Spirit of Reformation | Katia Adams | Expression58

so much thank you so much for having us Julian and I are loving being here we we really love this church family we in the first service we were saying how it feels like we are in just such a place of glory being here and the worship times I mean so filled with the presence of God it's a little bit unfair really for the preacher because I'm feeling just a little bit happy in the spirit and then you're asking me to string a sentence together that will make sense so that's gonna be fun we're gonna have a good time together this morning when I was praying this morning I felt God speak to me and remind me of a few verses in Isaiah 61 and we're not gonna stay there for the whole morning but I'm just gonna read these verses and then we'll jump into Acts which is where we're gonna base ourselves but well-known verses in Isaiah 61 the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted to proclaim Liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all who mourn to grant to those who mourn in Zion to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes the oil of gladness instead of mourning the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit that they may be called oaks of righteousness the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified they shall rebuild the ancient ruins they shall raise up the former devastations they shall repair the ruined cities the devastations of many generations I love these verses because it starts in a place of speaking about Jesus it's a prophecy and Isaiah speaking of the person of Jesus and in the Gospels we see that Jesus actually reads these words he reads this prophecy and then he says today this is fulfilled in your hearing because everything these verses speak of is found in Jesus but I love the second half from kind of the second half of verse three and on into for because the person that is being spoken of changes initially it's speaking about him about Jesus and then it shifts to speaking about them they will be planted for the glory of God and they will rebuild the ancient ruins and they will repair what's been devastated and the they that the verses are speaking of is you and me is the people of God it's the church and so what starts with the Spirit of God resting on Jesus and anointing him for all the things that you and I are now called into it progresses into speaking very specifically about what you and I have been created for you and I have been created to change the world and I know those are words that maybe seem like rhetoric because we say them a lot in the church and people kind of hear it and it rolls off of us now something we become so familiar with but I want to tell you you really were created to change the world the Holy Spirit has anointed you like he anointed Jesus to do the miraculous on the planet and he's anointed you very specifically to repair ruined cities to bring a completely different way of life to ancient brokenness to ancient devastation on the planet he has called you to restore to raise up and to rebuild and if you think your Christianity is simply about you sitting at church every week or you being good as you go about your everyday life I want to say to you this morning that's not what you were made for you were not made to heat up a seat on Sunday morning or Sunday afternoon you were not made to be good we can week out that's not actually what you were made or what you were made for is to be a vessel of the Holy Spirit to change the world around you to recognize the brokenness on the earth and to say I exist on this planet so that that brokenness can be healed up that's what you were made for and I love the verses that Michelle read from acts 2 because when the Holy Spirit comes in the inaugurating moment of the church in Pentecost he falls on the people of God and he shows himself to be the spirit of Reformation even in that first moment of the church being birthed and Michelle read these verses so clearly Peter stands up he's trying to explain to on lookers what's happening in the moment as the Holy Spirit has fallen on the people and they look drunk and he stands up and he quotes a prophecy from the Prophet Joel he says in the last days God says he will pour out his spirit on all flesh right well the listeners of the day would not like those words because his listeners were Jews and they believed they earned God so when this apostle stands up and he says God is pouring out his friend his spirit on all flesh they're not thinking wow that's great they're thinking I'm offended because God is for the Jews not for all flesh but the Spirit of God is the spirit of reformation he is about a work that is breaking all the new social norms and the religious norms that we've adhere to in the past he is a spirit not just for one group or one a religious sect but he is a spirit for all people and all flesh and the Apostle goes on in quoting the prophecy your sons and your daughters will prophesy this is a God who is not sexist which would have been an issue in the day when Peter was speaking because God was about blessing men it was a very sexist religion it was patriarchal it was all about what the men stood for and here comes the holy spirit of reformation and he is poured out on sons and daughters so they will experience him and they will flow from him through all the world in exactly the same way because he's not interested in your gender he's interested in you as a child of God he goes on to say the old men will see a dreams and the young men will see visions this is not an ageist spirit he is the spirit of Reformation and often we talk about how there's no junior holy spirit well there's no elderly holy spirit either whatever age you are whatever age you are here this morning I want to tell you if you have a pulse you were created to change the world because Holy Spirit is the