The Secret to Victorious Living
Text: Acts 1:4-8; Acts 1:14; Acts 2:1-4, 47.
Introduction
1. Illustration: In his book "Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life", Charles Swindoll tells a story about the 19th Century agnostic Thomas Huxley (some of you might know that it was Huxley who promoted Darwinism and Humanism in his attacks on Christianity). Huxley was in Dublin and was rushing to catch a train. He climbed aboard one of Dublin’s famous horse drawn taxis and said to the driver -"Hurry, I’m almost late ... drive fast". Off they went at a furious pace and Huxley sat back in his seat and closed his eyes. After a while Huxley opened his eyes and glanced out the window to notice that they were going in the wrong direction. Realizing that he hadn’t told the driver where to take him he called out ‘do you know where you're going?’ The driver replied "No, your honor, but I am driving very fast."
2. Have you ever felt that way? Like you were going somewhere very fast and hurried, but that you were headed in the wrong direction?
3. I think that it is important to realize where we need to be going and how we need to get there. And, for me, the best place to find where we need to be headed and how we get there is by looking at the early church.
4. The early church teaches us about the need for...
a. Spiritual Expectation
b. Spiritual Experience
c. Spiritual Expediting
5. Let's stand together as we read from Acts 1:4-8.
Proposition: If we want to get to where we need to be spiritually we need to have the right mode of transportation.
Transition: The first thing we learn from the early church is about...
I. Spiritual Expectation (Acts 1:4-8).
A. Don't Leave Jerusalem Until...
1. In Jesus' final days with his disciples He taught them to expect a spiritual outpouring.
2. Luke tells us that "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."
a. Luke's Gospel condenses the forty days after the Resurrection and jumps to the final exhortation for the 120 to wait in Jerusalem until they were "'clothed with power from on high.'"
b. Luke 24:49 (NLT)
“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.”
c. In Acts 1:4 Luke again goes to the time immediately preceding the Ascension. Jesus was "eating with them."
d. At that time He repeated the command, emphasizing that they were not to leave Jerusalem. This was very important. The Day of Pentecost would have had little effect if only two or three of them had remained in Jerusalem.
e. Further, Jesus began His ministry in the power of the Spirit; so must they (Horton, Acts).
f. Jesus ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit and it they were going to accomplish the mission He had given they too would have to minister in the Spirit's power.
g. Having received the message, and witnessed the manifestation of the risen Christ, the apostles may have been tempted to assume they were ready to minister in their own strength (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Acts 1-12).
h. However, we need to notice that Jesus was telling them to expect something powerful to happen.
3. Jesus continues that exhortation by telling what this experience would be. He said, "John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
a. Just as the Father bore witness to His Son when the Spirit came upon Him (and into Him) in a special way, so the Father bore witness to the faith of the believers by pouring out the promised Holy Spirit giving them power for service.
b. Jesus had already promised this mighty outpouring of the Spirit to His followers.
c. So had John the Baptist, whose baptism was limited to baptizing in water.
d. Note that Jesus made a clear distinction between baptism in water and baptism in the Holy Spirit (Horton, Acts: A Logion Press Commentary).
e. Jesus told them not to do anything until they had received this baptism in the Holy Spirit.
f. To the apostles, who were no doubt fired with enthusiasm and eager to begin, that must have seemed a strange command.
g. Yet, it illustrates an important point: All the preparation and training that knowledge and experience can bring are useless without the proper might. Power had to accompany truth.
h. To make certain the apostles were not only motivated but also supernaturally empowered for their mission, Jesus commanded them to wait for what the Father had promised (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Acts 1-12).
i. Yet, again we must stress that Jesus told them to expect something supernatural to happen to them.
j. But what?
4. We see in v.8 what they were to expect, "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.”
a. What were they to expect? Power!
b. They would receive power as a result of being filled with the Spirit.
c. The "power" believers receive from the Holy Spirit includes courage, boldness, confidence, insight, ability, and authority.
d. The disciples would need all these gifts to fulfill their mission.
e. This would be their key to success in the Church Age until its final consummation, when Jesus returns (Horton, Acts: A Logion Press Commentary).
f. In the book of Acts there is a lot of emphasis given to the Holy Spirit.
g. In fact, there are more than 50 references to the Holy Spirit in Acts. The Holy Spirit is indispensable to the church's missions and growth (Trites, 326).
h. He is the catalyst of Acts. Some even say that the book could be renamed "The Acts of the Holy Spirit."
i. Jesus told them to expect it; the power of the Holy Spirit is coming!
