Tim Hansel in his book “When I Relax I feel Guilty.” Writes some insights of what most people want from God. “I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please.” If we would be totally honest, the idea of transformation really scares us. That is because we know that such a radical change would be quite uncomfortable. We realize that with transformation comes a major overhaul of our lives and priorities. I have to wonder what the disciples felt when the Holy Spirit transformed their lives in such a radical way. The Spirit arrived on the Day of Pentecost and these twelve men would never be the same again. In fact, the people were blown away when the saw the change that had taken place in the lives of these twelve ordinary men. Today, we want to take a look at the disciples before and after the transformation. As we look closely at the lives of these twelve men hopefully we can begin to see what the Holy Spirit can begin to do in our lives.
I. Getting better acquainted with Jesus’ disciples.
A. Getting a true picture of these twelve ordinary men.
1. We often have great difficulty relating to these twelve men because we often view them as almost super heroes.
2. None of these men were Levites, rabbis, or men that were prominent in the community or synagogue.
3. These men lacked formal education and vocational training. They were common blue collar workers with the exception of Matthew who held a government job.
4. The majority of them were raised in the poor back woods area of Israel known as Galilee.
5. These men were impulsive, rough around the edges and usually wore the feelings on their sleeves. You have to wonder how Jesus was able to use people like these.
6. These men were an excellent example of the everyday ordinary people of Jesus’ day.
B. Before the radical transformation these men were confused and felt as if their worlds were falling apart.
1. Jesus has stunned them by announcing that one of the twelve men closest to Him would soon betray Him.
2. Jesus shatters their dreams of Israel’s restoration by telling them He would be returning to the Father soon.
3. Jesus speaks words to Peter one of the three who were closest to Him that probably felt like a knife through his heart.
4. Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times! (John 13:37-38—NIV)
5. When you read John 13 closer we see that the disciples really wanted to go with Jesus but don’t understand how to get where He is going.
6. If you were one of these twelve men who had placed all your hopes and dreams in Jesus you would be pretty disheartened. You might feel like Jesus was about to leave you high and dry.
7. These twelve men also did not grasp the message that Jesus was trying to get across to them.
8. So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6—NIV)
9. These guys are literally a mess before the Holy Spirit comes upon them on the Day of Pentecost.
II. Twelve men and a miraculous transformation.
A. The Day of Pentecost will be a major crossroads in the life of Jesus’ twelve disciples.
1. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4—NIV)
2. The Holy Spirit came into the lives of the Disciples in a very dramatic way just as Jesus had told them.
3. If you read further in Acts 2 you also see that all the weaknesses and shortcoming of the Disciples have been overshadowed by the miraculous power of the Spirit.
4. The commotion brought on by the coming of the Spirit attracts a lot of attention. Crowds come to investigate and are amazed by what they witness.
B. These twelve reluctant spokesmen are turned into bold witnesses for Christ.
1. Peter stands in front of a huge crowd and boldly answers the skeptics and proclaims the good news about Jesus.
2. Just the change that is seen in Peter’s life is radical. The same guy who denied Jesus three times out of fear now boldly stands up for Him.
3. Later in Acts 4 Peter and John are arrested for preaching Jesus but they stand strong in the face of intimidation and persecution.
4. 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. (Acts 4:13—NIV)
5. This whole transformation is not normal. The change denies all logic. This just does not make any sense at all.
III. Understanding the transformation that took place in the disciples’ lives.
A. We can look at this transformation quite skeptically and try to explain it away.
1. Perhaps the change was brought about by the power of positive thinking. They witnessed Jesus ascend into Heaven and decided they needed to act like men instead of mice.
2. However, it is doubtful that positive thinking could cause a person to endure and rejoice in the severe persecution that they would face.
3. Maybe they were energized by the fact that the Jewish populace seemed more open to accepting responsibility for killing their Messiah.
4. Maybe the change came about through mutual encouragement. Maybe they took a class on becoming more assertive.
B. The only truly correct and logical explanation for the transformation that took place in the lives of the disciples.
1. 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.” (Acts 1:8—NIV)
2. The Holy Spirit enabled these men to move from relative obscurity to make a tremendous impact upon the world.
3. If you were in the first century and knew these twelve men you would probably have to admit that you never saw this coming.
4. How could the lives of people like this change so dramatically?
IV. Can we be transformed like the disciples?
A. We need to give careful consideration to the evidence that we have seen from Scripture in regard to Jesus’ twelve disciples.
1. These twelve men were ordinary everyday people just like you and I.
2. Because of the transformation brought about by the Holy Spirit these ordinary men accomplished something quite extraordinary.
3. The disciples had many weaknesses like us. However, they learned that God does His best work through our weaknesses.
4. Trusting in God and the power of His Spirit was what made the difference in the lives of these men.
B. This same Holy Spirit that transformed the disciples is available to completely transform our lives.
1. God wants to transform our lives and write a unique story for each of us.
2. The Spirit can empower us to go places and to do things that we could never have began to imagine.
3. What’s the catch? We need to be willing to open our lives up to the work of the Spirit.
C. Questions for some very honest reflection.
1. When you find yourself experiencing difficulties where do you turn for strength?
2. What areas of weakness do you need the Holy Spirit to transform in your life?
3. What obstacles are keeping you from letting the Holy Spirit truly transform you?
4. What is keeping you from being used in the way that God desires to use you?
5. What decision do I need to make today? Is the Spirit trying to tell me something?
The power of the Holy Spirit is not just for salvation, but transformation, a process that might be slow and gradual. The difference might look like this: You can take ten gallons of gasoline and release a tremendous amount of power and energy by just dropping a lighted match into it. It makes a dramatic onetime impact. But there is another way to release the energy in that gasoline. Place it in the fuel tank of a car, designed to get 30 or more miles to the gallon. The high tech engine will use those ten gallons of gasoline to take a person 300 miles or more. Explosions may be spectacular, but the sustained, controlled burn has staying power. You don’t want to be a flash in the pan; you want to make a difference in this world over time. You want to last for the long haul. You don’t want the Holy Spirit to just save you for heaven; you want Him to use His power to transform your life. You want Him to use you in this world for kingdom purposes.
