June 8, 2014 "The Power of Pentecost" Pastor Howard-John Wesley

my father my god how grateful we are for all that you've given to us most importantly that you gave us your darling son Jesus to die on the cross of Calvary and beyond that oh God you've given us the gift of your Holy Spirit to dwell within us to guide us to strengthen us to lead us into righteousness we embrace and celebrate that holy spirit today and ask him not only to be present but God to breakthrough into every secret area of our lives if there'd be anything in us O God that is contrary to your willing your word Holy Spirit come now and have that work upon us lord I thank you for this opportunity to stand and speak for you won't you take my head in my heart won't you anoint my mind and my mouth God allowed there'd be no gap between your will and my words speak Lord for your servants are listening the blessed name of Jesus our Christ we do pray amen today as was mentioned is Pentecost Sunday where we acknowledge and examine the work the moving the coming of the Holy Spirit into the life of the church and the life of believers here's a pop quiz for you if you really want to talk about Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit there is but one book of the Bible you'll find that in it's not Matthew it's not Mark it's not Genesis but it's what what book do we go to a man someone's been in sunday-school the book of Acts the Acts of the Apostles and as you're turning to the second chapter of the book of Acts when a welcome brother Brian Woolfolk was with us a day he's running for seat in Maryland and the Senate seat brother Brian welcome to alpha Street today we pray God's blessings upon you and welcome you to our church family once you've navigated yourself to the second chapter the book of Acts either on your smart device or in your Bible would you please stand with us that together we might reverence the reading of God's holy word from Acts chapter 2 the second chapter of the book of Acts as we read here the record of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost Acts chapter 2 beginning in verse number one reading this morning from the New King James Version of God's Holy Word when the day of Pentecost had fully come they were all with one Accord in one place and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting then there appeared to them divided tongues as a fire and one set upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance and there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews devout men from every nation under heaven and when this sound occurred the multitude came together and were confused because everyone heard them speak in his own language then they were all amazed and marveled saying to one another look or not all these who speak galilaeans and how is it that we hear each in our own language in which we were born parth ian's and Medes Elamites those dwelling in Mesopotamia Judea and Cappadocia Pontus and Asia Phrygia and Pamphylia Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene visitors from Rome both Jews and proselytes Cretans and Arabs we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God so they were all amazed and perplexed saying to one another whatever could this mean others mocking said they are full of new wine want to talk and teach from the topic today the power of Pentecost you may be seated in the presence of God the power of Pentecost for those who may be unfamiliar when you go to the New Testament and you see how the books are ordered and laid out and structured those who place the Canon together had a reason for placing books and the New Testament and the order in which they are placed for example the letters of Paul are given to us not chronologically by date but rather by length and the reason Galatians precedes Philippians is because Galatians is longer and so the polite letters are ordered based upon their length the book of Revelation is put at the end because obviously it deals with endtime things the Gospels open up the New Testament because they introduce us to the main character of the New Testament and of our faith Jesus our Christ Matthew is the first gospel in your Bible because Matthew unlike any of the others gives us a more detailed description of the birth of Jesus Christ the beginnings of his life and therefore Matthew begins the New Testament there are scholars though who would argue if you look at the layout of the Gospels that there's something out of order in separating the Gospel of Luke from the book of Acts James are those who would argue and maybe rightfully so that acts ought to be consecutively placed right next to Luke 4 if one reads you'll find the same writer of the Gospel of Luke is the writer of the book of the Acts of the Apostles and this Luke after he pins his gospel and tells us the story of the earthly Ministry of Jesus then takes another scroll of parchment and puts pen to parchment yet again to give us the story of the Acts of the Apostles to remind us that the good news of Jesus Christ does not stop with the earthly Ministry of Jesus Luke writes the Acts of the Apostles to remind us that after Christ has been resurrected from the dead there's still work to be done and that good news will be shared by these disciples who now become apostles whom we read about in the Acts of the Apostles and so Acts is really the second part of the Gospel of Luke in acts we read about Peter and his powerful preaching that lead some 8000 Souls to be converted to the way the movement of Jesus Christ we read about the sacrificial martyrdom of men like James and Stephen who surrender their lives for the cause of Christ we hear about the transformation the conversion of the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus in how in three separate journeys he travels around the greco-roman Mediterranean world preaching the good news of our