No one wants to be deceived remember as I was preparing us for the in-filling of the Holy Spirit, I taught, what I believed to be enough to allow you to search out the scriptures, to prove to yourself what is real and what is not.
As you are learning to walk in the Kingdom full of the power of the Holy Spirit a few things, other than the gifts and fruit are going to start showing up in your life
That’s what we are going to talk about today
Jonathan Edwards the great revivalist preacher of the 18thcentury said there is one thing the devil can’t create it is a love for the glory of God. He doesn’t know how, he has no clue and the things I am going to share with you today are like that, evidences of the Holy Spirit being alive and active in you that neither the flesh nor the devil can produce, they all give glory to God!
This is the nearest, based on the word of God, what I believe will help you to understand that you are truly filled with the Holy Spirit is found in this verse
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but (a Spirit) of power and of love and of a sound mind. (NKJV)
Fearlessness
Sometimes the word for “fear” is translated “timidity” but that would be an ineffective translation
If a person is shy, or timid and they are filled with the Spirit they will most likely remain shy but God will enhance their personality traits to cause them to be even more effective as their personality is a gift from the Lord to be able to impact people in that way as well
Fearlessness is the total absence of fear….you have heard me define courage as not the absence of fear but instead overcoming fear by faith.
Paul is telling a fearful Timothy that the Holy Spirit’s power in you will, at times, when needed, shore you up, not so that you have courage but that you have a complete absence of fear.
Fear is something that is completely foreign to the Holy Spirit. In Him there is no fear at all
Romans 8:15,16
“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God”
The enemy lives in constant fear of what God has for his future, what we will do if we realize who we are in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit
Many live in fear, because they fear the disapproval of man, always looking over there shoulders for how someone may react, not resting in the trusting love and approval of their Father
Timothy was filled with fear but it did not come from God. Paul knew this he had experienced his own battles with fear (2 Corinthians 1:8)
The Holy Spirit wants to mature us to the place where we can tap into the fearlessness when we need it to become who God needs us to be at any given moment.
Only the Holy Spirit can make us fearless….if you have fear, admit it, confess it, allow the Holy Spirit to raise up fearlessness in you….the enemy can not make you fearless only the Holy Spirit can.
Think about Peter’s fearlessness on the day of Pentecost a fisherman standing before the people who thought he was drunk, some of the most knowledgeable and powerful in the nation giving them the truth from the Holy Spirit for them to say after he delivered his word…”what shall we do????” that is fearlessness and power
You don’t need to raise your voice, there is confidence in what you know and need to do….no man can generate this kind of fearlessness only God!
Power
Jesus promised a sign of the Spirit’s moving in and through mankind would be power
Acts 1:8
“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.”
Luke 24:49
And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”
At Pentecost with the fresh outpouring of the Spirit and in front of the Sanhedrin you can see the power of God manifest in Peter
No scripted sermon yet
Acts 2:37- People are overwhelmed with conviction and are saying “what do we need to do?”….3000 people said that, and came to Christ
Then in Acts 4:8-12 he amazes the leaders with his wisdom because he was “filled with the Holy Spirit”
We often think about the power of God as miracles and it can be but as Jesus said it is given to be His witnesses, everywhere He sends us
Jesus told us part of the Holy Spirit’s job was John 14:26b
“He, (the Holy Spirit), will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”
Peter saw just that in the power he observed as he taught!
There of course was more power…
Acts 2:43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.
– Peter healed the crippled man
– spoke boldly
– Spoke judgment over Ananias and Sapphira
– Received a vision that led a Centurion to Christ
– Escaped prison through an angelic visitation
Yet became embarrassed to be with Gentiles when Jews were coming to visit and Paul had to rebuke him
The power is there in ways we understand and yet do not understand but apart from the Holy Spirit we have no power and the devil won’t do anything that will glorify God the way these signs did
There are many things that seem like power but to God, curing cancer is as easy as healing a headache so discernment is needed when we go to meeting with people to see if the Holy Spirit is really in the house or not….we need to believe here as well and especially be aware that we are open to all God has for us….that we stay away from the traditions of men and grieving or quenching the Holy Spirit and we are ready for all God has for us
Acts 4:16
“What should we do with these men?” they asked each other. “We can’t deny that they have performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it.
I wanted to get to all 4 of what I would call evidences of the Holy Spirit alive in you but we need to spend time today praying for as many as we can that are hungry for more
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but (a Spirit) of power and of love and of a sound mind. (NKJV)
Fearlessness and power are things only God can give as miraculous examples of God’s power alive in usand the devil can’t duplicate. We simply keep our hearts right, ready and always attuned to the Holy Spirit and God will flow through us this way. However the next two, Love and Soundness of mind are determined in many ways by us…we will talk about them next week!
How hungry are you?
You have spent weeks listening and learning. Do you believe what I am telling you to be the truth? Our region needs us to be all God has called us to be. We can only do that as we are filled with the Holy Spirit the way Jesus asked that we be.
Today you may be saying I was filled with the Holy Spirit but I’m not seeing what Pastor Tim described, then it is time to get refilled
OR You may be saying, I’m hungry and I want all God has for me, then this is part of what Christ died for so we could be temples of the Holy Spirit
Or you may be saying, this scares me but I believe the Pastors believe it so while I might not be there yet, I trust the Lord and I want all he has for me
I have instructed our team to not do anything but lay hands on you, pray for you in English and in the Spirit and give you some words of encouragement if you need them
We are allowing the Holy Spirit to do the work, what I’m asking from you is that you are open to receive what the Lord has for you
It is not based on your feelings but on your faith, not in us but in God’s love for you
Most of you will receive a prayer language just relax and allow the Holy Spirit to do the work
Some of you may feel nothing until later today or tomorrow but I guarantee you, if you come hungry you will be fed
After prayer, the people praying for you will try to follow up with you in a few days to help you even further to understand what the Lord is doing