#5 Acts 1:8 If pentecost brough power... where's the power?

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…” (Acts 1:8).

Now, when it comes to being a church

·         While we have some freedom and some flexibility

·         some things are really set in stone

We must be a Biblical Church:

·         We must be a Church which believes the Bible.

·         We must be a Church which teaches the Bible.

·         We must be a Church which honors the Bible.

·         We must people who live according to the Bible.

That means that we must be a Church that does what Jesus did.

·         A Church that doesn’t just stand on the promises of God

·         But a church that steps out on them

·         and exercises the power of God.

We have to be a church where the impossible becomes possible,

·         and more than that

·         where the impossible comes to pass

·         And for that we need power

But if all that’s true

·         And if Acts 1:8 promises us power

·         If power was made available to the church at Pentecost in acts ch 2

·         Where Is the Power in the church today?

Someone asked me at dinner the other Saturday night

·         When are you gonna pour the gasoline on the fire

·         And I knew exactly what they were talking about

But here’s the problem we have to work thru

·         If God is going to pour out His spirit on us like the prophet Joel prophesied

·         like the disciples experienced at Pentecost

·         there’s some stuff that we have to work through first

If we’re to be a church that’s on fire

·         We can’t be people who have a measure of godliness

·         And yet deny the power of the Holy Spirit

·         That means we can’t be people who believe the Holy spirit

·         Was just for a different dispensation

·         Way back when

We have to believe that He’s here and available in 2010

We can’t be a group of people who are either living with unresolved sin in our lives

·         Or are backslidden.

We can’t be a group of people who the gates of hell seem to prevail against  

·         even though the Bible promises they won’t’

Now we’re a brand new church group here in Orange City

·         and we’re growing fast

·         we’re seeing the Lord working on people

·         and we’re seeing the Lord save people

·         and change people’s lives

but in terms of church maturity,

·         the Bible says there’s a process that we have to go through

·         and it’s a 4 part process

·         and it’s a progression…

now we can see this illustrated in Matthew 21:12-16

·         it’s the story of Jesus cleaning out the temple

·         lets go there

Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. ¹³ He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves

 ¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.”

Now lets go through it again, piece by piece

·         and I want you to see the progression when it comes to the House of God:

#1 House of Purity (Verse 12).

Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.

Jesus cleaned house

·         he kicked out all the stuff that defiled the sanctuary

if you want to be filled with the spirit – and be a power packed Christian

·         you have to do what Jesus did

·         you have to clean house

·         you have to get rid of the junk in your life

the Bible says that we are the temple of the Holy spirit

·         so in that case,

·          you need to stop defiling your body with some of the stuff you put into it.

#2 House of Prayer (Verse 13).

He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”

And as we pray for more and more people each week,

·         we’re becoming just that

·         a house of prayer

its only once we have the house cleaned up

·         and we’ve begun to pray for some stuff

·         that we get released into #3

#3 House of Power (Verse 14).

The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them

Then finally, as the power begins to work through us

·         we become the House of Praise –

·         giving God the Glory for the great things he has done

So, here’s the progression

·         We go from purity to prayer,

·         then from prayer to power.

·         And finally,

·         we move from power to perfected praise.

So how do we get there?

Well, fortunately,  the Bibles clear on that too

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

So we know we have to turn from some things – our  wicked ways…

·         But what exactly is it that we’re supposed to turn to?

We need a definition to work with

·         Otherwise, how are we ever gonna be able to measure our progress

·         We want God to heal our land,

·         to make things better for us,

·         but the Bible says there are some things we need to do first

We need to Humble ourselves

·         and Pray

·         and Seek His face

·         And turn from our wicked ways

·         Then he’ll hear us and start answering some prayers

·         And that’s when we’ll experience the fire and the power

Recently I was talking to one of my groups about core values

·         Asking people to define them

·         See -  a core value is something that you live by

·         Something that you’ll never compromise on

·         Something that you’ll die rather than move away from.

Now most people have ideals – or standards they aim for –

·         But not values that they’d die upholding

One lady said that her core values were honesty and integrity

·         But then she went to jail for a couple of years

·         for  forging scripts for prescription pain killers….

And here’s the thing

·         no one could tell me their core values

·         Most people can’t even tell me what they want for their lives…

So I gave them an exercise – and its an exercise you can do at home

·         Work out for me what you don’t want in life

·         Tell me all the bad stuff that you just really can’t deal with anymore

·         Make a list – write it down

Then when they’d done that

·         I told them to take a long hard look at the list of all that they  didn’t want

·         and what they did want should be the opposite

Don’t want to drink – means I do want to be sober

·       Don’t want to be alone – means I do want to be in relationship with people

Then use the list of what you do want to prepare a list of ideals

·         And from the list of ideals – you can distill a list of core values

And so as I began to meditate on this church and ask the Lord what He was showing me

·         I wanted to define what we still need to turn from

·         And then I used my own tactic.

