What a difference a day can make!
The last Sunday I was here I was not preaching. I came to watch the dedication service that was here a couple of weeks ago.
What a wonderful day that was.
To see this building full of people.
To see this building full of people who are really nice people.
Nice people who are unchurched people -
people who as yet have not discovered who Jesus is for themselves.
Yet they were here, in church.
And I stood there at the back of the church greeting people as they arrived, and watching them take their seats.
And I had a massive smile on my face and joy in my heart.
Then I thought about why the people were here.
Now I know they came for the dedication.
But why were they really here.
And the answer is simple.
Someone invited them.
Someone invited them and they came.
In fact - people who do not regularly attend our church, invited people who have never had any contact with our church - and the people came.
These people came to the dedication and heard about Jesus. They came because they were invited.
Here’s the thing.....
For all the joy I had - I actually began to feel a little sad.
People who do not regularly attend our church invited people who have never had any contact with our church and the people came.
So why should that make me sad...
To answer that, let me ask you a question,
When was the last time you invited someone to come to church?
Church member, church regular, when was the last time you actually opened your mouth and asked someone to come to hear about Jesus?
That’s what made me sad.
We say Jesus is important.
We say we believe He is the Way, the Truth and the life.
We say that we have placed our trust in Him.
We say that Our sins are forgiven because of Him.
We say we love Him.
But we never invite anyone to meet with Him for themselves.
Do we worry about what people will think about us
Do we worry they may say no.
Or are we are even more worried that if we actually asked they might say yes.
And that might lead to questions about what we believe and maybe we just don’t feel confident enough to answer.
Friends, we need to allow God the opportunity to be God.
We need to give our friends, our family, our colleagues, our neighbours, and everyone else you can think of, the opportunity to discover who Jesus is.
So will you invite someone to come to church?
To come and hear about Jesus for themselves.
To come to the point where they understand that they need to be forgiven.
To give them the opportunity to know Jesus as their Saviour and Lord.
To give them the opportunity to accept the truth that you have experienced yourself.
To give them the opportunity to experience a turning point in their lives.
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Actually, this morning we are going to consider an important turning point for the church
and the difference a single day can make.
In our Fresh Fire Series, this month we will be looking at The Holy Spirit in the book of Acts.
And our focus today is on the fulfillment of one of the promises Jesus made.
The Day of Pentecost was a day Jesus had promised his disciples would happen.
One single day that would be a turning point for the church.
The day that the Holy Spirit would come.
The Holy Spirit, the empowerer, the advocate, the comforter,
The One that would empower God’s people, to do great and might things for the kingdom of God.
The One that would change hearts.
The One that would change lives.
The One that would bring blessing.
The One that would even enable people to be bold enough to invite someone to church.
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Jesus had told them to wait in Jerusalem, and they waited.
They waited for 120 days.
Then God’s promise was fulfilled.
listen to Acts 2:1-4
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.
That day, this was the turning point in the lives of the disciples, and for the church.
Maybe, you can you pick out a time,
a date,
a specific event in your life,
something that you can point to that and say, “That was a real turning point in my life.”
Maybe it was the day you fell in love.
Maybe it was the day you got married.
Maybe it was it was the day you first child was born.
Maybe it was the day you were invited to church for the first time?
Maybe it was the day when you got it, when you realised who Jesus really is, and you asked Him to forgive you and save you.
Whatever it was, Life was never the same again was it?
We all have had turning points in our lives, it’s almost a way of marking our way through this life.
Could it be that this morning, God wants you to have a Turning Point in your Spiritual Life?
A turning point that will empower you to be more than you ever though of.
Could it be that this morning you will allow the Holy Spirit to lead you further in your journey?
Could it be this morning that you allow God to use you for His glory and for His purposes?
The Bible clearly teaches us that we are meant to be living a life LED AND EMPOWERED by the Holy Spirit.
For us to experience all that God has for us - in all its fullness we are meant to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us and fill us.
Friends, are you living a life led by the Holy Spirit or do you refuse to let Him have control in your life?
Have you allowed the Holy Spirit to bring real change to your life?
Has your life been turned around by His presence and power or are continuing to live in the way you have always lived?
Saul of Tarsus, was one of the most feared men in all of the world.
He was feared by Christians?
Not because they were worried that if they invited him to church he might say no.
Saul was feared because hewas on a mission,
a crusade, and he thought it was a crusade for God
Saul thought he was doing things for God, when in reality he was fighting against him plans and purposes.
In Acts Chapter 9, Saul was on his way to Damascus - to seek and persecute anyone who claimed to be a follower of Jesus.
Saul was one of the people who had Steven stoned to death because he was a Christian.
There had been many others Saul had persecuted, and Christians feared him.
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Sometimes in life,
when we think we have all the plans right,
when we’ve made all the right moves,
when we’ve taken every possible detail into account,
sometimes God has other plans.
