Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to Acts 2:1-21
Acts 2:1-21 (NIV)
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together
in one place.
2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind
came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that
separated and came to rest on each of them.
4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began
to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews
from every nation under heaven.
6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in
bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men
who are speaking Galileans?
8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own
native language?
9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of
Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya
near Cyrene; visitors from Rome
11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and
Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"
12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another,
"What does this mean?"
13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They
have had too much wine."
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice
and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in
Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.
15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only
nine in the morning!
16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my
Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men
will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour
out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on
the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to
blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.'
-- John
Wimber was a charismatic preacher and one of the founders of the Vineyard
Movement, which was the catalyst for spread of non-denominational and home churches
that we are seeing in our area and throughout the country right now -- he's
also widely known as the composer of "The Spirit Song," which was an
early praise song that enjoyed quite a bit of popularity back in the 80's and
90's
-- Wimber
came to Christ in the height of the Jesus movement in the 1960s as God moved
through the hippies and the young people in those days -- he began reading the
Bible -- starting with the Gospels and then went through the book of Acts -- and
as he read, he got excited about what God had done in the early church -- about
how God had ignited their faith and how the church was known for its love and
for the presence of miraculous signs and wonders
-- after
reading all of that, Wimber decided he wanted to be a part of it -- he went out
and started visiting churches in his area, but he was disillusioned by what he
found -- it was the same story at every church he went to -- the service was
nice and polite and very structured -- it began exactly on time -- it ended on
time -- and nothing much happened in the middle
-- Wimber
looked at the people in the church and he asked them, "When are you gonna
do the stuff? -- "What stuff?" they wanted to know -- "You
know...the stuff -- the stuff from the Bible!"
-- Wimber
had been reading about the miraculous conversions -- the healings and the
deliverance from sin and the other miracles that took place in the early church
as recorded in the book of Acts -- but instead of signs and wonders, he saw no
sign of life at all -- no sign of anything that would make him wonder -- that
would leave him speechless -- that would draw people in from all walks of life
-- all he
experienced in the church was the deadness of the ritual that he had just sat
through -- and his heart broke to know just how much of God was missing1
-- if we're
honest with each other, we have to say that we know exactly what Wimber
experienced in that church -- we've had our share of dry services -- of
services without much happening -- of doing the same-old, same-old Sunday after
Sunday after Sunday
-- we've
experienced the same thing in our own lives -- even after coming to Christ and
having our sins forgiven, our spiritual lives can become dry and powerless and
rarely look like the lives of Paul or Peter or any of those mentioned in the
Bible -- in fact, they rarely look that different from those around us who are
not Christians
-- but this
is not what God intended -- God intended for us to live amazing and exciting
lives through Him -- He intended that we would walk through this land as
shining beacons of light -- that we would live lives of such holiness and
goodness and righteousness and power that when others looked at us, they would
be drawn to the God who made us like this
-- this is
the reason for this passage today -- this is the reason why Jesus sent the Holy
Spirit to be with us -- this is the reason for Pentecost -- as Jesus told us in
Acts 1:8, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you"
-- which
begs the questions – what kind of power? – and for what purposes?
-- there
are some in the Christian community in our country today that are seeking to
express power through political and social means – this Christian nationalist
movement – and the Seven Mountain Mandate that we hear of – both of them seek
to transform this nation by acquiring political and governmental power – but
that’s not the power that Jesus is talking about here – and that’s not the
purpose of the power that Jesus is referring to in this passage
-- Jesus is
talking about the power that comes through the indwelling Holy Spirit amongst
us – the power that forgives sin – that enables us to choose to live holy and
righteous lives – the power that transforms us from who we were and sets our
hearts and our minds on a higher calling
-- Jesus
was telling us that He was going to send His very own presence in the person of
the Holy Spirit to fill us and empower us to do what He had called us to do –
to be who He had called us to be – to live as His people in the Kingdom of
Heaven
-- this
power that we celebrate on this
Pentecost Sunday is the same resurrection power that rose Jesus from the grave,
victorious over sin and death – this is the same power that allows us to live
holy lives and to speak the name of Christ to the world around us – the power
to do wondrous signs and miracles in Jesus’ name – to manifest His presence and
His Kingdom in the world today
-- as Rick
Kirchoff says, “When God sends forth the Spirit amazing things happen -- barriers
are broken -- communities are formed -- opposites are reconciled -- unity is
established -- diseases are cured -- addiction is broken -- cities are renewed
-- races are reconciled -- hope is established -- people are blessed -- and
church -- [real church] -- happens.