Spirit who comes upon us to equip and empower us to raise up ancient broken cities and that includes you and me if you are breathing this is a mandate for you this morning the Holy Spirit was to come and arrest and remain and make his home within us to help us change the world that's what we were made for he's not a class's spirit the prophecy goes on on your maidservants and your men's servants I will pour out my spirit that was offensive in the day because it was very strict on classes if you were at the top of the food chain God was looking at you but if you were at the bottom you are nobody and you were not to be taken seriously but God doesn't care what costs you come from he's a spirit of reformation the Spirit of God is upon me because he's anointed me to preach good news he has anointed you to preach good news to rebuild the ancient ruins and so this morning we're gonna think about what kind of spirit he is he's a different kind of spirit to what we may have believed and I trust that Holy Spirit is gonna burn in our hearts this message so that you and I will walk out of this room filled with the courage to change the world filled with the courage to go into our workplaces and go into our college and go into whatever spheres of influence you're in to raise our children understanding that we are in this planet to change everything around us if you see it an area of brokenness you were created to fix it because Holy Spirit is on you and here's the spirit of Reformation let's jump into acts 8 together in the context of acts 8 is that the people of God they've had this beautiful moment in acts 2 of the Holy Spirit falling on them the church is growing at a rapid rate they've all been in Jerusalem in a beautiful holy huddle and then suddenly persecution hits out of the people of God and they get scattered you know what's funny is what the enemy thinks is a win God uses for his win right so there's this persecution that comes and from a human perspective you're thinking that's really bad for the church this is a really low point but if you keep reading and acts you'll understand that what the enemy thinks is a high point for him God is using as a set up to display his goodness I want to tell you whatever is going on in your life right now whether it seems in human terms good or bad God is using your setting as a setup for his goodness it is always his intention to use our context to display just how good and just how kind that he is and so in this moment in the church they've been scattered they think it's all going wrong but actually it's the first kernel of the world being impacted by the message of God because they're pushed out of Jerusalem and pushed into the nations and we pick up in acts 8 from verse 4 those who'd been scattered preached the word wherever they went Philip who is one of the leaders of the early church went down to a city in Samaria now Samaria was like the arch enemy of the Jewish people and proclaimed the Messiah there when the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed they heard him and they saw what he did they all paid close attention to what he said for with shrieks impure spirits came out of many freedom was coming on the people and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed you know God his name one of his name's is healer he cannot help but be himself when he's in the room which means if you're sick and you're maybe asking the question does God will to heal me I want to tell you his name is healer he cannot help but be himself which means it is always his will to heal he's not having an identity crisis this morning he is healer which means he heals and so we're gonna do something a little bit unusual right now but I feel like gods on it if you need healing in your body will you stand up I'm standing up to I have Crohn's disease it does not belong to me it is illegal in my body whatever sickness that you've been diagnosed with it does not belong to you it is illegal in your body and so in the name of Jesus father we thank you that you are healer and you are present in this room we thank you that it is your good will to heal your people and so in the name of Jesus I speak to sickness in this room and I say go you are illegal and we say go in the name of Jesus bodies be healed now in Jesus name I speak to pain and I say go in the name of Jesus are threated conditions I rebuke you in Jesus name I say joints and bones be healed in the name of Jesus I speak to chronic migraines and severe tension headaches and I say go now in the name of Jesus for those of you who've been struggling with migraines I feel like today is gonna be a turning point for some of you and you're gonna be free from crippling migraines so I say be healed in the name of Jesus I speak to skin conditions and scarring Julien and I have been seeing this happened again and again where God is giving people brand new skin and so in the name of Jesus I speak to skin and I say be healed and be renewed all sick listen scarring in the skin I said go now in the name of Jesus and I speak to skin cells everywhere and I say be healed renew and become made whole in the name of Jesus and so father we thank you that you are healer and you are present in this room I pray even as we continue in this morning in this afternoon Lord that your healing power would be at work in such a remarkable way and many who have come into this building sick would leave restored in Jesus name Amen because where Jesus is there's freedom where Jesus's there's healing verse 8 so there was great joy in that city now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria he boasted that he was someone great and all the people both high and low gave him their attention and exclaimed this man is rightly called the great power of God they followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery but when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ they were baptized both men and women Simon himself believed and was baptized and he followed Philip everywhere astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw when the Apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the Word of God they sent Peter and John to Samaria when they arrived they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus then Peter and John placed their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit when Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the Apostles hands he offered them money and said give me also this ability or authority so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit Peter answered may your money perish with you because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money you have no part or share in this ministry because your heart is not right before God repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart for I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin then Simon answered pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to my to me after they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus Peter and John returned to Jerusalem preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages I love this chapter it's a chapter of comparisons and if we dig just a little bit deeper in this chapter we we find so much treasure and I love the Word of God because it is like a treasure trove lots and lots and lots of hidden treasure for us to discover and you know when God hides things he's not hiding them from us because he's mean and he wants to keep it just for the special few when he hides things it's because he understands the thrill of discovery when God hides things in his word for us to discover he's hiding things much like my children hide themselves when we're playing hide-and-seek now I've got a two year old girl and a three year old boy and they are gorgeous and very cute and also very strong-willed but anyway that's a different story I don't know where they get that from anyway when we play hide and seek my kids will go and hide themselves in the most obvious place they could possibly find and when we start the game and I say Ezekiel Evangeline where are you two little voices say here we are mummy and I'm thinking that's not really how the game goes but anyway because they're so excited and I can hear their little giggles and their shrieks of delight as they hear me getting closer and closer to them and I can see little feet and little hands peeking out from the curtains where they're very obviously hiding and as soon as I pulled that curtain away there's so much joy and laughter because the whole point of the hiding was that I would find them when God hides things for you he's hiding them because of the joy of discovery I feel like there's some in this room he even been saying God is hiding himself from me I'm gonna tell you God is not hiding himself from me because he does not want to be found he's playing a wonderful game of hide and seek with you where he knows that he by his Spirit will lead you to himself in such a remarkable way so that joy will be your portion as you discover more of him and so in these verses this is how I read my Bible and I would so encourage you to read the Bible this way there are treasures and every verse that you read just a little bit of a scratch under the surface and you will find something that has been hidden there for you to discover to give you life and in this passage there are comparisons that are there for us to find because Holy Spirit is displaying to us what kind of spirit he is so we're gonna look at four things here the first part of comparison that I want to draw to our attention is this issue of amazement we're told that Simon had amazed the crowds with his miracles with his magic with his sorcery and he'd held the people in some level of kind of captive to him because they were amazed by him and so they started saying this this surely is the great power of God and they were amazed by what he did I want to tell you if goosebumps are the high point of your Christianity you are settling for far too little and I feel like there is a culture that has come into the church where we've got drawn into this culture of amazement rather than understanding that God is inviting us into a culture of encounter and there's a subtle difference between the two now before I go on I want to clarify something I love the goosebump of moments I love the moments in the spirit where you feel God's presence so powerfully that you're totally overwhelmed by him I love the moments where I'm lying on the floor drunk in this it's entirely biblical by the way if you find that offensive I love the moments where my body one of my friends says my goosebumps are having goosebumps I love those moments okay but those moments are a signpost to more and if we settle at those moments like that was the aim of the moment then we're settling for far too little because when we feel the presence of God there's an encounter he's asking us to get into not just a moment where we can feel or GUI and then go back home and do exactly the same thing that we were doing yesterday because here's the issue a culture of amazement has no power for transformation but a culture of encounter leaves are so transformed that everything about our lives changes Simon was leading the people into a culture of amazement what he did had no power to change them which is why we see that the people when they saw what Phillip did they came into freedom and they came into joy and miracles were happening and people were being set free why because when we come in into an encounter with God there is power presence for more than just our amazement but for our transformation so that we are left restored at home so we're your left equipped and empowered to change the world and so you see this right they they've