Wednesday, July 25, 2007
God's Peace in the Midst of Stress
Announcing the launch of the YouTube version of the "Spiritual Booster Shot"... please subscribe, link to it, and support it! I will be posting inspirational mini-sermon videos there on a regular basis... I pray that you will be encouraged and that God will use this new ministry opportunity for His glory! Thank you for your support, and be encouraged by His Word...
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Yolanda Adams - Still I Rise
Another amazing performance from the world's greatest voice in gospel music! Take a listen and be inspired!
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Where the Spirit Is...
Introduction:
Today we’ll be continuing our discussion of the Holy Spirit, delving deeper into the Book of Acts, which is probably the greatest place in the Bible to see the Holy Spirit in action. Let’s start by reviewing a few key points from last week… the Holy Spirit is a person, not a power… the Holy Spirit is absolutely crucial to our Christian life… the Holy Spirit is not a power, but provides power… it’s not about getting more of God – it’s about yielding, surrendering, and letting God have more of YOU! Today we’ll be looking at some signs that accompany the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer or church body of believers…
(Read Acts 4:1-12)
The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. The next day, the rulers, elders, and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and the other men of the high priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
1) WHERE THE SPIRIT IS, THERE IS POWER AND BOLDNESS
Notice that just because a person is operating with the power of the Holy Spirit, it doesn’t mean that all the opposition will magically melt away. In fact, the opposition might even intensify. God is glorified when we overcome the opposition by depending on His power. In spite of this intense opposition, we see the POWER of the Holy Spirit demonstrated in the fact that 5000 men came to be saved in spite of the religious leaders’ greatest efforts to stop the flow of the gospel. The Holy Spirit brings power to cut through peoples’ facades and touch their hearts, if we are willing to yield and be used to proclaim the message like Peter and John were doing. Remember that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. That which would be impossible for man, is possible through the power of God.
The Spirit also brings amazing BOLDNESS into the life of a believer – the boldness to proclaim the unfiltered truth even to the toughest audiences. Could a tougher crowd have possibly been assembled to preach this sermon to? There is probably no tougher audience to face, than to have to tell Annas, Caiaphas, and the other top religious leaders that they had rejected and killed the Messiah. You’ll notice, however, that through the boldness that comes with being filled by the Holy Spirit, Peter was able to stand flat-footed, look those religious officials right in the face, and speak the truth without watering anything down. Peter didn’t hire a P.R. firm to run focus groups and find the right spin for this particular demographic segment of the population – he just boldly proclaimed the truth of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Now, think of the people who you and I are scared to tell about Christ to – could they be any tougher of an audience than this? Be encouraged today, because the same Holy Spirit that emboldened Peter and John can and will embolden you as you take your own stand for Christ in daily life. A special boldness, a powerful anointing comes when God’s Word is flowing through our mouths. We just have to yield and make ourselves available for the task. It has nothing to do with our ability – it has to do with our availability! Now let’s go back to the story…
(Read Acts 4:13-22)
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
2) WHERE THE SPIRIT IS, THERE IS OBEDIENCE IN SPITE OF OPPOSITION
The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to courageously obey in spite of any opposition that we face. God takes ordinary men and by the power and gifts of the Spirit, enables them to do extraordinary things. When the Spirit is operating, people will stop and take notice. What a wonderful testimony in this passage – the leaders realized that Peter and John were ordinary, unschooled men… but they also knew they had been with Jesus. Wouldn’t you love for people to say that about you? It would be great to have the reputation for being close with Jesus. Time with Jesus is what makes the difference. This type of boldness, this type of obedience – comes only from surrendering completely to God and spending unrushed quality time with Him. You can’t counterfeit a deep walk with God, or the genuine moving of the Holy Spirit. The religious leaders then tried to shut them up, by demanding that they no longer preach the gospel. But when the Spirit is moving in your life, it’s impossible to shut up about how good God is, and what He did through Jesus. Peter and John said they couldn’t help but continue to spread the Good News. Have you ever felt like that, where you just “couldn’t help” but tell the Good News? Strengthened by the Spirit, they stood firm and decided to please God rather than pleasing man. No man can serve two masters. We all face situations where we must pick one or the other, and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can stay faithful and obey God instead of giving in to the world’s pressures. Obedience takes strength, and that strength comes from the Holy Spirit. No devil in Hell can shut you up when you’re operating in the power of the Holy Spirit! Ordinary people become extraordinary!