·         If I want to know what to turn from, lets look at what we need to turn to….

So I tuned to a very famous passage in Galatians 5

·         And I went to a section that Paul tells us is a test of our Christianity.

This is what God says we need to turn to:

·         This is, if you like, a list of core values for Christian people

·         This is what a spirit filled Christian is supposed to look like

Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)  But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.

See, the Fruit of the Spirit is not an option,

·         but an essential part of the Christian experience!

·         It may develop at different rates in different people,

·          but it must be developing!

·         If the “fruit of the Spirit” is not growing in your life,

·         then there is a major problem with your faith!

To be a Christian means that you’ve taken on board a new belief system

·         and the new things that you believe in should produce new behavior patterns:

Now I’m saved, I shouldn’t be messing around with the old stuff anymore

·         Now I’m saved I shouldn’t be thinking the same old way

·         Now I’m saved, I shouldn’t be treating the people around me like I used to

Now I understand that Christ’s death was a sacrifice

·         I’ll adopt a sacrificial lifestyle.

Now I’ve been forgiven by Jesus

·         I’ll make the choice to forgive others.

Now I believe that God created me

·         I’ll have a sense of purpose and direction in life.

Now I’m convinced of the holiness of God

·         I’ll have a high degree of sensitivity

·         to the issues of righteousness and morality.

See, there’s a link between what I believe and what I do

The Book of James is all about the link between our behavior and beliefs:

James 2:17 (NLT)  So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all — it is dead and useless.

James reminds us that any beliefs that  we have will dictate how we behave …

·         and that correct belief will cause us to behave correctly! 

·         Jesus made the same point:

Matthew 7:16-17 (NLT)  You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You don’t pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles. A healthy tree produces good fruit, and an unhealthy tree produces bad fruit.

You were created to be a dwelling place for the Spirit of God.

·         Without Him in your life things quickly get out of hand,

·         as your flesh dictates your patterns of behavior.

·         So if you want an outpouring of the Spirit

·         You have to clean house and make a place for him to come and reside

So lets back track a few verses to put the text into context:

·         then we get a real clear picture of what we have to turn from and turn to:

if you like this is test #1 – the purity test

Galatians 5:19-21 (NLT)  When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results:

sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin.

But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.

Let me tell you again, as I have before,

·         anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

·         You need to kick out the junk – and make way for the new

·         You need to develop the Fruit of the Spirit in your life

See, the Fruit of the Spirit affects every relationship that you are involved in, including your relationship with God.

Here’s what the BIBLE teaches about the Fruit of the Spirit:

The Fruit of the Spirit is produced supernaturally, not naturally.

• Like all fruit, the Fruit of the Spirit grows out of its root,
• Apple trees grow from apple seeds
• And eventually they produce apples

The fruit of the Spirit grows out of the character of God:

·         And We’re commanded to produce this fruit in our own lives!

Love                            Love the Lord … love your neighbor (Matthew 22:27-39)

Joy                               Rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4)

Peace              Seek peace and pursue it (1 Peter 3:11)

Patience                      Be patient with everyone (1 Thessalonians 5:14)

Kindness                     Clothe yourself with kindness (Colossians 3:12)

Goodness                   Let us do good to all people (Galatians 6:10)

Faithfulness    Be faithful, even to the point of death (Revelation 2:10)

Gentleness                  The servant of the Lord must be gentle (2 Timothy 2:24)

Self-control                  Add to your knowledge self-control (2 Peter 1:5-6)

Now anybody can do anything they put their mind to for short time

·         But to consistently live this kind of life is an impossible task

·         without the power of the Holy Spirit on the inside

·         and that’s why Jesus promised the Holy spirit

see living in the power of the Holy spirit is not just about speaking in a new language

·       or by being used of God for creative miracles

·       yes its both of those things

·       but its also being empowered to live the way that the Fruit is made manifest in your lives

The secret to successful living Gods way

·       starts with a relationship with Jesus

·       but is empowered by the OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN YOUR LIFE

John 15:4 (KJV)  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

⁴ Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

What’s Jesus saying here:

·         You can’t do it your way!

·         You need me

·         You need to be connected to me

·         And to be connected to me, you might well have to break some other connections…..

In my substance abuse groups, I tell the people all the time

·         Y’all need to make some new connections

·         You need to take a pair of scissors and cut out some of the relationships in your old lifestyle

·         You can’t go back there

·         You have to go forward – no matter who or what you have to leave behind

And it’s the same with Jesus

·         If you want life to turn around for you

·         You need to break the connection with some stuff and make a connection with Him

·         You need to turn from some stuff –

·         What stuff – the wicked ways of

sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin.

The Fruit of the Spirit is singular.

It’s not like going to the produce stall and thinking

·         Man, those apples look good… I’ll have some of them

·         And, while I’m here I’ll grab some of those nice looking bananas

·         But those oranges…. No, don’t think there for me…

·         Think I’ll skip on the oranges

Because of our natural inclinations and personalities,

·         some of us tend to have an easier time with certain aspects of the Fruit of the Spirit than others

·         sometimes we only concentrate on the fruit that interests us

·         or that comes easily to us.