been following Simon for years amazed it's been so wonderful and Philip comes and in one instant everything changes in the city the book of Romans tells us that the kingdom of God is righteousness peace and joy in the spirit in a culture of encounter there is a peace that settles on us that even the most anxious situation cannot shake because peace that comes from God passes understandings which means it's stubborn and it's unshakable because it's not about what's going on around us because that would be a peace that comes with understanding but it's a piece that goes way beyond any reasonable thinker it's the sort of peace that makes people annoyed because they're like why are you so chilled right now because it's a peace that passes understanding and that's the sort of peace that an encounter with the Spirit brings in our lives it's an encounter bring such joy so that even in the midst of suffering we're able to be the happiest people on earth and listen joy is deeper than happiness okay so before you say to me oh joy and happiness are not the same thing you're absolutely right joy is a much deeper than happiness which means it's like happiness plus plus plus plus which means it changes the way our faces look right which means that impacts how we live because we are joy filled because that's what it means to come into an encounter with God an encounter culture means that we don't need to preach what's right and wrong we don't need to start talking about morality and pulling people up on their sins because the kingdom of God is righteousness in the spirit he's a different kind of spirit to what religion would teach which means when we come into an encounter with him he so transforms us on the inside so that we don't keep to keep having to be the morality police on the planet we deposit the favor of the Holy Spirit and Holy Spirit teaches people righteousness that's what an encounter culture does it has the power to transform when amazement doesn't and so I want to say to you your goosebumps are wonderful but don't settle for them they're wonderful and they're beautiful and God made us to physically experience him but don't just stop there step in to encounter that will transform you the problem with an amazement culture where we become enamored with the goosebumps is that we start thinking that the goosebumps are the proof of his presence rather than recognizing that the Bible tells us that he is with us always and will not leave us right I've been learning this really practically recently I've been praying through the Ephesians 5 keep being filled with the spirit itself it says it's an ongoing verb be filled be filled be filled be filled again and so I'm trying every day as many times as I remember to just stop and say Holy Spirit fill me and I love it because that verb is a verb that is actually passive because you can't do the filling it's basically an invitation to openness and so I keep saying Holy Spirit fill me and when sometimes when I pray that all goosebump moments is glorious and sometimes when I pray that absolutely nothing feels like it's happening what's going on God is filling me regardless because the word says that he's with me he doesn't forsake me and what we ask for he is a good father and he will give us so when we asked for the Spirit he gives it to us right so whether my goosebumps are there or not they are not the proof of his presence have you guys ever been trying to find a location and an address and you're driving along and you're looking for the road sign and you can't quite find it you think you're on the right path but you're looking and looking for the road name and the signpost just isn't there and then after a little while you realize you were on the right Road all of the time have anyone been there right you're kind of driving along oh we are on the right Road that's okay we're on the right track see the signpost isn't proof of whether the road exists or not it's a signpost your goosebumps are a signpost we don't want to despise the signpost it's beautiful and it's a gift from God and it allows us to take stock of what he's doing in the moment but neither do we want to put so much emphasis on the signpost that we believe that the road doesn't exist when the signpost isn't there the road exists his presence is with you and his spirit is a promise to every single believer let's not stop at a culture of amazement let's make sure we're pursuing a culture of encounter the second comparison I want to highlight is that Simon put himself in the center of the supernatural it's quite funny reading about him he he does all these kind of magic arts and then he boasts about himself being somebody great and he he draws everyone's attention it's quite something says they all paid attention to him to him for a long time for a long period for many years Simon had been drawing all of the people's attention and then you see in comparison Philips life and Philips language and Philips ministry is a completely different thing he performs signs and wonders and he preaches the gospel and they all paid attention we're told to what he said because even though what Philip did far outweighed what Simon had been doing the point of Philips ministry was to point to Jesus and so when people were coming to him he was drawing them to him when people were seeing what he was doing he was then speaking of Jesus Simon put himself at the center of the story Philip understood that he was joining God's story it's a completely different thing see if people come to meetings that I do and they think wow they walk away wow she's a great speaker and they walk away with simply an amazement of what I can do there's a problem I haven't done my job my job here isn't a stand and amazed you because I'm so great my job here is to point to the person of Jesus because he's beautiful and so in our meetings and in our gatherings and