Lord and our Savior in the book of Acts we hear and see these doctrinal debates about the circumcision of Gentiles as a prerequisite and necessity for being saved and how those doctrinal debates shaped and formed early Christian theology and what is important to note is that the gospel writer Luke wants to show that there is cannot continuity and connectivity between the Ministry of Christ and the mission of the church and so he pins the Acts of the Apostles to let us know that it didn't end with Jesus Christ but rather that there is a connection that is found in chapters 1 & 2 of the book of Acts on the day of Pentecost that Pentecost is the day 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ when the Holy Spirit comes and it is that day that links the church to its Christ and so Luke unlike Matthew unlike mark and unlike John knows that the Gospel story is not just that he came he lived he died and he rose again no Luke understands that the gospel goes like this he came he lived he died he rose he ascended to heaven the Holy Spirit came down and he's coming back again let me pause rewind make sure you get that he lived he came he lived he died he rose he resurrected he ascended to heaven the Holy Spirit came down and he's coming back again and and Luke much like Paul understands the critical nature of the Holy Spirit for the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ the life of a believer and the work of the church that just as God shaped Adam out of the dust of the earth but Adam did not become a living being until God breathed his rock into him his spirit which calls him to come alive so too did Jesus Christ shape and form the church and pay for it with his blood but it was not until the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came to breathe into the church that it became a living entity and organization it took the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and I suggest see my brothers and my sisters that the Holy Spirit in contemporary Christianity gets a bad rap because when you hear the word Pentecost your first instinct is to think Pentecostal and when you hear the word Pentecostal with your good Baptist ears a whole other set of images and ideologies pop into your head for most of us when we hear the term Pentecostal maybe you think of some rural areas in Kentucky where they handle snakes and are not bitten most of us who spend any amount of time in African American Christianity when you hear Pentecostal you get a whole other set of images in your head when you hear Pentecostal uuuugh you might think of worship services that lasts a mighty long time some of us here Pentecostal we have an image of women with white doilies on their heads wearing stockings so thick you can't see through you hear Pentecostal mate maybe your mindset goes back that experience you had with relative when you were to Pentecostal church and they shout it from the call to worship to the benediction when you hear Pentecostal maybe you envision folk who exercise their faith by taking laps around the sanctuary when you hear Pentecostal may maybe your envisionment is folk coming to the altar and preachers laying hands on them and that has a magical touch they fall out and you know you had a good Pentecostal church and they not only have hymnals and Bibles but sheets on the side so that when the sisters are falling out at the altar we cover them with sheets so they're private blessings won't be seen when you hear Pentecostal more than likely what pops into your mind is speaking in tongues because there are those in the Pentecostal side of our faith could argue to you that you are not filled with the Holy Spirit if you don't speak in tongues as a matter of fact I'll suggest to you that the Holy Spirit is probably most one of the most divisive doctrines exemplary Christianity those who embrace the full manifestations of gifts and speaking in tongues and charismatic worship and then there are some of us on the more conservative side who stray away at our little adverse to what we say will we say the Holy Spirit as a matter of fact here's how I can tell if you got some Pentecostal in you you ready is it the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost if if you are holy ghost you got some pillow costume in you somewhere but if he's the Holy Spirit you own the conservative side a Pentecostal ISM I remember growing up in a very straight conservative old-school Baptist Church where we did not embrace all of the workings of the Holy Spirit and I'll never forget as a child it was a sister who one day while the pastor was praying at altar call she stood at the altar and she began praying in tongues nobody said anything then but it was on the next church meeting agenda and she was not asked she was not voted out but she was asked to leave because we did not embrace nor condone speaking in tongues as a matter of fact anyone who knows anything about denominations will understand that the whole full gospel Baptist Church movement led by Paul Morton was simply an attempt of the Baptist Church to be more embracing of the Pentecostal nature of the Holy Spirit and it's out workings in the Baptist Church which up until then have strayed away from an embracing of what the Holy Spirit had come to do it is divisive in our doctrine of the Holy Spirit there are those who shy away in there those who judge or walk with the Lord by how much of the Holy Spirit you exhibit and exemplify in worship what does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit how do you know if someone has the Holy Ghost what criteria do you use to understand if that's the Holy Spirit and now as a matter of fact since we're getting to know one another would you just know your neighbor look at midnight asked them do you have the Holy Spirit now if your neighbors said yes looking back say prove it pro proof proof how do you know when