Download Manifesto Week Three

Manifesto Week Three
“The Power of Pentecost”
Introduction:
If you have your Bible with you this morning, turn with me to the Book of Acts – we will
begin this morning what will be several weeks of looking at the content of what Luke
describes for us in Acts 2.
And this morning, I am going to begin this message and end it with two different stories
that a man named Mark Rutland told from this pulpit several years ago when he was here
preaching at Bethany Church.
I mentioned Mark Rutland a few weeks ago – Mark is now the President of Southeastern
University in Lakeland, Florida. But for several years he was a missionary in Mexico,
partnered for much of that time with our former pastor here at Bethany, Mark
Nysewander.
When Mark was here in 1999, he told the story of a time when he was ministering in a
small town called Hickory Flats, Georgia. Mark came to preach at a little church there…
He preached at the morning service and then spent the afternoon at the pastor’s home at
the parsonage next door to the church. In the afternoon, the pastor decided to go out to
the yard to burn some leaves. But the wind that was blowing that day picked up some of
the smoldering brush and lit one of the trees on fire. The fire department came out and
put out the fire – or so they thought. That night as Mark was preaching in the evening
session, one of the church members came running into the meeting and shouted,
“Everybody come look – there is a tree in the pastor’s yard that is on fire.” They all ran
out and watched in amazement as the fire department put out this fire for the second time
that day. After they were done putting out the fire, Mark Rutland asked one of the
firefighters about what happened. “I thought you put the fire out this afternoon – how did
it get to burning again this evening?”
The fireman responded by saying, “Well, we thought the fire was limited to the
extremities – so if we just cut off the branches that were on- fire, we could deal with the
fire. But what we didn’t understand was that the fire had gotten into the heart of the tree.
And when the right combination of factors came together, it brought that fire back into
full flame.”
Mark Rutland told that story because he believes it is such a powerful picture of how the
Holy Spirit operates in the church. Some look at the fiery presence of the Holy Spirit in
the Book of Acts and think that this kind of manifestation is only to be expected at the
fringes of the church or at the extremities. And if we were to simply cut off some fringe
element of the church, we would remove these kinds of manifestations. But what we need
to understand is that the power and presence of the Holy Spirit that we see manifested in
the Book of Acts is in the heart of the tree – it is in the heart of who we are as the people
of God. And when the right combination of factors come together – prayer, desperation,
desire – we’ll see that same fire break-out even in our generation! .
The further we move away from the red-hot, Holy Spirit environment of the early
church, the further we move away from what it means to be a follower of Jesus. It is
in the heart of Christianity. We can minimize it or try to attribute it to the fringes,
but it is in the heart of who we are meant to be.
This is my conviction – and my sense of why the American Church has failed in such a
large part to see the power of God manifested in our midst. We have simply not gotten
desperate enough to recognize how much we need Him and need the presence of the
Holy Spirit in our lives.
As we look into the Book of Acts, we need to understand that this is who we are meant to
be – it is in our DNA. With that as a bit of a back-drop, I’d like for you to look with me at
Acts 2:1
 You will remember that in chapter one, Luke introduces this book to Theophilus.
Tells about Jesus appearing to the disciples for over 40 days speaking to them
about the Kingdom of God.
 Jesus gives his instructions – then departs to heaven. Reminded that we need to
be ones who will wait for this power from heaven. To expect and hunger for this
power – and to be willing to push aside everything that would get in the way.
Ignorance, Fear, Apathy.
 They follow his instructions and return to Jerusalem where 120 of them gather in
the Upper Room in continual prayer. During those days, they also end up
choosing Matthias to be the replacement of Judas and to become the twelfth
disciple. But what we saw in that section of Scripture was that it was not enough
for them to simply trust in the power encounter and the wonderful promises that
they had received in chapter one. They had to respond to that promise and
embrace a lifestyle that would bring about the realization of this promise in their
lives. In our lives as well, it is so easy to trust and rely on some kind of an
encounter that we have had in our lives – at salvation, at baptism, at the altar.
But it is the lifestyle that results from that encounter that determines what will be
written in our lives as well.
 As we talked about last Sunday, we recognized that it was their response in the
second half of chapter one that determined what would be written in the next
chapter – in the section that we are going to look at this morning…
Scripture:
Ac 2:1
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
 What is Pentecost? Also known as the Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Harvest, it
was an annual feast celebration in which the Jews would bring the first fruits of
the wheat harvest to God – seven weeks after the Passover. And any Jewish men
who lived within twenty miles of Jerusalem were expected to come to the city to
attend these feasts. And that is why, as we are going to see, there were so many
people in Jerusalem at that time.
Ac 2:2
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled
the whole house where they were sitting.
 In fact, the word for wind is the same word for Spirit.
Ac 2:3
They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each
of them.
 At the outset of Jesus’ ministry, the Holy Spirit came and rested upon him as well.
 The Fire of God’s presence had been over all of Israel before – but now He came
to rest personally on each of them.
Ac 2:4
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as
the Spirit enabled them.
 Over forty references to the Holy Spirit in the first thirteen chapters of Acts –
 First reference to the disciples doing something that Jesus didn’t do.
Ac 2:5
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under
heaven.
 Bit of an exaggeration – no Brazilian or American contingent… Luke lists 15
different languages.
Ac 2:6
When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each
one heard them speaking in his own language.
Ac 2:7
Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?
Ac 2:8
Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?
Ac 2:9
Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia,
Ac 2:10
Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from
Rome
Ac 2:11
(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring
the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
Ac 2:12
Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
Ac 2:13
Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.’”