in our lives that's what we're put on the planet for to come and show people who Jesus is now before I'm misunderstood I want to say something here I believe you and I were made for greatness I believe you and I were made to be incredibly significant I believe the people of God were created on the planet to be the leading voices on every sphere of influence I believe that's what God has put us on the planet for and so there's this unhealthy humility that can come into the church where we think that we have to play it small in order for God to be made bigger we think that Holy Spirit and we are on the same scale somehow that if we play a big he'll be smaller if we play it small he'll be bigger I want to tell you right now relax you're not on the same scale it's not a seesaw there's no way on earth you can ever make him look small so you can quit this false humility thing you did so great today no no no it wasn't me it was Jesus well what about the mistakes sorry I'm being cheeky I'm being feisty now Holy Spirit wants us to understand who we are and the greatness we were made for so that we can attract the world so that they can start asking some questions which will lead them to Jesus so what I'm speaking about here isn't that Simon got it wrong because he was playing it big no no no Simon got it wrong because he thought he was the source of his greatness that's the problem whereas Philip wasn't playing it small he came and impacted an entire city but he did it all the while pointing to the one who was the source of his greatness there are some verses that I absolutely love in the book of Song of Songs which is a story of a lover and his beloved representing Christ and His Church and there's these two verses one in chapter six and one in chapter 8 where the onlookers see the beloved who represents you and me and they say who is this who is this coming out of the desert leaning on her beloved who is this who is this coming out who is this bright as the Sun beautiful as the moon awesome as an army with banners its language that you would associate with God and yet it's about the church who is this beautiful as the moon bright as the Sun awesome as an army with banners when everybody looks at you this is what you were made for to be bright and so beautiful with God what God has put in you to be so awesome that when the world and the enemy see you there is so much power in you like ten thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of soldiers in an army with regalia and banners that's what the enemy sees when he looks at you you are not made to play as small you were made for greatness so that the world will start asking who are you and when the world starts asking that you can show them the lover you've been leaning on all of the time Simon put himself at the center of the story who's at the center of yours this isn't about playing it small this is about understanding your greatness a few years ago I heard Louie Giglio who's a great great preacher tell this story and he was he'd gone to the cinema with his wife their kind of cinema geeks and they'd like to get there super early so that they could have a pic of the seats so he'd got there fully anticipating that they'd be alone in the cinema because they were so ridiculously early and they sat down in the cinema and there was like one other overeager person sitting on the front row and he's like super chatty and he comes across and Louie's thinking oh for goodness sake we're on a date night like just leave us alone and this guy comes you know when there's only three of you you can't ignore him so here he comes and they noticed that he's wearing a cap with the name of the movie on it and now they're really thinking on this this is a strange person super excited about the film oh my goodness isn't this great he says to them I'm in the movie and they're like okay that's nice anyway the guy goes back to sit in this seat eventually the movie starts now Lewis seriously annoyed because he's no longer enjoying the movie as he'd fully anticipated he would but the entire time he's thinking when does this guy come on he's watching the movie and on and on the movie goes guys nowhere to be seen eventually in the middle of the movie there's this one scene where everyone's in the bar they're having a great time the camera pans around you guessed it the guy's an extra sitting there having his drink but as the camera literally like the two seconds of him being there the guy turns around in the movie theater and is like - Louie Louie's driving home and God says to him you know the problem was that that guy thought the movie was his story and the problem is you think your life is your story you're in on my story see the thing is sometimes when we use language around Christianity and what it means to be saved listen I've used this language many many many times okay but sometimes we use language like invite Jesus into your life invite him into your story we use language as if Jesus is hoping and pleading with us that he might be able to get in on the action of our lives we're getting it all wrong Jesus is very much in control of the story he is on his own train and when we are inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives what we're really doing is responding to the invitation of God to get in on his train he's saying come on in hop in the doors are open I am at a work of changing the nation's and I'm inviting you in on my adventure when you became a Christian you did not invite Jesus in on your adventure you joined his kingdom in venture and I really believe in these days God is calling his church to believe for more than we believed for he loves the tiny things the small moments of encouragement in your life where you just get a little bit happy that you're a Christian he loves those moments but he is about a great work and for too long with misunder misunderstood