The Holy Spirit and Church Growth

Acts 1:4-5

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command:

Acts 1:4 "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

Why did Jesus tell them to wait?

           Because he knew what they needed.

                      They needed God in the person of the Holy Spirit.

           So do we need the Holy Spirit?

No and yes.

We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, so no we don’t need Him in that way,

                      because He is in us.

           However, we do need to be filled with the Holy Spirit on a continual basis.

First a few things about the Holy Spirit we need to be reminded of.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GREAT

We are going to take a panoramic view of a view scriptures that talk about the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit Is A Person

John 14:15-17 "If you love me, you will obey what I command.16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

           The Holy Spirit is God.

                      He is not an "it."

                      He is not a divine influence.

                      He is not a fleecy white cloud.

He is not a ghost nor a concept.

           He is a person possessing a will, intellect and emotions.

           He is God - with all the attributes of deity.

           He is the third person of the Trinity - co-equal with God the Father and God the Son.

The Holy Spirit Is Powerful

Acts 1:6 So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The Holy Spirit Speaks

Acts 1:15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus—

The Holy Spirit Is A Witness

Acts 5:32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

The Holy Spirit Strengthened and Encouraged The Church

Acts 9:31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

The Holy Spirit Speaks And Calls

Acts 13:2 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.”

The Holy Spirit Send Out Missionaries

Acts 13:4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia (say-lu-cia) and sailed from there to Cyprus.

The Holy Spirit Kept Them From Preaching The Word

Acts 16:6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia (Frig-e-a) and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.

The Holy Spirit Warns

Acts 20:23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.
The Holy Spirit Makes Men Overseers

Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

The Holy Spirit Speaks About Future Events

Acts 21:11 Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, "The Holy Spirit says, ’In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’"

The Holy Spirit Speaks Only The Truth

Acts 28:25 They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet:

As we can see The Holy Spirit is Great!!!

THE HOLY SPIRIT DOES GREAT THINGS THROUGH PEOPLE

Chosen people
Acts 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

           Called people
Acts 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people!

           Prayerful people
Acts 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.

           Surrendered people
Acts 7:55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

           Broken people
Acts 9:17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord--Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here--has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

           Good people
Acts 11:20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 22 News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

What type of people?

           Chosen, called, surrendered, good, broken, prayerful people.

           Again, the Holy Spirit has plans,

                      and we see Him using all of these people

                                 in accordance with Gods sovereign will, to grow the church.

Question: "How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?"

Indwelling of the Spirit

We know that when we accepted Christ as Lord and Savior,

            and were baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins,

                      we received the gift of the Holy Spirit, according to Acts 2:38.

Acts 2:38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

           Instead let’s examine what it means to:

Be filled with the Spirit

Being filled with the Spirit involves surrendering one’s

           will, intellect, emotions,

                      as well as one’s time, talent, and treasure to God’s complete control.

                      It’s the death of self-will and the resurrection of God’s will.

           When you are right with God, and are filled with His Spirit,

                      you will be right with everyone else, as far as it deepens on you.

Ephesians 5:18. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Filled – means to make or become full.

John 12:3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

           It was used often of the wind filling a sail to move a ship along.

           To be filled with the Holy Spirit, is to be moved along in our Christian life by God Himself.

           The same dynamic by which the writers of Scripture were “moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21).

We should be so completely yielded (surrendered) to the Holy Spirit,

           that He can possess us fully, and in that sense, fill us.

Romans 8:5-15 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

What keeps us from being filled with the Spirit?

           Sin.

Unrepentant sin grieves and quenches His power. (Eph 4:30, I Thess 5:19)

When we allow this to happen,

                                 we don’t experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s

                                            working and power in and through us.

           To be filled with the Spirit,

                      implies freedom for Him to occupy every part of our lives,

                                 guiding and controlling us.

           His power then can be exerted through us,

                      so that what we do is fruitful to God.

The filling of the Spirit does not apply to outward acts alone;

it also applies to the innermost thoughts and motives of our actions.

Psalm 19:14 says, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable to you, O Lord my strength, and my redeemer.”

Sin is what separates us from the filling of the Holy Spirit,

           and obedience to God is how the filling of the Spirit is maintained.

           Although our focus should be to be filled, as Ephesians 5:18 commands,

                      praying for the filling of the Holy Spirit is not what accomplishes the filling of the Spirit.

           Only our obedience to God’s commands allows the Spirit freedom to work within us.

Because we are sinful creatures, it’s impossible to be filled with the Spirit all of the time.

           We should immediately deal with sin in our lives,

and renew our commitment to being Spirit-filled and Spirit-led.

As we move forward, we must deal immediately with sin in our lives.

                      We can’t say I want great things to happen and sit in sin.

What else keeps us from completely surrendering to God and letting Him have control?

Fear.

One woman was afraid to surrender to God

                      because she feared what he might call her to do.

                      The main issue, is she does not trust God.

What if your son and daughter came to you and said:

           Dad, Mom I love you so much,

I’m willing to do whatever you want me to do with my life.

What an honor!

                      What a heart!

           Will you at that moment say.

                      Great! That’s just what I’ve been waiting for.

                      And now I’m going to make you pay,

                                 and give you something to do with the rest of your life that you’re going to hate.

Yes sir, you’re going to regret that you ever made that decision!

How wicked that would be?

           But that’s what we think God is like and therefore what he will do.

           God has awesome plans in store for us,

                      and we need to get to a point in our lives, that we trust him totally.

           Remember, it’s not God that’s messed up our lives.

                      It’s ourselves.

Are you afraid to totally surrender to God?

           If so, then we have trust issues with Him.

           We’ll see amazing things done in the church, and personally,

                      as we deal with unrepentant sin in our lives,

                                 surrender all, and let the Holy Spirit fill us and lead us.