A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM: Today in America we often see a powerless Christianity.
- We see a church in America that is by many measures in decline.
- The numbers attending have been decreasing for many years.
- We have many churches that are closing and many more that are on life support.
- The demographics of those attending lean older, meaning that if the current trends continue then over the next 20 years we are going to see an acceleration of the decline and cessation of many congregations.
- Among churches that are growing, almost all are growing by transfer growth. That means that they are increasing as people come from other churches. Only about one-third of one percent of American churches are growing by conversion growth at a significant pace. That's a tiny drop of churches that are seeing the Great Commission lived out in front of them.
- We have a culture that still gives some respect to Christianity, but it’s generally just a hollow shell of faith. There is little talk of an empowered faith. Instead it’s often a cultural religion that speaks to identity rather than transformation. It’s a relic faith that looks more toward a societal past rather than a Christlike future.
- The reputation of Christians within society is tied to words like hypocrisy. People don’t see us living out the teachings of Christ. In some cases, people think that being a Christian is more of a political statement than a religious one.
- When you add all this up, it’s not a pretty picture.
- Now, I think it’s worth noting, especially for those who don’t follow global Christianity trends, that this is not the way the church is everywhere today. In Asia and Africa we are seeing powerful moves of God. So the issue here is not that the Bible makes this promise and we’ve never seen it happen anywhere or we aren’t seeing it happening anywhere today.
- One of the sad aspects of the largely powerless Christianity that we are seeing today in America is that we have come to accept that as being normal.
- If a church has a few people saved during the year, we are grateful that it wasn’t zero.
- If a church sees their attendance stay steady for a few years, we are thankful that we aren’t in decline.
- If a church is able to stay open, we are thankful that they didn’t have to close their doors.
- Gone in most cases is the hope of seeing God do great things. Gone in most cases is the hope of seeing dramatic church growth. Gone in most cases is the hope of seeing a spate of baptisms.
- One of the great, old questions that preachers have asked for generations is worth a moment here. The question is, “If the Holy Spirit didn’t show up to your church this week, could you tell the difference?”
- In many cases we have taken charge of things and are relying on our own skills and resources. Therefore in many cases we wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
- As we think about this situation that we’re in, it’s important that we not allow ourselves to look around at what is and tell ourselves that is the way it is meant to be. We need to return to the Scripture and look there, asking what God told us He intended to do.
- And if what God said He intended to do doesn’t match up to what we see Him doing, we need to ask where we got off track and how we can get back to where He wants us to be.
WHAT WAS PROMISED: God said that His Holy Spirit would be “poured out.”
- Ezekiel 39:29.
- Joel 2:28, 29; Zechariah 12:10; Acts 2:17, 18, 33; Acts 10:45; Titus 3:6.
- This is an interesting and important phrase: “poured out.”
- I want to look at a few verses and unpack what the Bible says about it, then we will get into the practical implications of it.
- We start here in Ezekiel 39:29.
- We have the promise here that the Holy Spirit is going to be poured out. The specific context is Israel. This promise also shows up with the specific phrase “poured out” in Joel 2 and Zechariah 12 too. (The promise that the Holy Spirit will be given to Israel shows up in other passages too without that phrase.)
- Turn with me to Acts 2. In vv. 17 and 18 we see Peter quoting in the inaugural sermon of the church this promise. He is actually quoting the Joel reference but the wording is the same as Ezekiel - the Spirit is going to be poured out.
- Now, what is the context in Acts 2? Obviously being in Acts the death and resurrection of Jesus have already happened. That's important. We are in a new era brought by the sacrifice and triumph of Christ over sin and death. In Acts 1 we have Jesus telling the disciples goodbye and then miraculously ascending to heaven. He has told the disciples their first job: wait for the Holy Spirit. They don’t really know what exactly that means, but they know they need to do what Jesus tells them to do. At the beginning of Acts 2, we have the promise fulfilled: the Holy Spirit arrives. They are all empowered to speak other languages and as they go out into the packed Jerusalem streets people are enthralled by these men speaking languages they shouldn’t know. Then Peter steps forward to preach the church’s inaugural sermon. It’s telling that the first thing (after assuring the crowd that they aren’t drunk) in his sermon is this Old Testament reference to the Holy Spirit being poured out. That obviously puts a lot of importance on this promise!
