talked about last week, that happens at the moment of baptism! Remember, when we are saved, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us and begins to work on the inward man. But when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, he begins a work on the outward man!
The one thing I think we all need to understand when it comes to the initial evidence, is that it is an outward expression. A verbal expression. The question becomes, why? Why did choose for us to have this evidence in our lives when it comes to spirit baptism? Why do we think that there is so much opposition to this part of our spirit experience?
Jesus said that those that followed and believed in him would have the sign of speaking in tongues.
Mark 16:17:18 (ESV) 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Some of you just weirded out a bit…you think that if we believe in speaking in tongues that we also want to start drinking poison and handling snakes. But that’s not what it is talking about. It is referring to the things that could destroy you won’t.
Well lets go back to understand that word POWER in Acts 1:8…if you recall, it is the same word we get our word DYNAMITE…DUNAMIS. It means a released energy. When it comes dynamite, you can call it explosive energy.
In our lives, we are going to depend on one of two abilities or power for everything we do:
Human Ability= Natural wisdom, skill, and awareness
God Ability= Supernatural wisdom, skill and awareness
In recent years, we have become so advanced as a society, that we believe that anything is possible to humans. Elon Musk right now is developing a rocket that take off from earth with a crew of hundreds to colonize the planet of Mars. We see anything as possible in our ability.
But even though we are able to do so much, there still is a finite limit to what humanity can do. There are divides that we simply cannot cross. It’s the Holy Spirit that makes way for us to cross from our ability into what God’s ability is.
It’s the marker on the lives of so many of the men and women of the Bible that we read about…the holy spirit empowerment. For a time, this empowerment was only for the few. But now it has been given to all believers. That day of pentecost, when the anointing fell, it broke through all these limitations that we had.
When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, your life now becomes FULLY CHARGED!
But what holds many people back from this moment of being charged up, is the idea that they have to let go to receive it. It’s a risk! Risk is a part of living any type of life that will be extraordinary.
Risk can lead to embarrassing outcomes at times though right? And that becomes a fear for many people. What if I try this and fail? What if I try this and it’s not God? What if I try this and others make fun of me?
Success in your life will require risk. Risk is scary. But the Holy Spirit becomes an answer to our fear. Running on empty and in the red is all about fear. But Jesus said when this POWER comes on you, you will be different!
Connecting to this power means you have to let go of the internal narrative and story that you are telling yourself when it comes to walking in the Spirit. This narrative that we tell is about fear, misconception and even doubt. Our feelings will begin to dictate our ability to step out.
On the day of pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell on these people from Galilee. They would have been considered uneducated by the people of Judea.
They would have been seen as people that were not pure. They were trouble makers. But they were the people that God chose to pour out this Spirit anointing.
But remember not all that were with Jesus when He ascended waited. There were close to 500 with him when he gave the command but only 120 were in the upper room when the spirit fell. Were the others any less saved, no. But they missed out because of various reason.
These 120 uneducated and looked down upon people obeyed the command to wait for the promise. This command to wait was followed for a week before the Holy Spirit came on them.
I believe that as they were seeking God, the tank was being filled up. They were starting to see the battery levels increase. But it wasn’t til the day of Pentecost that they had their overflow moment. For each of us that may happen differently.
Just as in the Bible, we see that some were filled immediately, others sought, others had hands laid on them, while some were filled as they sat and listened. But when the Holy Spirit comes on your life and the tank gets filled, it has a look to it and overflow that others will see as well.
We don’t seek the Holy Spirit for a one-time event though. Its about staying full of the spirit. It is a lifelong pursuit. When you seek God, he starts charging your life and you and I should seek to be constantly filled.
The overflow has the evidence of being spoken. It is verbal. Because whatever is in your heart will flow from your mouth (Luke 6:45) The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
This idea of tongues…really is about a language of the heart. It is about allowing your heart to speak words you can’t even articulate.
Romans 8:26 (ESV) Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
Tongues defined just means a language. Native tongue…you had to learn to speak in that language. At first, our children do not speak well. It seems like babbling. But with time, they learn to navigate what they hear and think.
In every instance in the book of Acts, we see something outwardly happened. Even in the first account of Acts 8. Even thought it doesn’t implicitly say they spoke in tongues, why is it that a sorcerer later in the chapter wants the power they had? Something outwardly happened.
The Apostle Paul had this same moment in Acts 9, because later in the 1 Corinthians 14:18, he says outwardly that he speaks in tongues and the chapter states he wishes that all receive this gift, because of what it brings to your life.
There are those of us that see this as nonsense and truly have discounted the idea that tongues is for our lives. You may even see it as something for others. But understand this, there is nothing in the Bible that you do not have access to if it says it. If the Bible tells us that there is value to this for our lives, we should seek it out.
Speaking in tongues has purpose in our lives more than just a good church service…
Tongues are a sign to unbelievers (1 Corinthians 14:22, Acts 2:5-11)
Tongues for Interpretation (1 Corinthians 12:10)
The first of public use is a sign that draws unbelievers. Which is different for us because we aren’t sure it draws people. But it is still about lifting up Jesus and we lift Him up it draws men to Him. The Second is about edification or building up of the church. So if it is spoken for public consumption, it must beinterpreted.
Tongues for personal prayer (1 Corinthians 14:14-15)
Pray in your understanding or pray in the spirit
1 Corinthians 14:2…speak not to man but to God
Tongues for Intercession (Romans 8:26-27)
When we have that moment of overflow, it will feel like nonsense to your intellect. It won’t make sense. But just because you intellect doesn’t get it, doesn’t mean your spirit man is not being changed. In a spirit powered prayer, you will not understand everything that you will pray. The Apostle Paul, who after being filled, felt like every believer needed to seek this gift in their lives said this…
1 Corinthians 14:14-15 (ESV) For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.