Application:
 Some say that this was just some kind of special dispensation of the Holy Spirit to
give this fledging church a boost to get going – but we don’t need it today. Don’t
get sucked into that thinking. It has neutered and made incapacitated the Body of
Christ for far too long – and we need to reclaim our identity as a Spiritempowered people of God who are experiencing His power flowing out through
our lives to shake up our neighborhoods, our cities, and our nations. What
happened is that we found that we weren’t experiencing this power so we created
a theology to explain it.
 I think that is totally wrong – Dispensational theology.
o Doesn’t fit with Scripture… some might point to 1Co 13:8 Love never fails.
But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues,
they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 1Co 13:9 For
we know in part and we prophesy in part, 1Co 13:10 but when perfection
comes, the imperfect disappears. 1Co 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like
a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a
man, I put childish ways behind me. 1Co 13:12 Now we see but a poor
reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in
part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
o Doesn’t fit with the history of the church. But the fact is that there has
always been a remnant living and walking in the power of God.
o Doesn’t fit with the experience of the church around the world – my
experience at Bethel. But the world has changed and we are now aware
that in many parts of the world, the Church is walking in tremendous
power.
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o “This is so strange – no, it is the church being the church as it was
intended to be.”
Descriptive vs. Prescriptive – doesn’t always look the same way even in the
Book of Acts.
They were all filled. Notice what it says in verse 4. Ac 2:4 All of them were filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled
them.
o Not for a chosen few. Joel 2 The filling was obvious.
o Their senses – they knew it. Look at verse 2 & 3 - Ac 2:3 They saw what
seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of
them. Ac 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak
in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
o “I don’t know if I’ve been filled with the Spirit.” You should know – do
you see these things happening in your life?
This is normative. This is for all of us. It ought to make a big difference in our
lives.
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Didn’t I get the Holy Spirit at salvation – yes and no.
o Batteries not included… Battery-powered toys. Many have the packaging
and look impressive on the shelf. But there is no life, no movement, no
power. That describes the lives of many Christians. They make look the
same on the outside – but there is a fundamental difference. And that
difference is seen in the kind of power that is displayed.
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That is why Paul would tell Timothy in 2Ti 1:6 For this reason I remind you to fan
into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
Why fire? Why this symbol? What does fire do for us? When we think about that,
we identify several things that are key to what the Holy Spirit does in our lives:
o Light – John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you
into all truth.
 The casting of lots in chapter one. But now the Holy Spirit guides
us into the understanding that we need.
 Acts 13 – “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the
Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work
to which I have called them.”
 Good thing too – what do you do with 3000 converts on one day?
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o Warmth – In Ephesians 3, he prays that they would be empowered to
grasp the width, the length, the height, and the depth of the love of Christ
– to know this love that went past knowledge requires an empowering
from the Holy Spirit.
 A new love and desire for God that was not normal for me. My
appetites began to change… especially in the place of prayer.
(More about this next week.)
 Warmth for God and for one another –
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2Co 13:14
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of
God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
o Power – Acts 4:29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants
to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal
and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy
servant Jesus.” Ac 4:31 After they prayed, the place where they were
meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
spoke the word of God boldly.
 Corrie Ten Boom: “Trying to do the Lord’s work in your own
strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all
work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the
ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.”
o Purity – Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
 Colossians word – appearance of wisdom but they lack any value
in restraining sensual indulgence. My experience with the issues of
purity.
 There is a story out of Greek mythology about the Sirens –
creatures that were part-woman/part-bird who were known
because they had beautiful voices. They lived on an island
and each time ships of sailors would pass their island, they
would begin to sing these beautiful songs and would cause
the sailors to turn towards their island where they would be
shipwrecked and destroyed.
 There was one sailor named Odysseus who plugged the
ears of his comrades and had them tie him to the ships mast
so that they could get past the voice of the Sirens.
 But when the Argonauts sailed past the island, they did
something quite different. They brought a man named
Orpheus on board the boat to sing for them – a man who
was famous for his beautiful voice and his ability to play
the lyre. And this counter melody drowned out the power
of the song of the Sirens, overcome their attraction with
something more beautiful right in their midst.
 This is a great picture of how we try to deal with sin in our
own lives. We tie ourselves down, etc. But we need the
power of the Holy Spirit in our lives to reveal the beauty of
Jesus and to drown-out the attraction of sin.
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Not optional equipment – absolutely essential equipment. Purchasing a car – the
difference between optional equipment and standard equipment…
Not just a trickle but streams of living water flowing through us…
Not just once but to walk in the fire of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Abiding in
Him – the vine and the branches.
o Abiding speaks of complete dependence.
o Abiding speaks of close communion.
Conclusion:
I don’t care what you call it - the second blessing, the deeper life, the infilling, the
baptism, the outpouring, etc. It doesn’t matter what you call it. The question is have you
got it? Are you experiencing the Power of the Holy Spirit in your life?
What we need to understand in the Western Church is that we cannot be shy about this
power and our need for it – we must understand that this is essential equipment.
E.M. Bounds said:
“Men are God’s method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for
better men. What the church needs today is not more machinery or better,
not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men who the Holy Spirit can use –
men of prayer, men mighty in prayer.
The Holy Spirit does not come on machinery but on men. He does not anoint plans, but
men – men of prayer.”
Got to be hungry for this – first time or to continue to seek the Lord on a daily basis to
see the fire of the Holy Spirit manifested in our lives.
The power of the Holy Spirit is for today. The power of the Holy Spirit is for me. But the
power of the Holy Spirit also requires deeper surrender to Him and a yielding to His work
in our lives.
We need to come to him in surrender – and ask Him to fill us with His Spirit. For
understanding. For power. For purity. For deeper love towards God and other.