Sometimes we can be very loving – but not very self-controlled;

·         sometimes we can be joyful – but not at all gentle with those they irritate us

·         sometimes it’s hard to be gentle and faithful when faithfulness requires us take drastic action;

·         sometimes we can exercise our faithfulness so enthusiastically that our kindness comes into question!

But, we need to change gear and think about FRUIT rather than FRUITS,

Then

·         we take away the freedom to be picky about the fruit we like

·         and the behavior we choose.

·         You’ve got to take it all on board

Whether it comes easily or not – we should be wanting all aspects of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives

·         And its more than just wanting

·         We need to be are to be cultivating

The “Fruit of the Spirit” is not a collection of unrelated personality traits

·         that can be selected or neglected according to personal preference,

·         its a composite description of what a Christian acts like. 

·         It is a direct result of being filled with the Holy Spirit!

Spiritual Gifts show my ministry – BUT Fruit shows my maturity.

SPIRITUAL GIFTS are distinctive abilities given to each believer

·         to be used to minister to others

·         and build up the Body of Christ.

·         Some of these gifts are supernatural (operated only under the influence of God’s Spirit),

·         while others are natural abilities enhanced by God’s Spirit.

·         And there are those who get hung up on spiritual gifts

·         But its not the be all and end all of our spiritual lives

Developing the Fruit of the Spirit in my life is the ultimate spiritual experience.

the “continuing evidence” of the presence of the Holy spirit in my life

·         Is the presence of fruit

·         That is the ultimate spiritual experience –

·         to be transformed by the power of God!

Romans 12:2 (KJV)  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Q: If the Fruit of the Spirit is

·         the secret to healthy relationships,

·         the key to spiritual maturity,

·         and the evidence of real Christianity,

·         then WHY ISN’T IT MORE COMMON in the lives of believers?

We’re here to talk about REAL LIFE today

See, here’s the thing

·         you’re not known as a Christian on the basis of what you believe,

·         or even what you’ve experienced –

·         you’re only  known by the fruit other people see in you life!

So we’re gonna look at this stuff more closely in the next few weeks

For the last couple of  minutes, I want to talk about the 1^st item on the list - love

In his book, Letters to an Unborn Child, David Ireland wrote to the child growing in his wife’s womb

·         He wrote partly because he knew that he may never see the child.

·         See, While his wife’s pregnancy developed,

·         David was dying of a crippling neurological disease.

He wrote in one of his letters …

“Your mother is very special. Few men know what it’s like to receive appreciation for taking their wives out to dinner when it entails what it does for us.

It means that she has to dress me, shave me, brush my teeth, comb my hair, wheel me out of the house and down the steps, open the garage and put me in the car, take the pedals off the chair, stand me up, sit me in the seat of the car, twist me around so that I’m comfortable, fold the wheelchair, put it in the car, go around to the other side of the car, start it up, back it out, get out of the car, pull the garage door down, get back into the car, and drive off to the restaurant.

And then, it starts all over again; she gets out of the car, unfolds the wheelchair, opens the door, spins me around, stands me up, seats me in the wheelchair, pushes the pedals out, closes and locks the car, wheels me into the restaurant, then takes the pedals off the wheelchair so I won’t be uncomfortable.

We sit down to have dinner, and she feeds me throughout the entire meal. And when it’s over she pays the bill, pushes the wheelchair out to the car again, and reverses the same routine.

And when it’s over – finished – with real warmth she’ll say, ‘Honey, thank you for taking me out to dinner.’ I never quite know what to answer.”

David’s wife, Joyce, provides us with an example of real love!

The Bible tells us in 1 John 4:16 that “God is love,”

·         so it is no surprise that the first aspect of the fruit that He wants to grow in our lives is LOVE!

·         Love is at the top of the list,

·         because it is the FOUNDATION for the rest of the fruit God wants to grow in us.

1 Corinthians 13 (the love chapter) is read at many weddings.

·         Take a close look at the first seven verses –

·         it is the Fruit of the Spirit, in just a slightly different order!

LOVING THE WAY JESUS loved has no beginning. His love has no ending.  It is forever. It will endure eternally.

LOVING THE WAY JESUS LOVED

·         IS THE ONLY WAY WE ARE GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR WORLD!

·         Loving the way Jesus loved is the only way we’re going to make a difference

• in our city, in our church, in our ministry, in our lives, and in our world!

You can help make a difference in this church,

• if you will love one another with the love of God

Love forgets a person’s past sins and failures and considers them to be under the blood!

·         God who so loved that He gave all.

Loving the way Jesus loved is the only way that we are going to reach our world

• because love is something God does. He doesn't just say it.
• He does it!

Romans 5:5  ⁵ And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.