the Holy Spirit is at work how can you tell I think it's good Baptist we ought to examine some scripture this morning to help us understand what Pentecost and the Holy Spirit is all about lest we be judged prematurely based upon one thing which is the speaking in other tongues because I would suggest you early in this sermon that speaking in tongues is not the only exhibit and exemplification of the Holy Spirit's presence in the church and in my life how do you know well I suggest we look at Scripture and here in Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit is come Jesus says we receive power what is the power of Pentecost when invite you to journey with me this morning to look at the prerequisite of Pentecost power the purpose of Pentecost power the particularities of Pentecost power and the peculiarities of Pentecost power can we do that can we look at the prerequisite the purpose the particularity and the peculiarity of Pentecost and maybe we'll leave this place with a better understanding of whether we've got the Holy Spirit or not I would suggest to you first of all that there is a prerequisite for Pentecost power Danny watch what the Bible says the Bible says that when the day of Pentecost had fully come that they were all gathered together in one place and on one Accord Paul stop right there before you get to speaking in tongues before you get to laying hands on foking than falling out at the altar before you take a lap around the sanctuary the Bible says that in order for the Holy Spirit to come those who had gathered together were all in one place and all gathered under one Accord now you have to ask yourself why they gathered well you must remember the G just has given them the commandment to wait and pray until they receive the promise that God had given to them that the Holy Spirit would come and so these disciples are gathered together waiting and praying but note something different and difficult here if you go back to chapter 1 verse 15 you'll find that Luke tells us how many are gathered together waiting and praying if you still have your Bibles open chapter 1 verse 15 solicit ibly says this that 120 of them are gathered together waiting and praying how many are gathered together 120 your good Bible students you must understand that that is not a random number that is not some number that's just a multiplication of 12 that number has significance in Jewish culture for you will find under the Jewish religious laws that it took 120 men gathered together to establish a valid synagogue oh don't you miss this if you had 119 you weren't a valid worship experience but if you had 120 you could deem yourself a synagogue to handle the business of God and worship God and so what is gathered together here is not just some random grouping of disciples but enough to establish the formality of a religious institution that could worship God and be about the business of God this was not just some happenstance but this was something valid in the eyes of God based upon the number of men gathered together to be deemed worthy of worship and doing the work of God a hundred and twenty meant there was some formality there and the Holy Spirit waits until enough have gathered together to establish a collective community that could worship and be about the work of God while they were waiting and praying and then the Holy Spirit shows up don't you miss this the Holy Spirit showed up in a collective community notice Laura the holy spirit did not just pick out 12 and show up the Holy Spirit didn't just find brother Peter by himself or sister Mary all by herself that when the Holy Spirit showed up the Holy Spirit did not pick individuals the Holy Spirit descended on the body of believers that were legally informally created to worship and be about the work of God while they waited and prayed I'm trying to suggest to you that the coming of the Holy Spirit was not at first an individual experience but a communal one and that maybe just maybe the primary purpose of the coming of the Holy Spirit is not about your individual gift it's not about speaking in tongues not about shouting and running through church it's not about passing out at the altar but the Holy Spirit comes to connect and commit you and covenant to a family of faith called the church you you want to show me you've got the Holy Spirit join a church and stay at that church you missed it it is the Holy Spirit that locks you into your body of faith it is the Holy Spirit that draws you to your church family it is the Holy Spirit that moves on your life and makes you stay connected to the body of Christ where you've been called to worship so it's the Holy Spirit that makes you stay when church gets unpleasant it's the Holy Spirit that makes you pray rather than gossip when you hear their trouble is brewing within the body of Christ it is the Holy Spirit that makes you get up on Sunday morning and press and push your way to the house of God because you know you owe it to God to be in his house and worship Him it's the Holy Spirit watches you really want to see the Holy Spirit not in a sanctuary go to overflow and find folk who even though they didn't get in the main sanctuary they decided that they wouldn't go leave they wouldn't go get in their car they were gonna stay right there because God has called them to worship in this house you you you you show me a saint that doesn't come to church on Sunday and I'll show you a saint that's not filled with the Holy Spirit you show me a saint who's always critical always negative I always got some ugly to say Church too long Church too short he was too loud he was too quiet they got on my nerves cry didn't sound good what no parking uh shoes were mean greeters didn't smile my neighbor got on my nerves and I'll show you one doesn't have the Holy Spirit show me a member who resides there membership the first time they don't