(Read Acts 4:23-31)
On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and His Anointed One.’ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your Word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 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.
3) WHERE THE SPIRIT IS, THERE IS PERSEVERANCE THROUGH PRAYER
When obstacles came their way, these early Christians, led by the Holy Spirit, didn’t give up – they looked up! Instead of giving up, they looked up, in prayer, to the Almighty God! The Holy Spirit gives us the strength to persevere and leads us to pray instead of throwing in the towel. Imagine how some of us might have responded in this difficult situation – we might have rationalized that these were “closed doors” and that perhaps God didn’t want us spreading the Word in this area. But instead of getting discouraged, or even getting mad and trying to use fleshly methods to fight a distinctly spiritual battle, these men turned to God in prayer. And look what they prayed for! What would you have prayed for under these circumstances? They didn’t pray for God to remove the obstacles, smite their enemies, or to make the pathway smooth. They prayed for BOLDNESS to continue persevering in speaking the Word. They prayed for BOLDNESS to finish the job. They didn’t pray for something selfish like revenge, or for the task to be easy – their prayer shows a total surrender and yielding to God via the Holy Spirit. You can tell that God was pleased with this prayer, because of His response. The whole place literally shook and they received a special anointing of the Holy Spirit that was accompanied by great boldness. It pays to persevere through prayer! Regardless of the obstacles you are facing in your own life and calling, I urge you to follow this example and just watch and see what the Lord will do when you stay faithful and ask Him for boldness to continue doing His work! I continue to pray that we as a church body will become a seriously, fervently praying church – not prayer as a hobby, but as our LIFELINE. When trouble comes, let the Holy Spirit guide you to your knees in prayer! Then you and I will be able to persevere through anything.
(Read Acts 4:32-37)
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
4) WHERE THE SPIRIT IS, THERE IS POWERFUL UNITY -- FOR A PURPOSE
Last but not least, we see that where the Spirit is reigning freely, there is amazing, mind-blowing unity. Imagine a church body where “all the believers were one in heart and mind.” That is an extraordinary statement. Not “90% of the believers”, or “all the currently active believers”, or “all the believers who are reasonably easy to get along with” – but literally, ALL of the believers were sharing this wonderful unity. Furthermore, this was unity for God’s highest purpose – to continue to testify of the resurrection of Jesus and to spread this message to the ends of the earth, just as Jesus had commanded in Acts 1. There is strength in unity, and that’s why unity is so important to God. Don’t be intimidated by the difficulty of the task, because when God calls you to do something, He will always provide the grace and the ability to be able to do it. Where God guides, God provides! This is the same type of unity which I fervently pray for, for our own church body as we seek to fulfill God’s vision for us in the Fresno community. I pray that we will learn from these examples of the early church, and let the Holy Spirit guide and direct our lives like they did. That is when we will see truly amazing things happen, and I greatly look forward to what God has in store! The Book of Acts not only provides a great example, but it should inspire us to be all that God created us to be, and nothing less.