-- Today
the Spirit of God is present -- God is up to something. . . [so] discouraged
folks [are going to cheer up] -- dishonest folks [are gonna] ‘fess up -- sour
folks sweeten up -- closed folk open up -- gossipers shut up -- conflicted
folks make up -- sleeping folks wake up -- lukewarm folk fire up -- dry bones
shake up -- and pew potatoes stand up! -- But most of all, Christ the Savior of
all the world is [going to be] lifted up.”2
-- look
around at what we’re doing now – think about all the churches you know of here
in south Georgia – think about you and your life in Christ
-- doesn't that sound better
than what we do now? -- doesn't that sound more exciting than the Christian
lives we live now?
-- so, how
does this come about? -- how can we see transformed churches and lives today?
-- how can we experience for ourselves the dynamic life of Christ portrayed in
the Bible -- lives characterized by purity and power -- signs and wonders?
-- well, it
all starts with the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives – working in us
and through us to sanctify us and make us holy so that we might be holy as God
is holy – through faith, the Holy Spirit works in us to accomplish His will and
to bring glory to God in the world today
II. Holiness --
Positional and Progressive
-- in order
to truly understand and live Pentecostal lives – Spirit-filled lives – in this
world today – we have to get back to the basics of our faith – we have to
remember why Jesus came and who He wants us to become
-- turn
over to John 13:1
John 13:1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus
knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had
already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus
knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come
from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his
outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured
water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the
towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you
going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing,
but later you will understand.”
8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with
me.”
9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet
but my hands and my head as well!”
10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only
to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not
every one of you.”
-- we’ve
talked about this passage before – the familiar story of Jesus washing the feet
of His disciples that night in the Upper Room when He shared the Last Supper
with them – so, I’m not going to go through this in great depth
-- but
there’s one thing I want you to see here in this passage – especially in the
interchange between Jesus and Peter – Jesus comes to Peter and bends down to
wash his feet and Peter says, “No, you shall never wash my feet”
-- Jesus
replies in verse 8, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me” – then Peter
goes all in – “Then don’t just wash my feet – wash my hands and head as well”
-- but look
what Jesus tells him – verse 10
John 13:10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath
need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean,
though not every one of you.”
-- Jesus
talks about two different types of washings here – the first is a bath – the
complete and total washing of a person – the second is the washing of the feet
-- those
two types of washings correspond to two of the reasons why Jesus came and why
He sent His Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost
-- first,
Jesus came to give us a bath and cleanse us from unrighteousness – this bath is
our baptism into the faith – and with all love to my Baptist brethren, Jesus
wasn’t talking about water in this passage – Jesus is talking about washing us
clean from our sins through His body and His blood – when Jesus refers here to
those who have had a bath, He is talking about our salvation
-- as it
says in Ephesians 5:25-27, Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
to make her holy – cleansing her by the washing with water through the word –
to present her to Himself as a radiant church – without stain or wrinkle or any
other blemish – but holy and blameless
-- so,
Jesus came in love – John 3:16 – For God so loved the world… -- He came in love
so that He could give us a bath – so that He could wash us with water through
the word – so that He might make us holy as He is holy
-- Jesus came as our atoning
sacrifice – taking our place on the cross and dying for our sins so that we
would be washed clean of our sins – with our sin nature and our unrighteousness
washed away in the sight of God the Father – so that we might rise with Jesus
in the resurrection, justified and saved through His atoning death and
sacrifice
-- this is what Jesus is talking
about here when He refers to those who have had a bath in His conversation with
Peter – this is justification – this is salvation – this is being washed in the
blood of the Lamb for the forgiveness of sins
-- now
here’s an important point I want you to get -- justification -- salvation through
faith in Christ – makes us holy in the sight of God – and here is how this