B. Expectant Faith
1. Illustration: Grandmother, about eighty, is visiting in the East and sends home things she has bought for her house. "I don't suppose I shall live forever," she says, "but while I do live I don't see why I shouldn't live as if I expected to." —Charles Horton Cooley
2. We need to expect that God will do what He has promised.
a. Philippians 1:6 (NLT)
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
b. I am certain: (an idiom, literally 'to convince the heart') to exhibit confidence and assurance in a situation which might otherwise cause dismay or fear (Louw and Nidda, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
c. We need to expect that God isn't done with us.
d. We need to expect that He has great things in store for us in 2012.
e. We need to expect that we will grow in spirit, numbers, and resources.
f. We need to be certain that it is going to happen!
3. We need to expect that God cannot only meet, but exceed our expectations.
a. Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
b. We need to expect that God can and will meet our needs, but we need to expect more than that.
c. He can do more than we can ask of Him.
d. He can do more than we can imagine.
e. He can do infinitely more than we ever thought possible.
Transition: Because God is able to more than we can imagine, we should expect...
II. Spiritual Experience (Acts 2:1-4, 47).
A. Filled With the Holy Spirit
1. On the day of Pentecost, Jesus' disciples received what they had been expecting, and what they received was an experience that would change them forever.
2. Luke tells that it happened "On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place."
a. Pentecost means "fiftieth," and it was so-called because on the fiftieth day after the waving of the sheaf of firstfruits they waved two loaves for firstfruits.
b. When the Day of Pentecost came (Gk. en tō sumplērousthai, "in the being completed") the period of waiting was coming to an end.
c. The Old Testament prophecies and the promise of the Father (proclaimed by Jesus, Acts 1:4) were about to be fulfilled.
3. It was while they were waiting in expectancy that "Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them."
a. "Suddenly," surprisingly and without warning, a sound came from heaven like "the blowing of a violent wind," or tornado.
b. But it was not an actual wind; it was only its sound that filled the house where they were sitting, overwhelming them.
c. That the sound came "suddenly" and "from heaven" highlights "divine, not human, control of the Spirit's action."
d. The sound of the wind indicated to those present that God was about to manifest himself and His Spirit in a special way.
e. That it was the sound a wind with carrying power would make also spoke of the empowering Jesus promised in Acts 1:8, an empowering for service.
f. There was, of course, no actual fire, and no one was burned. But fire and light were common symbols of the divine presence, as in the case of the burning bush that Moses saw and also the Lord's appearance in fire on Mount Sinai after the people of Israel accepted the old covenant
g. The Spirit coming in power charred the ropes that bound Samson.
h. The "fire of the Lord" burned up Elijah's sacrifice and even the stones of the altar and the soil.
i. Fire is also connected with the Old Testament prophecies of the outpouring of the Spirit in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel, and Zechariah.
j. Tongues also indicated speech—the fiery, powerful, prophetic witness that the Holy Spirit would give (Horton, Acts: A Logion Press Commentary).
4. Then Luke tells us that this was all a part of the experience they had been expecting. He says, "And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability."
a. It is clear also, since they were all together and in one accord, that when Acts 2:4 says, "all of them were filled," the entire 120 is meant.
b. Clearly, the experience was and is for all.
c. This, however, was a New Testament experience. In the Old Testament, only selected individuals were filled.
d. This speaking came "as the Spirit enabled them,” means to "proceeded to give and kept on giving them to speak out loudly and boldly.”
e. That is, they used their tongues, their muscles; they spoke. However, the words did not come from their own minds or thinking.
f. The Spirit gave them what to speak—and they expressed it boldly, loudly, and with obvious anointing and power.
g. This was the one sign of the baptism in the Holy Spirit that was repeated (Horton, Acts: A Logion Press Commentary).
h. They had expected, and now they were experiencing the Spirit's power!
5. Their experience brought incredible results. In v. 47 Luke says, "all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved."
a. Others saw their unity, their devotion to God, their daily worship in the temple, and their love for one another.
b. From Acts 1:8 we can be sure they continually witnessed to others in the power of the Spirit.
c. Thus the Lord kept adding to the Church day by day "those who were being saved."
d. These the Church joyfully accepted, we may be sure (Horton, Acts: A Logion Press Commentary).