christianity as a means of helping our morality and as a means of just getting through this life rather than understanding that christianity is all about changing everything around us with the glory of God what he made you for is more than you believed what he made you for is utterly impossible if your life is manageable you've settled for too little because you were made to plainly impossible if it makes sense there's a problem I'm being serious some of you are like I did not sign up for this this to today I just came to church exactly you came to churches your own fault because church is not about making us feel like we've done enough for the rest of the week right Church is about revolutionising our thinking so that we understand we're gonna change everything wherever we go if people see your finances and they get it there's a problem because we call to be the people of God which means we're plugged into the generosity of a father he gives so overwhelmingly and so lavishly he knows that his kingdom has no end and his resources are not running out so if our finances make sense to the non-christians around us there's a problem because that means we're giving in a way that makes sense in the world we're investing in a way that makes sense in the world where we're called to live impossible lives or our finances impossible is my question if we're making decisions about our career that makes perfect sense to everyone around us I question what's going on because everything about our lives has been decided designed to be so impossible that people ask questions I'll move on third one Simon believed the Holy Spirit could be bought but this is a different kind of fire and he's not for sale and you know we can be super condescending about this and we can read the scripture and kind of shake our heads off silly Simon of course he can't by the Holy Spirit of course he can't pay for him what does he think silly and then we get annoyed when the newcomer to church gets their miracle before ours comes because we've put in our time as if our time is a currency with which he will be bought we get annoyed where the brand-new Christian who's still living in all kinds of sin I'm not advocating sin because if you're a Christian you have a new nature and it's more natural for you not to sin than to sin so simply stop it but anyway we get we get really annoyed when the newcomer who's still living in all kinds of sin gets picked out by the prophet of God and given the most phenomenal prophetic word and you've been in church for 20 years and also you do pray and fast every week and God didn't pick you out your morality your prayer your fasting it's not a currency with which he will be bought he's not for sale which means he will not be controlled by the things that we think we bring to the table but he is for free notice he's not cheap but he is for free the pouring out of the Spirit is incredibly costly but it's just that God does the paying I love the the verses and in the Gospels where Mary goes to Jesus in the middle of the male-only section of the party because that's what all parties were like segregated between men and women and we're told she goes to Jesus and they would be reclining at the table so to get to Jesus she would have to be climbing over several people to get to Jesus but she goes to him and we're told she breaks an alabaster jar and pours the ointment at the feet of Jesus and she lets her hair down which would be so offensive in that day because that was the action of a woman towards her husband in the privacy of the bedroom it was an act of devotion that said I belong to you but she doesn't care who's watching she breaks the jar and she pours out the ointment and she lets her hair down as an act of devotion and people in the room we're told her saying what a waste what a waste in their religious thinking they're counting up how money that aunt matka have been sold for that money could have been given to the poor it's an incredible story a moment of costly devotion and it's a beautiful story in and of itself but why I love that story is because it's a reflection of a story that will come just a few chapters later in the Gospels where Jesus is sitting at a table with his disciples and he takes the bread and he breaks it and he takes the wine and He pours it out he breaks what is costly this is my body given for you and He pours out what is costly this is my blood poured out for you in that moment he breaks and pours out that which is very costly in order that you and I will be able to come into a place of freedom freely the pouring out of the Spirit is not for sale but it comes free but it's not cheap he was broken and he was poured out so that you and I can come into an encounter but I want to tell you again he is not for sale your morality will not buy him your time will not buy him the amount of money you've given to the church will not buy him he is not for sale because he's a spirit being poured out on all flesh and Simon didn't understand this but he is a God who comes to meet with his people freely freely freely last one in this story this one isn't so much well only half of the comparison is found in this passage the book of Acts is written by the writer Luke who also wrote the Gospel of Luke and actually the two books are a two-part volume they were intended to be read in in one gathering there are two parts the book of Luke and the book of Acts Part one and Part two and in the Book of Luke there is the start of this story to be found really and it's in Luke nine and I'm gonna read it for you from verse 51 as the time approached for Jesus to be taken up to heaven he resolutely set out for Jerusalem and he sent messengers on ahead who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him but the people there did not welcome him because he was heading for Jerusalem when the disciples James and John saw this they asked