works
-- because Jesus substituted His
holy and sinless life for ours -- our position -- our standing -- before God
has been changed -- the Bible says that we were once objects of wrath -- far
away from God because of our sin -- now, we are near to God because of what
Jesus has done for us – His righteousness has been given to us – to use the
theological term – Jesus’ righteousness has been imputed to us
-- our unrighteousness and our
sins have been washed away – when we bathed in the blood of Christ, we were
cleansed – and we rose with Him in victory over sin and death and were covered
with the very righteousness of Jesus
-- so, if
you have been saved through faith in Christ, then you are one of the people
that He is talking about here who has had a bath – His righteousness covers
you, so that when God looks at you, He sees you through Jesus
-- and this means that our
standing – our position – our relationship with God -- has been changed -- we are
new creations and we are no longer part of this world – we are now part of the
Kingdom of God
-- theologians call this being
“positionally” holy – holy because the holiness and righteousness of Jesus have
been imputed – have been given – transferred – to us
-- everybody got this? – this is
important that you know this
-- the
second washing that Jesus talks about here in John 13 in His conversation with
Peter is the washing of our feet – this is what He was doing to His disciples
in the upper room
-- Jesus came first to give us a
bath – and then, He tells Peter, He came to wash our feet – what in the world
does that mean?
-- when I was in school, I had a
professor who said that you can learn anything you need to know about an animal
just by looking at its mouth and its feet – the mouth tells you what the animal
eats – it tells you what kind of animal it is – whether it’s a predator or prey
or a scavenger – just looking at the mouth tells you a lot about an animal
-- but the most important thing
was to look at its feet – because its feet told you where it lived – and it how
it made its way through this world – when you look at a duck and you see its
webbed feet, you know that ducks were made for the water
-- now, look at your feet – what
can you learn about yourself by paying attention to your feet?
-- your feet carry you through
this world – sometimes, your feet carry you to holy places, like this place –
sometimes, though, your feet carry you to places where you shouldn’t be –
places where Jesus wouldn’t want you to go – places where angels fear to trod
-- but most of the time, our
feet just carry us throughout our day in this fallen world that we live in –
and because this world is fallen – surrendered to the curse and to sin – our
feet get dirty – we pick up dirt and grime and filth – just from walking through
this world – and we have to do something about it
-- so, the second reason Jesus
came was to wash our feet -- to wash off the dust and filth and grime of this
world that we pick up in our daily lives so that can be made totally and
completely clean again
-- the
washing of our feet is what we call “sanctification" – and this is the
primary role of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the life of the church
today
-- sanctification is just a
fancy way of saying that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us to empower us to
become holy as He is holy by washing our feet every single day – this is
visible holiness – sanctification – the washing of our feet – is how the Holy
Spirit helps us to transform our behaviors so that we actually live holy lives
as the people of Christ
-- I told you a few minutes ago about imputed
righteousness – about the fact that our standing – our position – before God
had been changed through Jesus’ death and resurrection and that we were now
positionally holy in His eyes – we changed our position – we moved from being
part of this world to being part of God’s Kingdom
-- sanctification is a different
type of holiness – this is the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and
through us to help us live the Christian life in this world today – to live
holy and righteous lives through His power and His presence
-- the power of the Holy Spirit
is given to us – it is “imparted” to us – so that we might become truly
righteous – inside and out – theologians call this “imparted” righteousness or
progressive holiness
-- progressive means that it is
a work in progress – it means the Holy Spirit works in us and through us so
that we might become more and more righteous and more and more holy the longer
we walk with Him in faith
-- we do
this by following His commands and living lives in obedience to Him --
progressive holiness or sanctification is becoming holy in our behavior --
letting our outside begin to match our inside
-- so, I
want to make sure you get this, because this is important – this is
foundational – you need to know this so that you can build upon this foundation
in your life
-- we’re
talking about two separate things here:
1. Those who have had a bath – those who are
positionally holy -- these are the Christians – those who have put their faith
