The Spirit-Led Life

The Spirit-Led Life
Part one – Thy Kingdom Come
A Sermon Series based on the book Acts 29 by Terry Teykle

Rev. Dr Eddie Bromley Grace Church 7 June 2009
Acts 1:1-14
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Scripture Reading from Acts 1:1-14

1 In my first book[a] I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. 3 During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.
4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with[b] water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
The Ascension of Jesus
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
Matthias Replaces Judas
12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.[c] 13 When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying.
Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), and Judas (son of James). 14 They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

Introduction: After Jesus’ resurrection and before his ascension to heaven, he gave his people the mission of taking the good news of God’s kingdom to all the people of the world. Jesus gave them, gave us, the charge to continue doing the ministry he had done until the day of his return. What an amazing charge we have to keep. But rather than telling them to immediately get started the moment he ascended into heaven, he instructed them to wait in prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus would send to them. He told them not to move on with the mission, but to wait. Once the Spirit came, He, the Spirit would lead them in the mission. And it is a good thing that they listened to Jesus on this one.

The early Church had no building and no Bible colleges. Most of the first members of this spiritual community were poorly educated, had little financial wealth, and no real clout in society. They had enormous cultural and ethnic boundaries to overcome and were suspected as being heretics and trouble makers by the religious officials. In other words, the deck was stacked against them. No wonder they dare not move until the Spirit had been sent.

But once the Spirit had been sent, they turned their world upside down. They did so by depending on the presence and power the Holy Spirit. They turned the world upside down by living the Spirit Powered Life. By depending on the Holy Spirit, these ordinary Christians were able to reach their world with the good news of Jesus. If we ordinary Christians are going to reach our world for Christ, we too must depend on the Spirit to fulfill the great commission in our time and place in history. Here’s why:

The Holy Spirit…
…Spotlights Jesus
John 15:26 “But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.

Have you ever tried to tell somebody about the great joy of knowing Jesus, only to have the feeling that the other person simply didn’t get it? Until the Holy Spirit reveals this sweetness to someone, they remain spiritually blind and unable to see the truth of who Jesus is. The Holy Spirit enables people to see the truth of Jesus, by shining the spotlight on Jesus.

…Is our divine helper
John 14: 16 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate.”

When Jesus was preparing to depart, he promised his followers that he would not leave them alone. Jesus promises to send another Advocate to assist the Church in its mission. There were two words for another. One word was “heteros” from which we get the word heterosexual. Jesus did not use this word, but if he had, it would have meant that Jesus was sending something or someone different, or another kind of thing or person as his replacement. Jesus does not use the word heteros. He uses the word “allos” which means another one just like Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the person who has lived eternally with God the Father and God the Son. His heart and character are just like Jesus’ heart and character. What Jesus was promising his followers is that he would be with them in new way. No longer would he be limited to being with them the way he was when walking around in a human body. When Jesus was here in that way, he could not be always available to everyone. But being present to them by the way of the Holy Spirit, Jesus could always be available to all of his disciples. Jesus was God with us. The Holy Spirit is God dwelling in us.

The Holy Spirit is our ever present divine helper, with us and dwelling in us, empowering us and equipping us for carrying out the great assignment given to us by Jesus.

…Emboldens his people in the face of hostility

In Acts chapter four, the Christians were bullied and threatened by the authorities, and were told to cease spreading the news of Jesus’ resurrection. But in verse 33 we read “The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all.”

The Holy Spirit gives us the courage to do what we would never dare to do on our own.

...Produces in His people a character like Jesus’

“The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Galatians 5:22-23

To get a Jesus sized task done takes a Jesus like people to get it done. But the only people Jesus has to work with is imperfect, unqualified sinners like us. But as the Holy Spirit dwells in us and among us, He begins to perfect in us a character and heart like Jesus’ and He qualifies us by applying the grace of the Cross to our lives, and he begins to make us the right kind of people for the getting the work of Christ done in the world.

…Shows the world their need for a Savior

“And when he [The Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more.” – John 16:8-10

The Church has an incredible message to share with the nations that God has sent his son to save us from our sins. One difficulty in sharing this message is that many people do not recognize their need to be saved from anything. The Holy Spirit comes and reveals the brokenness we each have in our lives and our desperate need for God’s grace. Until He does this, our work of sharing the gospel with folks will be unfruitful.

…Keeps us dependent upon God

“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” – Romans 8:26

As we go about the task of carrying out the great commission, there is a subtle danger. The danger is that we will begin doing things for God rather than doing great things with God. The danger is that we will begin depending on our own power rather than depending on God’s power and allowing Him to work through us. The Holy Spirit works to keep us dependent upon God by stirring up within us a desire for prayer. He is ever directing our hearts to call upon God for his guidance and help.

...Adds supernatural results to our human efforts

Look at the whole book of Acts

Because the ordinary men and women open their lives to God’s use and God’s purposes, supernatural results came from their very human lives and efforts. God wants to do amazing things through ordinary people. He wants to bring about miraculous results from seemingly insignificant attempts. As we open ourselves up to God’s use, the Holy Spirit is willing to under gird them with His resources.

...Guides us in missions

Christianity started out as an exclusively Jewish faith. But to the amazement of Jesus’ earliest followers, God intended it to become so much more. The church in Antioch was the first congregation of converted Gentiles. But these new converts had no idea that this was just the beginning of what God intended. Their church was to become the launching pad for a new mission drive into greater Europe.

“Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul. One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.” - Acts 13:1-3

Like the earliest Christians, we cannot always anticipate the next step we are to take in God’s mission. In order to stay on track with God’s plans, we have to stay open to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and he directs us in the next steps to take.

…Gives us the right words to say

Even when we do understand the next steps to take, we do not always know what to say when we get their. Not to worry, Jesus says, for even in the most difficult circumstances, the Holy Spirit will give us the right words.

But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. – Mark 13:11

No wonder the earliest followers dared not move until they had been given the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Pray and invite the Holy Spirit to dwell in and among us, His people.

Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to make us a people of prayer and our church a house of prayer.

Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to anoint and guide each of our leaders.

Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help us to get serious about praying together.