him Lord do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them but Jesus turned and rebuked them okay I love this story for one thing that isn't really the point but I think it's funny what would they have said if Jesus said yes it's like such a dumb question would you like us to cool fire from heaven okay go on then I'll just I'll just be waiting for that to happen never ask Jesus a question that you're not willing for him to answer either way okay cuz that's a bad idea but anyway this is the first part of what we see then in the second part in acts 8 because they're in Samaria James and John the disciples of Jesus in Luke didn't understand what Jesus was about and so they see the undeserving and they say to Jesus shall we cool down a fire of judgment on the undeserving on the immoral on the dirty what would you like us to do Jesus surely your fire is one of judgment but then they'd understand who Jesus is as they see the cross they see the resurrection and they experience his commissioning of them everything in their religious mindset gets transformed in that moment so when we catch up with them in acts 8 and again they are in Samaria again the context is a Samaritan village again the people are undeserving because the reality is all of us are undeserving isn't it beautiful that one of the same apostles who wanted to call down fire in judgment arrives in acts 8 to call down a very different kind of fire in the person of the spirit as he lays hands on the same undeserving people that may be just a few years ago he would have wanted to see an AI elated but now he's laying on them asking for the Spirit of God to fall on them in mercy and kindness and goodness the Holy Spirit is a different kind of fire than that which religion would tell us is coming from God and this breaks my heart because in many contexts the church is misrepresenting the heart of God as we hold up our placards of judgment in different places as if morality is the issue with God rather than bringing people home as if the gospel is about making bad people good rather than making dead people live as if Jesus just wants you to be a cleaner version of yourself rather than transforming everything about you God is not interested in your morality so that you can tick boxes he's interested in making you whole it's a completely different gospel and when we hold up placards in the world telling people what we don't believe in and what we judge about their lives rather than being willing to do the hard journey of walking with them into wholeness of taking the cost upon ourselves in our own communities of being a people who don't simply talk about abortion but are willing to adopt of being people who don't simply talk about homosexuality but are willing to journey with people in same-sex attraction to see them into wholeness it's a completely different gospel that we represent when we hold up a placard than when we ask for the Spirit of God to fall [Applause] he's a different kind of fire he's a fire that's not simply limited to our goosebumps a fire that's not about our platform a fire that is not for sale and a fire that's astonishing in mercy why don't you stand with me for a moment Julian and I are just gonna take just a few minutes to do some ministry because gods in the room father we just ask you to intensify your presence in this room we ask you to make yourself so tangible in this moment he wants to pounce on you with his kindness to overwhelm you with his goodness Psalm 23 says surely goodness and mercy will follow me all of the days of my life he is chasing you down with his goodness before we get into any other ministry I want to give opportunity for people here who maybe have never met Jesus the way I've described him today maybe you wouldn't call yourself a Christian or maybe you've been sitting in a church for 20 years and you're suddenly thinking I don't know if I actually am a Christian because what she's talking about isn't what I've lived in I want to give opportunity today for people to come into an encounter with Jesus and what we're simply gonna do is if everyone shuts their eyes I'm just gonna invite you if this is a day where you want to say to Jesus I want you to come and revolutionize my world I'm gonna lean on you I believe that you died that you rose again come and change my life come and save me I repent which means I'm gonna turn it away from the way I've been living life about me I don't want to lie I'm gonna live a life that's about you if that's you I just want to encourage you to lift your hands no one's watching this is just a moment between you and Jesus and I'm just gonna prayer a simple prayer and you're welcome to repeat it after me whether in your heart or out loud but Lord Jesus I believe you are God and I believe you are here I believe you died and you rose again and that in doing that you defeated every brokenness I asked you to come and invade my life I want to lean on you and join your adventure and Holy Spirit I asked 'i come and fill me now come and fill me now Holy Spirit won't you come and fill each and every man and women in this place hey a different kind of fire from heaven full of Mercy full of kindness full of goodness a fire from heaven that is tangible but isn't simply about our goosebumps but wants to lead us into transformation so Holy Spirit we invite you come and do what your only already doing intensify your presence and your goodness in this moment just where you're standing the presence of god she's gonna begin to increase right now some of you are going to begin to feel him physically on your body come Holy Spirit light fires again release your presence got we release the indescribable overwhelming strength of heaven we release your joy in this room right now let it begin to sweep across this room right now release your joy and your goodness but I think you're right now that you're breaking