Saul had everything planned, he was on a mission, a crusade, he was giving all he had, and he did it with great passion.
But Saul had one of those turning points.
It was a God moment.
Listen to Saul’s encounter with the Lord in
Acts 9:3-9
As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.
And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one! Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.
This was the turning point.
Jesus appeared to Saul, spoke to him, confronted him about what he was doing, and Jesus humbled him by causing Him to be blind.
Saul the one who seemed to have it all figured out, who could see what needed to be done and was getting it done, the one who had such clear vision, God stepped in and in essence said, “Your just a man, helpless with out me.”
I’ve come to realize that I’m just a man,
helpless without God in my life,
leading me, helping me, guiding my paths,
my thoughts and my dreams.
What place does the Holy Spirit have in your life?
When you make a decision, do you pray?
Do you ask for God to help you to listen for the leading of the Spirit?
In my own spiritual journey, I have discovered the times when I feel the farthest from God, are the times I neglect, or quench the Holy Spirit.
How do we do that?
Lack of prayer; God’s Word tells us to always be in an attitude of prayer, in other words, we can always be ready to communicate with the Holy Spirit -- that’s what prayer is, -- talking to God.
We also neglect the Spirit when we don’t study God’s Word.
It’s the Holy Spirit who teaches what the Word means, it’s the Spirit that uses the Word to convict, to encourage, to discipline, to instruct us.
The Bible, The Word of God is a vital part of allowing the Holy Spirit access in our lives.
Another way to neglect or quench the Spirit is disobedience.
When we know God wants us to do something, and we choose to do the opposite, we sin and that grieves the Holy Spirit.
Saul, as we know, He gives His Life to the Lord through this experience, and God sends a Christian man named Ananias to go to Saul and pray for Him and help explain what God is doing.
Listen to Acts 9 Verse 17-19. So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength.
God had already told Ananias that Saul was going to tell others who Jesus was.
God had plans for Saul, plans that would ultimately spread the truth about Jesus around the world.
Plans that would happen after this turning point in Sauls life.
After Saul decided to follow Christ and was filled with the Spirit.
Saul has a total transformation.
His life is one of the most dramatic turning points recorded in Scripture.
He became the greatest missionary the church has ever known.
He changed his allegiance to Christ,
he also changed His name to Paul, as a outward way of saying what had happened on the inside.
What a difference a day makes!
Yesterday - Saul of Tarsus, persecutor of Christians.
Today - Paul, one of the greatest followers and proclaimer’s of Christ.
So what was the difference?
The difference was Christ and being filled with the Holy Spirit, he was never the same again.
If there’s anything the 21st Century church really needs more of,
it’s Christians who are on fire for Jesus,
Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit.
Christians who are willing to be used by God.
Christians who are willing to ask God to do what He has promised He will do.
That we will be filled with the Spirit and proclaim the Good News of Jesus.
Friends, where are you this morning?
Are you stuck in yesterday?
Are you stuck in the before?
Or are you ready to experience all of what God has for you?
Are you willing to fully Trust Him?
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This morning as I have been speaking, I know the Holy Spirit has been dealing with each of us in some way,
not because I’m some super spiritual person,
but I know because God’s Word tells me that the Holy Spirit is faithful to speak to your hearts and minds as God’s Word is preached.
It is the Holy Spirit that brings conviction,
not the preacher, the Holy Spirit.
So as the Holy Spirit has been dealing with us,
as the Holy Spirit has been dealing with you he will make it clear what you need to do in response.
He is nudging you, that’s not some emotional trick, it’s God the Holy Spirit working in you.
But God is not going to force you into anything, He has given you free will, He has given you choice.
So what is your choice this morning?
Are you going to choose to obey the Holy Spirit and pray and ask God to fill afresh with The Spirit?
God has promised that He will do it, it’s a free gift, just as salvation is free.
What is required of you is this.
You need to allow Jesus Christ to be Lord of your life.
Not just on Sunday mornings from 10:20 till noon, but You must commit to Him every day, every area of your life.
If your ready for a real transformation,
for a real turn around in your life,
then ask God to fill you afresh with the Holy Spirit.
Allow the Power of God to work in you.
Allow The Holy Spirit to work in you so that the fruit of the Spirit may be evident in your life:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Those are the characteristics that God will produce in your life as you keep in step with the spirit.
To be the person God has called you to be.
To be the people God has called and created us to be, we need to put ourselves in His hands and be filled with His Holy Spirit.
To be the church that God wants us to be we must be a people who are filled with the Spirit so we can have the witness, the power, the Love to make a difference in our community.
Friends, our greatest need is not finances, it’s not buildings, it’s not anything material, what we need is everyone of us giving ourselves to God, and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Has The Holy Spirit spoken to you this morning.
Has He spoke to you, convicted you?
What is your decision, will you pray and tell God that you want to give everything you to Him,
your life, your future, your all?
What a difference a day can make.
Today is a turning point, today.
What are you going to choose to do?