get what they want and we didn't paint the bathroom the color you voted on and so now you gonna go try to find another church and I'll show you one who doesn't have the Holy Spirit show me a believer who moves from this church to that church to that church to this church and hops every time Church doesn't turn out the way they want and I'll show you a believer who doesn't have the Holy Spirit because the very first working with the Holy Spirit is to bring you into one place and watch the Bible says don't miss this and in one Accord you know that term one Accord that means so much more Dean Johnson than just being in the same building one Accord doesn't mean we just go to the same church when a court means that there's some commonality of our thought that there's some unity in our vision that there's some love in the membership that there's some relationship that keeps me that we see the same we are worshipping together we are in love with each other that we are about the same business for the church that we are in one Accord and then maybe the real sign of the Holy Spirit is the unity in the pew well not now now now watch this let me tell that's important because when I first came galaxies and read the Lord called me here their pastor I'm Street Baptist Church I was outside one day and I met a member who used to excuse me the sister who used to be a member and we began talking she identified herself as a former member of Alpha Street that's why I asked her I said well why are you a former member why do you no longer go to church and I thought she's gonna give me the answer that I'd heard about outreach you know that I was expecting her to say well you know there's a socio-economic strata at Alpha Street that makes some people feel y'all know who you were before I got here you remember you were that that you know you have to fit a certain bill to to feel like you belong and that's what I expected her said that's not what she said here's why she says she's no longer a member of Alpha Street watch that she said cuz y'all don't catch the ghost enough not now now let me tell you you ain't Pentecostal you ain't even know she was talking about she said y'all don't catch the ghost she was referring to there's a problem in our numerological worship and liturgical experience where we did not become charismatic in our expressions of the gift of God in other words y'all don't shout enough y'all don't stand up enough y'all don't wave your hand enough y'all don't get on the organ do a war cry enough y'all will run around the church enough ain't nobody pass out at the altar so in her mind there's no Holy Spirit in the church because you all don't stand you don't shout you don't run you don't do the things that I look for as evidence of the Holy Spirit and I said that's fine system allow me to tell you something that the real presence of the Holy Spirit is not found in how people worship on Sunday morning if the truth be told anybody can wave on Sunday anybody can say a man on Sunday if you want to see if there's Holy Spirit in the church you got to find out if they're on one Accord you won't see that in worship lot but if you want to see if a church has the Holy Spirit show up at the church business meeting and see how members talk to one another if you want to see the Holy Spirit bug the boardroom and take the conversations between trustees and deacons and the pastor to see if there's really some Holy Spirit if you want to see the Holy Spirit show up at choir rehearsal and see what happens when two Altos want the same tenor if you want to see the Holy Spirit go to the parking lot after worship and see how members interact with each other after they're out of the church that's where you really see if there's some Holy Spirit not about how loud we shout but are we together in one place on one Accord and I suggest you that that is the reason why the enemy continues to try to create diversity and division within the body of Christ because wherever we are divided there can be no full manifestation of the Holy Spirit to empower us to the work that we've got to do can I appreciate like I having a pastor I was gonna say what God put on my heart that's why Paul says you got to look out for troublemakers look out for dividers look out for those who speak ill of your leadership look out for those who always running their mouth about another church member look out for those who are always critical because in their divisive spirit they are blocking the Holy Spirit which would come and empower the church for the work that God has called them to do hey maybe if they can't get on one Accord you need to move away from them if they can't speak in love you need to switch or see if they can't be supportive of the vision you need to move out of their presence because they are blocking the Holy Spirit's work in the church now if your neighbor is quiet no don't say you just told on yourself you just he says there's a prerequisite for Pentecost power but not only that there's a purpose for Pentecost power why do we receive the Holy Spirit why does God grant us the gift of His Spirit to dwell within us now let me tell you that that's the divisive question in Christianity because there are those on the extreme side of Pentecostalism who use the gifting and presence of the holy spirit as a badge of spiritual bravado by which they can judge other people and so I'm holy ghost field if I do such and such and such and there's something wrong with you and your church if you don't why do we receive the Holy Spirit now there's some that argue that the reason we receive it and the way we signify we have him is to the speaking of tongues which I understand is one manifestation but I've got a problem you can't tell me the speaking tongues is the only way prove that I have the Holy Spirit because when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River I John