the back of anxiety right now some of you God is releasing you from anxiety and fear that you've been carrying for a long time in fact there is a lady I think you're probably on my left side so somewhere over here I think you're probably in this section right over here you have had some kind of recurring night carries over the last three or four months going setting you free right now right now in fact I wonder if I can psyche old clothes Isis for a moment if they're Kiki's wave your hand at me and put it on I just want to make sure that well you've been having night terrors just way too thank you ma'am right now in Jesus name I think you that you're bringing freedom now if you're struggling with long-term sleep conditions where you've not being able to get into proper sleep God's gonna release some healing how many of you know that God wants to bless the rest of your life he wants to bless your rest and so right now I release rest in this room in Jesus name I just want to take a few more moments God is just here right now more Lord I believe the Lord is gonna ask you this church into a season of unusual signs and wonders again some of you gonna begin to experience his presence in some unusual ways now if you're sensing his presence on your body one of the things that we've learned is we want to bless what God is doing not what he's not good because when you're grateful for what he is giving there's always increases keep your senses presence will likely take much longer but I just sent him wanting to just increase the tangibility of his goodness to you right now okay if you think she's presence on your body if you can't you slip out into the aisles if you can if not just lift up your hands now right now it's like gonna be a wave of in goodness like he's gonna begin to sweep all across this room father we thank you then we no longer need to wait for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit cuz your work says you have poured out your spirit were great extravagance and so right now I release your presence in the name of Jesus right now that young man with the yellow t-shirt on God is all over you right now and God is looking up some disappointment over the last six months had you been carrying God says he's not forgotten you it's like you've been in a season where you felt that you've been forgotten and there's been some grief that has come in as a result right now God's breaking that off of you cuz he loves you because he loves you because he loves me and so just lift up your hands the power body she's gonna come upon you right now boom right now there it is in Jesus name in Jesus name come Holy spirt how many of you change his presence here this afternoon more more right now more right now [Music] increase increase increase just one or two more things that you st. seem so tangibly yeah come Holy Spirit there is a gentleman yeah right now you're facing the possibility of losing just about everything you've been working on I see you working on a business idea a concept something that you're involved in I think you're somewhere in the section area and it's like the last two or three years you've been working on a particular concept and you felt like you had to get egged and it feels like you're gonna lose everything if I keep this quickly lift up your hands go on stamina city you might be somewhere else in the building but I think you're in the section over here you're working on a concept or idea if if you quickly put up your hand okay so I believe a lot wants to encourage you that his hand is coming upon you and that he's gonna speak again in some fresh ways and that you are not gonna lose everything let God he's gonna read Rick I feel like I'm gonna reform reconstitute and realign some of these ideas in the next six months and there's gonna be significant breakthrough coming for you God says you're just at the beginning you've not reached the end and God loves to save the best wine for a moment like now and your father we just release that right now and salute on the crisis room I thank you for your presence if somebody you're in the section over you're getting healed of a condition with the top four or five books of your vertebrae Lex caused incredible pain affects your waiver hanging me very quickly you've got some kind of condition with your neck I see neck pains that you the numbers of you right now we're releasing healing over neck right now we command I literally see like them my wife's a medical doctor I don't quite understand what I've seen but she's like a sponge or things that go in between the vertebra being restored right now in Jesus name be healed right now here's what I want you to do is we end this amazing Pentecostal service when you put your hand on your heart the Bible says that rivers of living water will flow from your innermost being how many of you go know that you don't need the Holy Spirit to come upon you because he already lives within you and so right now we're gonna ask your Holy Spirit in spring up a well we're gonna ask the Holy Spirit to let the river flow and for some of you where you've lost enjoy in the flood season it's gonna spring up even right now there it is yeah more more right now spring up oh well let the river flow right now we unlock the river of the Holy Spirit I thank you God give my cordis to Kabul pushing you caught us to receive the spirit without measure and so right now we're releasing welling up and a flowing up of Holy Spirit activity all over this room in Jesus name Amen [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Expression 58

Views: 2,198

Rating: 4.7857141 out of 5

Keywords: shawn bolz, bolz, cherie bolz, expression 58, expression58, e58, church, los angeles church, revival, jen toledo, jennifer toledo, jona toledo, bolz ministries

Id: bpu2LGBCZIc

Length: 57min 1sec (3421 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 17 2019