and trust in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross and have been cleansed of
their sins
– the righteousness of Christ
has been imputed to them – it has been given to them – and their standing –
their position – before God the Father has been changed – they have been moved
from the kingdom of this world into the kingdom of heaven
2. Those who need only to wash their feet – this
is referring to progressive holiness – to sanctification – to imparted
righteousness -- to the daily washing of our feet by the Holy Spirit’s power
and presence in our lives
-- this is
the process where our behavior and attitude and emotions and very being are
transformed from who we were before Christ to who He wants us to be – the
washing of our feet through the Spirit – progressive holiness – is when
Christians start to live out the Christian life of faith and obedience to Jesus
-- easy way
to remember this – imparted righteousness or imparted holiness is Jesus
becoming a part of our daily life
-- This is the area where the
church and where most Christians are failing today -- more than anything else,
it is a lack of progressive holiness – of relying on the Spirit for power and
righteousness -- that has led us to experience powerless lives and churches
-- it is this lack of holiness that
has causes us to look just like the world around us and not as the people God
called us to be
-- if we want to experience the full
and abundant life that Christ called us to -- the full and abundant life that
we see portrayed in the men and women of the Bible -- then we have to start
with holiness
-- the good thing is, we don't have
to do this on our own -- actually, we can't do this on our own -- we are
totally incapable of doing good -- of being holy -- in our own lives – we need
help
-- and that's what this passage
from Acts is all about – Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us and fill us
with His presence and power so that He can enable us to live for Christ in our
daily lives – to choose righteousness over sin – to choose obedience instead of
disobedience – to empower us to quit living lives of sin on a daily basis – the
Holy Spirit is the source of holiness and power for Christians and for the
church today
III. The Holy
Spirit
-- turn
back over to Acts 2, where we read of the Day of Pentecost, when Jesus sent His
very Spirit to be with the church in the world today
-- just as
a reminder – this was not the start of Pentecost – Pentecost was already an
established Jewish religious celebration – Jews still celebrate it today
-- the Jewish celebration of
Pentecost commemorated the day when the Israelites made their way to Mt. Sinai
after they left Egypt -- when they got to Mt. Sinai, God met them there and
gave them the law -- this moment, more than any other, defined the Israelites
as a nation, as the people of God
-- Pentecost commemorated the
giving of the Law to the people
-- 4000
years later – on the first Pentecost after the death and resurrection of Jesus
-- God sent the Holy Spirit to the church -- and just like the giving of the
law defined the nation of Israel, the giving of the Spirit defined the church –
the presence of the Holy Spirit within believers is what made the church
possible – and it was His power that manifested the miracles and wonders and
signs that we read about in the New Testament and that are supposed to be part
of the Christian experience
-- let's
look at this passage about Pentecost and see how we might receive and
experience a fresh outpouring of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives
today
-- look
back at verse 1-4 [read Acts 2:1-4]
Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all
together in one place.
2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind
came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that
separated and came to rest on each of them.
4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began
to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
-- as this
passage opens, we read that the disciples were all together in one place -- now
that can mean a couple of different things
-- first,
it can mean a literal place -- Luke might mean that the disciples were all
together in the Upper Room or they were all together in the temple or in some
other area -- that is probably the case
-- but
there is a different meaning to this that we need to understand -- for the
first time since Jesus had brought the disciples together, they were all
together in one place in their spirit and in their understanding and in their
relationship with God -- they were of one accord
-- when
Luke says the disciples were all in one place, he’s referring to both their
physical position and their spiritual condition
-- if you
read through the gospels, it's rare to find the disciples in one accord -- the
gospels tell us that the disciples constantly bickered and quarreled with each
other -- they constantly wanted the best places at the table and the highest
positions in the kingdom -- they were constantly jockeying for position -- but,
now, something has happened that has changed this bickering and fighting for
position to being in unity with one another – what changed?