the Holy Spirit descended upon him and nowhere did he talk in tongues well some would argue with you and I want you to be certain you're ready to deal with your Pentecostal brethren and sistren who would tell you where no in Acts chapter 2 when the Holy Spirit came Bob says they spoke in other tongues yes and no I suggested when you do your homework and really read Acts chapter 2 correctly then what you see happening here in Acts chapter 2 has not happened again since this moment the speaking in tongues that you hear about in Acts chapter 2 is not the glossolalia that Paul speaks about when he writes to the church in Corinth in 1st Corinthians 14 about them being out of order and having tongues but no interpretation that's not the same tongues as a matter of fact the tongues you hear here are not the same tongues that Paul writes about in Romans chapter 8 when he says that when we pray this Holy Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings and mutterings because we do not know how to pray as we ought to you need to read your Bible that's not the tongues that Paul is talking about that we see here in Acts chapter 2 if you read here in Acts chapter 2 correctly here's what it says that when the Holy Spirit rested upon them like cloven tongues of fire and they all began to speak the Bible says that they spoke in other languages so much so that in Acts chapter 2 verse 6 and verse 11 there are those gathered from other places who say listen we're hearing these men and women speak in the language in which we were born watch so here's what really happens in Acts chapter 2 galilaeans who've not been trained speaking other known languages that they've never learned so it's like all of a sudden it's like all of a sudden Joe begins to speak in German and he's never taken a German class it's like all of a sudden the sister next to you begins to speak in Spanish and she's never had a Spanish class that they began to speak in other known languages of the world now why does the Holy Spirit enable them to speak in languages that are known around the world but they've not been trained in here it is because in Acts chapter 1 verse 8 Jesus declared that when the Holy Spirit will come upon you you will receive power not to talk in glossolalia and not just to lay hands on people and not just to have charismatic worship but you will receive power to be my witnesses to the uttermost ends of the earth the Holy Spirit is going to equip you to go into areas you've never been in and preach the gospel in languages that you never even knew you could speak because I need the world to know that what I have done is available to everyone and in order to speak to them you got to know how to speak their language and so they speak the language of the Cyrenians because they're going to Cyrene they can speak the language of Pamphylia because they're going to Pamphylia they can speak the language of Arabic because they're going into the Arab nations and it is a if a station of the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus that you would be able to preach the gospel in the entire world so here it is what is the primary purpose of Pentecost power not to talk in tongues not to lay hands on folk but to equip us for evangelism that the primary purpose of the Holy Spirit in your life is to cause you to live a life that draws other people to the cross of Jesus Christ you read in Acts chapter 2 when they began watch Bible study when they began to speak and these other tongues the Bible says that those who are outside the church were attracted in great multitude to see what was going on because when they were under the gifting of the Holy Spirit their lives attracted others the primary purpose of the Holy Spirit is to cause you to be evangelical in your living to be a witness of Jesus Christ you showed me a saint who never speaks about Jesus Christ and I'll show you one who's not guided by the Holy Spirit and then you show me a sister who goes to her job every day and tells folk how good god has been and prays with people and is not ashamed to lift up the name of Jesus Christ and I will show you a sister that is walking under the anointing of the Holy Spirit so the sister says y'all don't catch the ghost because you don't run enough you don't shout loud enough you don't fall out at the altar alright that's one way but please know that you should not judge the Holy Spirit's presence by how loud folks shout your to judge his presence by harmony folk are being drunk and so me maybe Alfred Street doesn't shout loud enough maybe people don't take laps like you want to see him and maybe we don't have sheets to cover folk when they pass if they Pat would never pass out at the altar but last night we baptized 21 new believers into the body of Christ and a few weeks ago 64 people join church in one weekend now I don't know where else I can prove that the Holy Spirit is at work Bible says they heard it in their own language watch how the Holy Spirit works and how you can see his presence that people who were gathered no matter where they had come from they got a word they could hear it was relevant to them they could receive it so here's how you really know the Holy Spirit is at work in a church when people can come from different places and backgrounds and experiences and still find relevance in the house of God so if a brother would brains and tattoos over every inch of his body can walk in the church and hear the word of God and feel the love of God and find relevant ministry the Holy Spirit is édouard if somebody that just found out they're HIV positive can come in and you still share the peace and the love of God with them then the Holy Spirit is at work if that sister who just got out of jail can get back in the house of God and not be judged but be encouraged to get her life back on track then the Holy Spirit is at work if that single mother