B. Expectations Become Experience
1. Illustration: Twice in the past year I have taken my good friend Cole Kirby to see my favorite guitarist Phil Keaggy. The last concert we attended together ended with Cole turning to me, with an absolute glow on his face, saying, "Phil Keaggy is AMAZING!" However, what really brought joy to my heart was hearing Cole defend Phil to some doubters. He said, "You cannot appreciate how good he is by listening to one of his CD's; you have to experience him playing live."
2. We learn to appreciate what God has promised when we experience it.
a. Acts 3:7-8 (NLT)
Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.
b. You appreciate the oasis after you have walked in the desert.
c. You appreciate the championship after you have experienced a losing season.
d. You appreciate what you have when you have gone without.
e. You appreciate the blessings of God when you have gone through a spiritual desert.
f. Get ready to rejoice because the blessings are coming!
3. We will never experience the blessings if we don't expect them.
a. James 1:6-7 (NASB)
But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
b. IF we don't expect we won't experience.
c. If we don't believe we won't receive.
d. If we do expect God will deliver.
e. If we do expect God will amaze.
Transition: But here we must ask ourselves a question: how did they move from expecting to experiencing? The answer is in...
III. Spiritual Expediting (Acts 1:14).
A. Constantly United In Prayer
1. How did the disciples get from point A to point B? From expecting to experiencing?
2. They did through spiritual expediting!
a. What is spiritual expediting?
b. The word expediting means, "to make an action or a process happen sooner or be accomplished more quickly."
c. So what did they do to expedite the process?
3. If we go back to Acts 1:14 we find the answer. It says, "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."
a. They kept an atmosphere of prayer and, as Luke 24:53 shows, united prayer and joyful praise with expectation of the outpouring of the Spirit were their chief occupation during these days.
b. They were asking for the promised gift of the Spirit.
c. United prayer and praise with expectation that God will fulfill His promise was common in Acts and is still important if we want to see fresh outpourings of the Spirit (Horton, Acts: A Logion Press Commentary).
d. There is a clear biblical principle at work here; we appropriate the blessings of God with obedience to His Word.
e. We talk about this a lot when it comes to tithing a finances, but the reality is that this principle is true in every area of our lives.
f. It is particularly true when it comes to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
g. If you want what God promises you have to do what God says!
B. A Praying Church
1. Illustration: The last word from Jesus was, "Go back! Go back to Jerusalem and wait until are endued with power from on high." Luke 24:49) But, Master, the world is dying! Let it die! But men are hungry! Let them be hungry! But hearts are breaking! Let them break! But multitudes are being lost! Let them be lost rather than you attempt the Divine work without the Divine power! Go back, go back to that upper room, back to your knees, back to searching your own heart, back to waiting and back to praying, back until you have come to the condition of heart and of life where your personal Pentecost shall come, and then go. Oh, then you will find that the works that Christ did you can do. Filled with the Spirit, miracles shall become the commonplace of your daily experience.—Samuel Chadwick
2. Prayer unleashes the blessings of God.
a. 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT)
Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
b. Prayer unleashes God's blessings by humbling our hearts before Him.
c. Prayer unleashes God's blessings by bringing us to a place of repentance.
d. Prayer takes our expectation and expedites our experience.
3. Prayer transforms worry and fear into trust and belief.
a. Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
b. As C.S. Lewis once said, "I don't pray because it changes God; I pray because it changes me!"
c. It changes my fear and worry into trust and faith.
d. It changes my mind into trusting what God says instead of what I see.
e. It changes my heart from depending in my own abilities to expecting God's provision.
4. But what if it feels like my prayers are bouncing off the ceiling? Keep praying!!
a. Matthew 7:7-8 (NLT)
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
b. Even if it feels like nothing is happening; keep praying!
c. Even if it feels like God isn't listening; keep praying!
d. Keep on asking; and God will hear.
e. Keep on seeking; and God will act.
f. Keep on knocking; and God will answer.
Conclusion
1. I think that it is important to realize where we need to be going and how we need to get there.
2. The early church teaches us about the need for...
a. Spiritual Expectation
b. Spiritual Experience
c. Spiritual Expediting
3. Are you expecting God to move?
4. Do you need to experience a personal Pentecost?
5. Are you doing what it takes to expedite an outpouring of the Spirit in your life?