-- the
resurrection of Jesus -- Jesus has died and come back -- their sins have been
forgiven -- and Jesus has spent the last 40 days with them in an intense Bible
course -- teaching them how the Old Testament Scriptures all pointed to Him and
His ministry
-- and, so,
for the first time since we have read about the disciples, we find them in one
place -- physically and spiritually -- they are of one accord, and they are finally
ready to be baptized with the Holy Spirit – to have their feet washed through
imparted righteousness
-- contrary
to popular opinion, the disciples had already received the Holy Spirit by this
time -- in John 20:22, we read that after Jesus rose from the dead and appeared
to them, "He breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy
Spirit." -- the Holy Spirit already lived within them -- but the disciples
couldn't experience His power because they were not open to His presence – in a
very real sense, they didn’t understand how the Holy Spirit was to live in them
and through them
-- some
people have used the analogy of water in your home as a picture of the Holy
Spirit – all the pipes in your home are filled with water – it’s there, just
waiting to be used – but in order to access the water, we have to open a valve
– we have to turn the spigot – and then the water can flow
-- it’s the
same way with the Holy Spirit -- once we have been saved -- once we have asked
Jesus to forgive us of our sins and live within our hearts, He sends the Holy
Spirit to indwell us -- to live within us
-- the
problem is that we don't know how to release His power in our lives – we don’t
open the spigot – and even though the Holy Spirit is within us, we don't let Him
work through us -- we continue to try to live life in our own strength and that
doesn’t work
-- the
first step to getting our feet washed – the first step in progressive holiness
– is to turn the valve – to open the spigot – to allow the Holy Spirit to flow
through us
-- this happens through faith –
by trusting and believing that He is with us and in us – and then trusting in
Him and asking Him to impart His righteousness and holiness to us – to substitute
His power and His righteousness for our own -- that is what the disciples were
doing in this passage here in Acts 2
-- they had had the Holy Spirit
for some time, but the valve was shut – the spigot was closed – they were
quenching His ability to work in their lives – but here in Acts 2, they finally
opened themselves up to the presence of God – and the power and presence of the
Holy Spirit poured out in their lives like a mighty rushing wind and they all
saw tongues of fire that rested on each of them
-- this is
not the normal way the Spirit comes upon us now -- we don't see the Spirit
coming upon anyone else in the Bible in this way -- but this was what the
disciples needed at this moment
-- Jesus
had ascended to heaven 10 days earlier -- and, for the first time, the
disciples were truly physically alone -- so they needed to hear God's
presence -- they needed to see God's presence -- and so the Spirit came
on them and baptized them in power in this miraculous way -- it was what the
early church needed in order to know that God was with them
-- as soon
as the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, Luke tells us that a crowd
gathered because of the noise and commotion -- when is the last time you heard
of people being drawn to a church service because of the noise and commotion?
-- but that's exactly what happened here
-- Peter
began to preach to the crowd and to tell them the good news of Jesus -- he
recognized that what was happening was the fulfillment of the promise that God
gave to the prophet Joel -- skip down to verse 17-21
Acts 2:17 "'In the last days, God says, I will pour
out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young
men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour
out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on
the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to
blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.'
-- God was
pouring out His Spirit on all people -- men and women -- young and old --
everyone who turned to Jesus for the forgiveness of sins would now receive the
Holy Spirit in their lives -- this gift of God was for everyone -- from the
youngest Christian to the oldest saint -- all could receive and be filled with
the presence of God in their lives
-- God was
sending the Holy Spirit to wash the feet of the disciples – and because of
this, the church would experience signs and wonders as the Holy Spirit worked
in them and through them
-- they would experience and
witness transformed lives and changed hearts -- they would be empowered to live
holy and obedient lives, as they allowed the Holy Spirit to be part of their
daily walk with Christ
-- through His power and His
presence in their lives, they experienced ever-increasing holiness and
righteousness in their lives – and were empowered to do what Jesus told them to
do – to walk where He sent them – and to change this world for Him
IV. Closing
-- I read about this Baptist
preacher and his wife who decided they needed a dog -- ever mindful of their
congregation, they knew the dog must be obedient and righteous, just like all
good Baptists – the dog had to have all the qualities of a Baptist – so, they
visited an expensive kennel and explained their needs to the manager, who
assured them he had just the dog for them.