can find somebody who says I'll help you if the baby daddy ain't around then the Holy Spirit is at work if that father whose son just said he's gay find somebody who can pray with him then the Holy Spirit is at work because I can hear it no matter where I've come from there's a prerequisite for Holy Spirit there's a purpose for the Holy Spirit watch this watch the particularities of Pentecost power watch the Saints pop quiz how many people were gathered together 120 and the Bible says in verse number six that when the Holy Spirit landed it landed differently upon each one of them so that they all began to speak in different languages watch this so the Holy Spirit comes and lands on Deacon V the way the Holy Spirit filled Deacon V is different than the way the Holy Spirit filled one either right so why neither speaks in one way Deacon V speaks in another but it's the same Holy Spirit so the Holy Spirit filled Tom in a way that caused him to say something but then the Holy Spirit filled Deacon Morrison in a different way that caused him to speak something and what they said didn't sound the same but they were both filled with the Holy Spirit don't you miss us so when the Holy Spirit makes his presence known everyone doesn't respond the same way here's the depth of it there's no homogeneity in the Holy Spirit pastor for real alright you know I share with the early churches which you know this that when I send a preach the Word of God God put certain guides on my heart for what I'm trying to do whenever I preach I'm trying to draw you to your Bible so you'll understand the Word of God more I'm trying to open your eyes to global consciousness I'm trying to have you dig deep into doctrine and I'm trying to use a big word to enlarge your vocabulary whenever Amen I'm beyond whenever I preach I want you to need a Bible a newspaper and a dictionary that I believe that one of the signs and we are growing congregations that we have an expansive vocabulary so there is no homogeneity in the Holy Spirit which means that everything is not homogeneous pastor that's the same word that's not fair that simply means that everything doesn't look the same everyone doesn't act the same that the presence of the Holy Spirit doesn't mean that everybody has to have the same thing coming out of their mouths that when I'm filled what comes out of my mouth can be different than what comes out of your mouth and when I'm filled I don't have to say the same things that you say and just because you say it this way doesn't mean that I'm not filled because I say it a different way swatches here's how you can sense the Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit fills and there is acceptance of diversity of manifestation so that I don't judge you if you don't respond to him the same way I do can I preach this watch.watch the Bible says when the Holy Spirit came to beginning to speak and all they were speaking different languages they were all verse 11 talking about the wonderful works of God so that winds sister over there got a field and began thinking about the wonderful works of God how she responded was different than brother right there when he began to think about the wonderful works of God and that was different than him up there when he began to think about the wonderful works of God so what shows the Holy Spirit is that when I begin to think about the wonderful works of God you grant me the freedom to respond as the Holy Spirit would lead without judging me based upon how you respond to the Holy Spirit can I preach this thing here's how you can see the Holy Spirit when on each pew there's room for you to shout if that's what you want to do and I can sit if that's what I want to do and I not judge you and you not judge me for how we respond to the Holy Spirit if you want to run and I want to sit quiet that's all right if you want to stand and I want to cry that's all right you do you and let me do me and that's how we know the Holy Spirit is at work can I just pause for a moment and encourage you just to when you think about the wonderful works of God to just go and let the Holy Spirit do in you what you want to do if you want to stand stand if you want to shout shout if you want to run take a lap if you are a set set but just respond as a spirit leads you everybody doesn't have to respond same way there's no homogeneity in the spirit there's a prerequisite being one Accord there's a purpose equipped us for evangelism there is a particularity we have diversity and how we respond but watch this last one there is a peculiarities of Pentecost power when the Holy Spirit comes and fills these hundred and twenty believers the Bible says that there were some standing outside who said they are full of new wine now in case your sanctification doesn't allow you to translate that correctly there were those who said these folk have been drinking now now if you keep on reading I'll just teach Bible we keep on reading when Peter gets up to defend them this what Peter says they hadn't been drinking it's too early you get that when you get home no I hope you don't get that when you get home ah he it is it's just too early but here's the point there were those who saw them at 9:00 a.m. in the morning and knew something was different about him so here it is that really they looked at him and wondered why are y'all so happy at 9:00 a.m. and could the real sign of the Holy Spirit in your life not be whether you talk in tongues and run around the church and lay out at the altar could it be your demeanor and your disposition early in the morning if you wake up grumpy and ugly every day you might not have the Holy Spirit if you go to work cantankerous and mean all the time you might not have the Holy Spirit folk who are filled with the Holy Spirit can wake up in the morning and know that it's gonna be a rough day but before they get their day started