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Are You Hungry? Part 12
Andrew K. Fox
No Transcript available.
Are You Hungry? Part 13
Andrew K. Fox
(Acts 2:1-21) "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: 'Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 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 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!' Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, 'What does this mean?' Some, however, made fun of them and said, 'They have had too much wine.' 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. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: '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. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
July 4th is the birthday of America celebrated in parades across the country. In Washington DC 700 000 will line the streets between 7th and 17th Street watching marching bands, colorful floats, period dressed characters with fireworks and balloons. Our text is the birth of the church not celebrated like a parade but there were fifteen nations represented on an annual Jewish Feast called Pentecost where the fireworks were more supernatural. Christ promised that we would not be left as orphans but that he would send the Holy Spirit.
Four things taken for granted
1. We want to be filled with the Holy Spirit in doctrine and practice. If doctrine is not practice then it is not effectual like keeping the subject in the classroom instead of releasing the subject to the field. Active faith is the translator of doctrine to practice.
2. We want to be filled with the Holy Spirit personally and corporately. A pastor can have a personal walk with God but it must not end there. He has to lead his flock in a corporate walk with God. Your personal walk with God in vital but the enjoyment of it is magnified when it becomes corporate
3. We want to be filled with the Holy Spirit to impact our culture. We all want to make a difference between the cradle and grave. We all want to matter.
4. We all want to be filled with the Holy Spirit because the first priority of the church is to win people for Christ. The great commission of Christ has not been repealed.
Not taken for granted
As simple as these four things are I am not too sure we can take them for granted. We may not agree on these things.
1. Doctrine and practice: We all agree with the doctrine that Christ sent the Holy Spirit so we would not be orphaned but do we agree on the practice? What is meant by practice? Does it means we all fall on the floor when prayed for? Does it mean we all have a word from God for each other? Does it mean in our corporate gathering we all speak in tongues? Or that someone has a message in tongues and someone else interpret? If this is all that it means to practice being filled with the Holy Spirit then I do not want to go there.
2. Personal and corporate: We all agree that the believer has a personal walk with God but we are not too sure of what it means to corporately walk with God. Is it building the kingdom or our own kingdom? Individualism is the work of the Holy Spirit but so is the corporate. (1 Corinthians 12:4-6) "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men." God acknowledged that a corporate walk together is powerful for good or evil. (Genesis 11:6) "The Lord said, 'If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them."
3. Impact on culture: The word 'culture' simple means the way we do life and meet with life. The church has its own culture known by Hollywood, government and communities across the country as ineffectual. We are asking God to take people out of their culture and come into our culture. But the impact of the Holy Spirit is when he enters the culture of people not taking them out of it so Christ can be all in all.
4. Priority: Is it true that the church behaves in such a way that it wins people for Christ? It is more feeding those who are fed and caring for people who have the power of the Holy Spirit to 'get over it.' Feeding the flock and caring for the spiritual well being of people is vital but not the first priority.
Knowing who we are
Are we Pentecostal or are we evangelical? Pentecostal people embrace the Holy Spirit with all the gifts and affirm their commitment to evangelizing the community because the experience of being born again can only come by the Holy Spirit. It results in a changed life. But Pentecostal people are no longer actively reaching people with the gospel. Evangelicals are very cautious with the Holy Spirit and tend to be far more seeker sensitive but they are reaching people. But reaching people does not mean you are filled with the Holy Spirit anymore than being filled with the Holy Spirit means you are reaching people. You have an identity problem.
Three things about the Holy Spirit
1. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is always good and never bad. He always adds to your life and never takes away what is good. He is a powerful plus in your life when praying, reading the Bible, worship, and fellowship and daily life. Being filled with the Holy Spirit does not mean you have to be defensive about it. You do not have to convince people that the Holy Spirit is not a negative. People seek the Holy Spirit to reveal many things but rarely will they ask him to reveal who he is.
2. The Holy Spirit will always draw people and never drive them away. Remember there is a difference for the people of God compared to the unbeliever. Stuff happens in church so God gives a shepherd to guide. Most people are usually right in their motives. They want to be used by God and respond to him. Very few have an unclean spirit about them.
3. The Holy Spirit is multi-cultural in all his work. The book of Acts is a cross culture adventure. Fifteen nations are gathered at Pentecost hearing and seeing his work. The constant theme of challenge is the Jews and Gentiles. Philip is with an Ethiopian. Peter is in the house of Cornelius. Annanius is told that Saul of Tarsus the Jewish Pharisee of Pharisees will be an apostle to the Gentiles. Then there are many missionary trips to small towns and big cities.
Five things to consider
1. In his letter to the Corinthian church Paul stresses the importance of intelligence in the church. Not in terms of academics but wisdom. (1 Corinthians 14:2) "For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understand him…" (v4) "He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself…" (v5) "I would like every one of you to speak in tongues…" (v5) "…he interprets, so that the church may be edified." Speaking in tongues is not a bad thing. It is personal between you and God and unless God gives you the ability to interpret what you are saying it is unwise.
2. In our old building anyone could be heard from the back row but in this building you would not be seen never mind heard. So we encourage ministry from the platform and not from the congregation. This is not spiritual but practical. The only way around this is to have open microphones throughout the building. It can cause confusion and frustration to the believer as well as the unbeliever.
3. The Holy Spirit is always at work. He is not limited to vocal gifts in a Sunday service. People quench the Spirit by limiting his work to vocal gifts.
. The flock needs a shepherd to guard it. Paul affirms the elders of the Ephesian church to feed the flock, care for it, and grow it but most of all to guard it. (Acts 20:28) "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church…" Paul speaks of wolves in the church. (v29-31) "…savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard!" The shepherd of a flock must not allow anyone to do anything they want especially in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. People do things to test the shepherd to see what is allowed. Christ is the spirit of prophecy not blood boiling hell. Prophecy has Christ in it. The quenching of the Spirit is more about the lack of Christ than what is allowed or not allowed.
5. Teaching on the Holy Spirit is vital. But the teaching is not just in a church service but also in a small group or over lunch or on the phone or by email or at Starbucks.
Four things in reaching people
1. Presence of God: Spiritual life and new life. We cannot create salvation but we can build and atmosphere for it.
2. Power of God: One of the best ways to explain God is in the context of the supernatural. Supernatural things do not scare people off. Unwise Pentecostals scare people off.
3. People of God: Love is magnetic especially when the people of God speak well of their shepherds and visa versa where nothing but goodness is tolerated.
4. Word of God: (Romans 10:8) "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart…"
If you would like to see previous transcripts or hear audio available you can find them here.:
Are You Hungry? Series
The Lion the Witch and You! Series
Promise Land to Promise Life Series
Discovery.God Series
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