Conclusion:
In closing, I want to remind you that the moving of the Holy Spirit through the early believers in the Book of Acts was not a one-day pep rally, or a one-week spiritual high. Instead, it shows the importance of a sustained, consistent, walking-in-the-Spirit over time… and what God can and will do when we are willing to yield like that, and come together in unity for a purpose, led by the Spirit. Today is the day to get things right… don’t procrastinate another moment! The Book of Acts really doesn’t end, the story of God’s church continues… we’re still living it today -- to the extent that we surrender to the Holy Spirit and let Him take control of our lives and our ministry. I pray that God will write some amazing new chapters through our yielded, surrendered lives…
Today we’ll be continuing our discussion of the Holy Spirit, delving deeper into the Book of Acts, which is probably the greatest place in the Bible to see the Holy Spirit in action. Let’s start by reviewing a few key points from last week… the Holy Spirit is a person, not a power… the Holy Spirit is absolutely crucial to our Christian life… the Holy Spirit is not a power, but provides power… it’s not about getting more of God – it’s about yielding, surrendering, and letting God have more of YOU! Today we’ll be looking at some signs that accompany the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer or church body of believers…
(Read Acts 4:1-12)
The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. The next day, the rulers, elders, and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and the other men of the high priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
1) WHERE THE SPIRIT IS, THERE IS POWER AND BOLDNESS
Notice that just because a person is operating with the power of the Holy Spirit, it doesn’t mean that all the opposition will magically melt away. In fact, the opposition might even intensify. God is glorified when we overcome the opposition by depending on His power. In spite of this intense opposition, we see the POWER of the Holy Spirit demonstrated in the fact that 5000 men came to be saved in spite of the religious leaders’ greatest efforts to stop the flow of the gospel. The Holy Spirit brings power to cut through peoples’ facades and touch their hearts, if we are willing to yield and be used to proclaim the message like Peter and John were doing. Remember that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. That which would be impossible for man, is possible through the power of God.
The Spirit also brings amazing BOLDNESS into the life of a believer – the boldness to proclaim the unfiltered truth even to the toughest audiences. Could a tougher crowd have possibly been assembled to preach this sermon to? There is probably no tougher audience to face, than to have to tell Annas, Caiaphas, and the other top religious leaders that they had rejected and killed the Messiah. You’ll notice, however, that through the boldness that comes with being filled by the Holy Spirit, Peter was able to stand flat-footed, look those religious officials right in the face, and speak the truth without watering anything down. Peter didn’t hire a P.R. firm to run focus groups and find the right spin for this particular demographic segment of the population – he just boldly proclaimed the truth of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Now, think of the people who you and I are scared to tell about Christ to – could they be any tougher of an audience than this? Be encouraged today, because the same Holy Spirit that emboldened Peter and John can and will embolden you as you take your own stand for Christ in daily life. A special boldness, a powerful anointing comes when God’s Word is flowing through our mouths. We just have to yield and make ourselves available for the task. It has nothing to do with our ability – it has to do with our availability! Now let’s go back to the story…
(Read Acts 4:13-22)
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
2) WHERE THE SPIRIT IS, THERE IS OBEDIENCE IN SPITE OF OPPOSITION
The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to courageously obey in spite of any opposition that we face. God takes ordinary men and by the power and gifts of the Spirit, enables them to do extraordinary things. When the Spirit is operating, people will stop and take notice. What a wonderful testimony in this passage – the leaders realized that Peter and John were ordinary, unschooled men… but they also knew they had been with Jesus. Wouldn’t you love for people to say that about you? It would be great to have the reputation for being close with Jesus. Time with Jesus is what makes the difference. This type of boldness, this type of obedience – comes only from surrendering completely to God and spending unrushed quality time with Him. You can’t counterfeit a deep walk with God, or the genuine moving of the Holy Spirit. The religious leaders then tried to shut them up, by demanding that they no longer preach the gospel. But when the Spirit is moving in your life, it’s impossible to shut up about how good God is, and what He did through Jesus. Peter and John said they couldn’t help but continue to spread the Good News. Have you ever felt like that, where you just “couldn’t help” but tell the Good News? Strengthened by the Spirit, they stood firm and decided to please God rather than pleasing man. No man can serve two masters. We all face situations where we must pick one or the other, and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can stay faithful and obey God instead of giving in to the world’s pressures. Obedience takes strength, and that strength comes from the Holy Spirit. No devil in Hell can shut you up when you’re operating in the power of the Holy Spirit! Ordinary people become extraordinary!