something begins to move in their spirit and since this is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in as a matter of fact can I just take a poll of the house is there anybody who woke up this morning with some joy in your heart is anybody that just woke up and you were glad to be alive is anybody woke up and you were thankful that this was a day you could come and worship God there's something about waking up with joy and peace and happiness that says the Holy Spirit is in my life they noticed that something was different please tweet this correctly this deep this is so deep I'll make sure you get this is deep steep you ready the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to make you holy to make you different to make you talk differently walk differently live differently if you blend in in every environment you're not filled with the Holy Spirit don't you know what Paul says that God has shaped us to be a peculiar people a royal priesthood a holy nation that God has called us out of darkness God has commanded us to let go of the unclean things and God calls us to live our lives in such a way that people see we are different and let me tell you you can't see that on Sunday morning in 90 minutes in worship everybody can act totally I mean you got enough good sense not to show your true self in church you act saved in church so I can't really tell if you've got the Holy Spirit in church if you want to know if you have the Holy Spirit you need to look at not your life in the sanctuary but your life in the streets are you peculiar are you holy are you strange or do you just blend in with every environment you know I'm a sports fan and one of the things I like to do I keep up with the latest going on in sports I get up in the morning when I listen to my routine I get up I pray get a cup of coffee and I put on SportsCenter that's that's my regular routine I need to know what's happening in the sports world I need to know that and this past week this past week you all know that one of the topics that dominate the airwaves was a Colin Kapernick the quarterback for I don't know she's clapping because he's handsome or he's a good quarterback but Colin Kaepernick the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers received a new contract making him one of the top ten highest paid quarterbacks in the league he's paid at the same level of Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees and Tom Brady and Tony Romo he's paid and the whole debate this week was whether or not Colin Kaepernick is worthy of the salary he's getting and so the debate centered on some of his statistics kind of gauging him with some of the great quarterbacks and so as part of that Chris they they debate things like Super Bowl rings and how many Tom Brady has and how Colin Kaepernick doesn't they look at things like interceptions and turnovers touchdowns one of the things they measure and use to gauge quarterbacks it's called passing yards how many yards has the quarterback thrown for in a given season and as I began talking about Colin Kaepernick's passing yards which were very high one of the commentators on Mike and Mike in the morning said listen those numbers are inflated because anyone who knows football knows that a quarterbacks passing yards are not accurate because a quarterback can be on the 20 yard line throw the ball to a receiver at the 25 yard for five yards but if that receiver can run to the end zone another 75 yards the quarterback is given 75 passing yards even though he only threw it five yards you are with me and so they were arguing that what you have to do with certain quarterbacks is subtract from their passing yards an acronym called yak y AC teach pass to us the yak yards after catch and so if Kaepernick only throws five but bowled and runs 75 they said this there's a difference between how far he threw it and how far the receiver ran after he caught it that what matters is not simply when he caught it but if how far he ran after he caught it you you'll catch it it's not when you catch it it's how far you run after you catch it are you still a little slow it's not how much Holy Ghost you catch on Sunday but it's how far you run on Monday and how you live on Tuesday and how you love folk on Wednesday and how you forgive folk on Thursday and how your worship God on Friday it's not whether you caught the holy spirit it's how far you ran after you receive the holy spirit that the real measure of the holy spirit is not what you do in this sanctuary it's how you live in the street and so I've been telling people this the next time the next time someone looks at you and has the audacity to ask you if you have the Holy Spirit the next time you run up on your kojic cousin and and they ask you do you have the holy spirit your answer should be no I don't have the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit has me he controls my mind and my mouth and my desires I don't control the spirit the spirit controls me I don't have him but I'm praying that every day he has me the prerequisite is that we're on one Accord you want to show me the Holy Spirit show me your commitment to your church the purpose is that we become evangelical you wanna show me the Holy Spirit show me lives you've sown the good news of Jesus Christ into I'll show me you have the Holy Spirit show me that you can accept people worshiping and responding differently than you do and not judge whether they are filled or not I'll show me you have the Holy Spirit show me that you're different that you don't blend in that you stand out that's not just about how you shot on Sunday but how you living come Thursday do you have the Holy Spirit you

Channel: Alfred Street Baptist Church

Views: 69,882

Rating: 4.6078429 out of 5

Keywords: ASBC

Id: -cb1aoecCXI

Length: 54min 19sec (3259 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 12 2014