Hola! Como estas! Thank you so much for having me; it is truly an honor. If you told me a few years ago that I’d be giving this talk to you, I would have said that you were crazy. BUT the Lord is full of surprises! He has been teaching me -- in His word, through His power, and through personal experience, about the power of the Holy Spirit. While I got to meet and begin a relationship with Jesus when I was 16, I just got to meet the Holy Spirit about a year or so ago, and have been getting to know Him more and more. I am so glad! And I am honored to be sharing things that I’ve been learning with you.
(Open in prayer...Ephesians 6:19-20, “and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”)
Who is God? He is the creator of all things, he transcends time, He is over all things, He knows all things, He is everywhere, He is the Father...He is our heavenly Father...
Revelation 4:8,11
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” ...
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
Who is Jesus? He is the Son of God, begotten of God. He walked the earth as a man: sharing truth with people, healing people, loving people. And then, he took on our sin, and died on the cross. BUT he conquered death and rose again from the dead. Those who know Him will spend eternity worshipping Him...
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Do you know Jesus? Not just about Him or what people say about Him? BUT do you really know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Are you in relationship with Him? The name Jesus means to save people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). Jesus is the ONLY way to salvation. Do you know Him?
Who is the Holy Spirit? He is the very spirit of God. He has been from the beginning. He is the helper. He is the counselor. He leads and guides us. He lives in God’s people...
John 14:26, 20:22
[Jesus said] “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
And when he [Jesus] had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Do you know the Holy Spirit? Do you know His power? Do you want MORE? Do you want a revival? YES, LORD!
Matthew 3:16
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the spirit of god descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.
The Holy Spirit came down on Jesus -- no where in the Bible do we see the dove ascending/leaving the earth! The Holy Spirit is still working on earth today! He is in God’s people now! And He is working!
That isn’t the only time we see a dove in the Scripture...
How many of you know the story of Noah and the arc? People were not obedient to the Lord and He decided to wipe out the people and animals on the earth -- but out of mercy, He spared Noah, his family, and two animals of each species. It rained for months and months and months. Y’all can relate with your rainy seasons. And throughout all the months, Noah, his family, and the animals remained safe and dry in the arc. And then, the rains ceased.
Genesis 8:6-12
At the end of forty days [after the rain stopped] Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him. He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.
The dove goes out and looks for a place to land. When he doesn’t find anywhere, he goes back; this pattern repeats until he finds a place outside of the ark to make a home. When the dove is sent out today, what will it find? The dove represents the Holy Spirit of God. When God sends Him out, will He find a place to land in your heart? A place to make a home -- to dwell in?
John 16:7
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you [the Holy Spirit]. But if I go, I will send him to you.
Jesus Himself told us that it was to our advantage for Him to leave and for the Holy Spirit to come to us -- to live and make a home inside believers of Jesus Christ.
Our church has a Wednesday night service that is fairly small and intimate. I don’t get to attend the service very often. However, I was there one Wednesday this past October. During the worship, we were singing a song that says, "Jesus, my passion in life is to know you. May all other goals bow down to you..." I was praying and laying down my goals before the Lord AND all of a sudden, it was as if someone was blowing in my left ear. Wooshing past me. It was audible and my whole body shivered.
No one was sitting on either side of me. But you see, I am a skeptic, so just to be sure, I turned to look at the people behind me. The guy directly behind me was sitting down, bowed over in prayer. The guy behind me to the left was completely engrossed in worship.
I thought: wow, Holy Spirit, you are with me! Then I started laughing because of course He is. Was such a sweet and personal reminder of His presence.
THEN the pastor began talking and he read Acts 2:1-13. Verse 2 says, “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” Y’all, the Lord blew me away with His goodness! He blessed me with a tangible reminder that He is ALIVE! Very personal and very close to me! What a joy; what a gift! The ways of the Lord are not boring!
Acts 2:2-4
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Jesus heals many in the bible which is awesome. But it doesn't end there. If you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then you are filled with the power of God. Let’s look at a few examples in Acts.
Acts 1:8
Jesus said, “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.”
God blesses us with the Holy Spirit so that we can be a witness to the world around us. Are you witnessing to those around you? Do those around you know that you are clothed in the Holy Spirit? I know that I have a lot of room to grow in this area.
Acts 3:2-8
And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
In the name of Jesus, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter healed a man! The Lord restored full use of a man’s legs who had been lame since birth! How incredible is that!
Acts 9:33-34
There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose.
Again! Peter speaks with the authority given to him. Jesus uses us to heal people! For those of us in Christ Jesus, we have been given the same power and authority! Are you using it? Are you blessing those around you? Do you believe that Jesus will use YOU to heal people in need?
A few weeks ago, I was talking with a some friends about some cool things the Lord has done. One friend had her leg grown in a time of prayer! The next day I was running and thought it would be cool if there was someone I could pray for their leg to be healed. But as part of this training I'm doing, I needed to do my full 20 minutes of running (always the practical one I am). After the run, I was walking back to my car.
A guy in front of me with a dog was limping. I passed him only to realize I'd be passing down an opportunity to pray with someone that I'd asked the Lord for! His name was Jake and he said his dog ran to chase another dog, he twisted his ankle, and it hurt and now he was limping. I laid hands on him and asked the Holy Spirit to heal his ankle in the name of Jesus. Jake said it felt much better but he was still limping again. So, I prayed again, and he was totally healed! I was overjoyed with the goodness of the God I serve!
As I walked away I asked Jake if he was just saying that...in disbelief that his leg had been healed, he assured me he was not just saying that. If the Lord used me, I know He will use you, too!
Peter brings Tabitha back to life in Acts 9:36-40. I haven’t been able to be a part of that experience yet, but I want to. There are so many ways the Lord works! He manifests Himself in all kinds of ways! I have been privileged to receive or witness others receiving the gift of tongues, laughter, healing, words of knowledge, interpretation of tongues, and more. I do not want to put a limit on what our God can do!
What do you think people think of when they think of Christians? It may be different in your culture/community. But in mine, the ones that love Jesus are often thought of as being nice and good. Friends, I’m tired of that! We are more than that! It doesn’t take the power of God to be nice. It takes the power of God to SHOW the world who our Lord Jesus Christ is. We have the power of God living in us! Let us ask our God to do big things in us! Not because of us, but because of Him -- because of who He is -- that we want the world to know Him for all that He is...He isn’t just a nice God; rather, He is a great and powerful God!
I’m paraphrasing the following from Bill Johnson:
The world has seen the church’s holier than thou attitude, and the world is not impressed. It is time the world sees a loyalty that is not based on genuine goodness or niceness. When the church, when Christians, when we, display the kingdom of God in purity and power -- it is revolutionary!#
God’s intent is grand. Instead of limiting ourselves by our imagination and experience, let us press on to a renewed hunger for things yet to be seen. As pursue the Lord God with reckless abandonment, we will discover that our greatest problem is the resistance that comes from between our own ears -- our own thoughts.#
Do you want a revolution?! Ask for the Lord for it and see what He does. See what He does through you! With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).
Revelation 11:15
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.
(End in prayer.)
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