(Read Acts 4:23-31)
On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and His Anointed One.’ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your Word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 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.
3) WHERE THE SPIRIT IS, THERE IS PERSEVERANCE THROUGH PRAYER
When obstacles came their way, these early Christians, led by the Holy Spirit, didn’t give up – they looked up! Instead of giving up, they looked up, in prayer, to the Almighty God! The Holy Spirit gives us the strength to persevere and leads us to pray instead of throwing in the towel. Imagine how some of us might have responded in this difficult situation – we might have rationalized that these were “closed doors” and that perhaps God didn’t want us spreading the Word in this area. But instead of getting discouraged, or even getting mad and trying to use fleshly methods to fight a distinctly spiritual battle, these men turned to God in prayer. And look what they prayed for! What would you have prayed for under these circumstances? They didn’t pray for God to remove the obstacles, smite their enemies, or to make the pathway smooth. They prayed for BOLDNESS to continue persevering in speaking the Word. They prayed for BOLDNESS to finish the job. They didn’t pray for something selfish like revenge, or for the task to be easy – their prayer shows a total surrender and yielding to God via the Holy Spirit. You can tell that God was pleased with this prayer, because of His response. The whole place literally shook and they received a special anointing of the Holy Spirit that was accompanied by great boldness. It pays to persevere through prayer! Regardless of the obstacles you are facing in your own life and calling, I urge you to follow this example and just watch and see what the Lord will do when you stay faithful and ask Him for boldness to continue doing His work! I continue to pray that we as a church body will become a seriously, fervently praying church – not prayer as a hobby, but as our LIFELINE. When trouble comes, let the Holy Spirit guide you to your knees in prayer! Then you and I will be able to persevere through anything.
(Read Acts 4:32-37)
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
4) WHERE THE SPIRIT IS, THERE IS POWERFUL UNITY -- FOR A PURPOSE
Last but not least, we see that where the Spirit is reigning freely, there is amazing, mind-blowing unity. Imagine a church body where “all the believers were one in heart and mind.” That is an extraordinary statement. Not “90% of the believers”, or “all the currently active believers”, or “all the believers who are reasonably easy to get along with” – but literally, ALL of the believers were sharing this wonderful unity. Furthermore, this was unity for God’s highest purpose – to continue to testify of the resurrection of Jesus and to spread this message to the ends of the earth, just as Jesus had commanded in Acts 1. There is strength in unity, and that’s why unity is so important to God. Don’t be intimidated by the difficulty of the task, because when God calls you to do something, He will always provide the grace and the ability to be able to do it. Where God guides, God provides! This is the same type of unity which I fervently pray for, for our own church body as we seek to fulfill God’s vision for us in the Fresno community. I pray that we will learn from these examples of the early church, and let the Holy Spirit guide and direct our lives like they did. That is when we will see truly amazing things happen, and I greatly look forward to what God has in store! The Book of Acts not only provides a great example, but it should inspire us to be all that God created us to be, and nothing less.
Conclusion:
In closing, I want to remind you that the moving of the Holy Spirit through the early believers in the Book of Acts was not a one-day pep rally, or a one-week spiritual high. Instead, it shows the importance of a sustained, consistent, walking-in-the-Spirit over time… and what God can and will do when we are willing to yield like that, and come together in unity for a purpose, led by the Spirit. Today is the day to get things right… don’t procrastinate another moment! The Book of Acts really doesn’t end, the story of God’s church continues… we’re still living it today -- to the extent that we surrender to the Holy Spirit and let Him take control of our lives and our ministry. I pray that God will write some amazing new chapters through our yielded, surrendered lives…
