The Ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Church - Part 3

I'll just say this in closing, Acts chapter 1 verse 1, and God willing we'll continue further next two Sundays. Acts 1 verse 1. Luke is writing to this guy called Theophilus. He wrote an earlier account to him, that is the Gospel of Luke.

And he titles that Gospel as, All that Jesus began to do and teach. That's Luke's own title for the Gospel of Luke. All that Jesus began to do and teach.

So, on that same line, what title do you think he'd give to the Acts of the Apostles? All that Jesus continued to do and teach. In Luke, through his physical body, in Acts, through his spiritual body. That's the title of Acts of the Apostles.

All that Jesus continued to do and teach, this time, through his spiritual body, the Church. That comes down to us then. There's no Amen at the end of the Acts of the Apostles.

It just goes on. It's continued through into the 21st century. All that Jesus continued to do and teach, through his body, that's meeting in the 21st century in Evergreen.

Has God got a purpose? I really believe that. But, that body has to work together and be filled with the Holy Spirit. See, there are two things about the members of my body.

One, they all work together, because they're connected to the head. The other, none of them is paralyzed. They've got power.

Now, if I lost power in one hand, it would still be a part of my body. But a pretty useless part. A burden on the rest of the body.

And that's the condition of a lot of Christians. They're just passengers. They're to be carried along by others, who have no sense of responsibility towards the body.

Like a paralyzed hand that does nothing. It receives all the energy and whatever comes through, eating food, everything that it needs. Blood flows in it and health goes into it, but it does nothing.

The unfortunate thing is that a lot of Christians are paralyzed like that. What they need is power. And if this paralyzed hand gets power, it won't become a tongue.

It won't become a preacher. It'll do things that a hand is supposed to do. That's another mistake people make.

They think, oh, if I get filled with the Holy Spirit, I'll be able to preach like that. Maybe you won't. But you'll do something else, which you're supposed to do in the body.

Not all are called to the same function. Yeah, I know that my own life and ministry were completely changed when I was filled with the Holy Spirit. And I know from experience that it's one of those things I can't define.

I tried for years to formulate a theology of the battle of the Holy Spirit, and thankfully I did not succeed, because it would have been a doctrine. Now I realize that what I need is not to give a nice three-part explanation about the Holy Spirit. But Jesus never spoke like that.

The apostles didn't. But if they would create a hunger in people for something they don't have, that's the purpose of Scripture. That's the purpose of God's Word.

To create a hunger in us for something God wants to give us, but which we are humble enough to acknowledge we don't have, and for which we have faith to believe that God will give it to us. That's perfect. Just a few moments of silence.

As we allow God's Word to sink into our hearts, if you have consecrated a desire in your heart, remember that He will satisfy it. Nobody else but He can do that. But you must believe that God's a loving Father, better than any human being you have ever known.

The most wonderful person who eagerly desires to give us what He created a hunger in our heart for. And that's why we need to be open to say, Lord Jesus, I've seen you, the perfect spiritual person, and you've given me the tremendous honor and privilege to be a part of your body. And I want to be filled with the same spirit that filled your earthly body when you walked on this earth.

Because that's the only way I'll ever be able to be a functioning part of your spiritual body now. All my Bible knowledge and theology is worthless if I'm not filled with the Holy Spirit. Help me.

Even if there are things you don't understand, understanding is not required. A hunger is what's required. And believe that God loves you.

Heavenly Father, I pray you'll help each one of us. Help us to honor you in our life. To learn more of that reverence for you in our life, Lord.

We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.