-- he left,
and a few minutes later, he came back with a gorgeous black lab – the preacher
looked at it and said, “He looks good, but is he a Baptist dog?” – the man
said, “Watch this”
-- he told the dog, “Fetch the
Bible" – and the dog went to the bookshelf where there were a lot of
books, including several translations of the Bible – he looked for a few
seconds, and then pulled out a King James Version Bible and brought it over to
his owner
-- the preacher was amazed – but
the man said, “I’m not done yet” – He told the dog, “Find Psalm 23” – and the
dog, showing marvelous dexterity with his paws, flipped through the pages of
the Bible, found the correct passage, and pointed at it with his paw.
-- that was
enough for the preacher – he bought the dog and took him home – and that night,
when a group of parishioners dropped by, he proudly began to show off his new
dog – they told him to get a Bible, which he did – and then they had him look
up several passages – each time, the dog did just what the preacher asked
-- Finally,
one man asked "Can the dog do normal dog tricks too?"
-- the
preacher said, “I don’t know – let’s see” – he pointed his finger at the dog
and said, “Heel”
-- the dog immediately
jumped up on a chair, placed one paw on the preacher's forehead – looked up
towards heaven – and began to howl -- The preacher turned to his wife in
complete shock and disbelief. "We've been swindled! That manager sold us a
Pentecostal dog!"
-- while
healings and miracles and spiritual gifts all began on the Day of Pentecost
after the resurrection of Jesus, this isn’t the main point of this passage –
Pentecost isn’t important because of these miraculous signs – instead, it is
important because this date marks the sending of the Holy Spirit to the church to
fill us with His power and His presence and to help us progress in
righteousness and holiness in our daily lives
-- Spirit-filled churches and
Spirit-filled people should be the norm for Christians in this world today –
people should be able to look at us and see that there is something different
about us – that we are not like this world or the people of this world – that
we are truly holy and righteous disciples who live for Christ every single day
-- this is what God considers
normal for Christians and churches -- this is what we should expect in our
worship services and in our lives -- this is our goal – this is what Pentecost
is all about
-- if you
are not living lives of obedience to God -- if you can't describe yourself as
"holy" -- if you are not experiencing signs and wonders in your life –
then it might be that your spigot is closed – it might be that you’re quenching
the work of the Spirit in your life
-- we should be able to compare
who we are today with who we were in the past and be able to see a difference –
there should be a change – in our behaviors – our attitudes – our emotions –
our being
-- maybe you started off that
way, but you let the world close your spigot to just a trickle – maybe it’s
time to get your feet washed again – maybe it’s time to pray to the Holy Spirit
and ask Him to fill you with His presence and power and wash your feet and make
you into the person God wants you to be
-- so, as we close this morning,
I want us to come together like the disciples did on that first Pentecost
Sunday after the resurrection of Christ – I want us to come together in one
accord – to be in one place with each other – physically and spiritually
-- to be honest about the need
to have our feet washed again – to be honest about our need for the Holy Spirit
to fully be in our lives
-- I can't think of any better
way to do this today than for us to share in Holy Communion -- to receive
within us again the power and presence of the living Christ -- to come before
His table for cleansing and the washing of our feet – for the forgiveness of those
daily sins that make our feet dirty – and to be filled anew with the presence
of the Holy Spirit
-- I'm
going to close in prayer right now and then we'll share Holy Communion together
-- one last
thing before I close – I know I opened the fire hose on you this morning and
hit you with a lot of information – I pray that the Holy Spirit opens your
minds and hearts to receive what He has for you
– but let me encourage you to do
this – go back and study these passages again – we recorded the message on
Facebook, so you can go back and rewatch it or catch the parts you slept
through
-- also, the transcript of
today’s message is on my blog site – the link is on our Facebook page – so, if
you want to go back and look up what we said or any of the passages I referred
to, you can read the transcript and take your time with it this week
– because this is important –
Pentecost is important – living holy and obedient lives for Christ is important
– and we’ve not been doing a good job of that in the church today
-- with
that, let's pray
1Modified from sermon by Rodney Buchanan,
Pentecostal Power, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=59048
2Modified from sermon by Rodney Buchanan,
Pentecostal Power, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=59048
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