- As we look down at v. 33, we see Peter let everyone know this was an action of Christ. Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit, in accordance with the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
- This puts the action here in its rightful place in the story of Jesus. Jesus comes to earth, teaches, heals, lives, dies, and is resurrected. Jesus is clear, especially late in the gospel of John, that the long-term plan is for Him to go away and for the Holy Spirit to come. The disciples don't really know what to do with this information, but they note that this is what Jesus is saying. It’s only at Pentecost and the tongues-of-fire moment in Acts 2 that the disciples get a taste of what Jesus was talking about. The Holy Spirit has shown up on the scene.
- One final note: in Acts 2 the gospel was only being preached to the Jews. But that's going to change.
- Now look with me at Acts 10:45. Here we see the same phrase: “poured out.”
- What’s the context here? It’s the story of Peter being sent by a vision to preach the gospel to Gentiles and the Holy Spirit showing that was something that God was blessing.
- Of course, Peter gets in big trouble with the Jews when they hear that he has done this, but when he tells them the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles, they can’t argue with that. God is apparently going to save Gentiles too.
- So the Old Testament promises about God pouring out the Holy Spirit on the Jews was accurate, but God intended to go beyond that and make the gospel available to the whole world. (There are other Old Testament passages that point us toward that reality.)
- So this is a further fulfillment of the promises.
- Turn with me finally to Titus 3:6.
- The plan is that the Holy Spirit is to be poured out on all Christians. That includes us today. This was not simply an early church thing or an apostles’ thing. It’s for us as well.
- When we think of the idea of “poured out” we are not talking about a stingy giver. We are talking about God being generous in what He’s given to us.
- I’m reminded of a song that the head deacon at my first church used to sing in worship sometimes. It was my favorite song that he sang. The title was “I’m Drinking From My Saucer (‘Cause My Cup Has Overflowed).” I know that's a little bit of a hokey title, but it contains a great truth about the way we are meant to be living the Christian life.
- This should cause us to stop and ask a simple question: are we experiencing this in our lives? We know that the Word of God can be trusted, so the problem isn’t that Paul was lying to us. The problem must be on our end. What are we missing? Where have we gotten off track?
WHY AREN'T WE SEEING AN OUTPOURING OF THE SPIRIT?
1. SOME ARE UNAWARE OF THAT PART OF THE SALVATION PLAN.
- Romans 8:1-17.
- When you read the first half of Romans, we have Paul explaining what salvation looks like. His explanation can be divided into four parts. First, we need to repent, because we are sinners. Second, we accept Jesus’ death for us on the cross, because that opens the door to having a relationship with God and receiving forgiveness for our sins. Third, after that second step happens, we are then a new creation in Christ, with the Holy Spirit within and a new nature that has the capacity to live for God (though we are still tempted). Finally (and this is what’s important for us this morning), we are to walk forward in the power of the Holy Spirit.
- As I’ve mentioned, when Jesus was finishing His time with His disciples, He told them that He was going to leave but that He would send them the Holy Spirit. This is a fundamental part of the plan. The Holy Spirit is given to us to empower us to be able to live for God.
- Too often today we largely ignore that part or we’ve never been taught that part.
- Unfortunately, in many churches the only thing that gets preached about salvation is “believe in Jesus.” That is certainly important and the center of our hope! But there is more on both sides. We also need to acknowledge that we are sinners. That's the reason we need to believe in Jesus. But today there are many who don’t want to admit they are sinners. Then we need to understand that we have been changed. I was a sinner saved by grace but after receiving Christ my core identity is that I am a new creation in Christ, capable of living for Him. And then finally, and most to our point this morning, I walk forward in the power of the Holy Spirit. He has been given to me so that I can live in victory. He has been given to me so that I can have comfort in struggles. He has been given to me so that I can have guidance from the Father.
- But people often don’t know what to do with the Spirit. He’s a mystery. Or people think the Spirit is just for Pentecostals and having special gifts. There is a lot of misunderstanding and confusion surrounding the Holy Spirit, even among Christians who have been believers for decades. It’s easy to shy away from all this because we don’t understand this as easily as we may grasp the idea of Jesus’ death on the cross. But we shouldn’t lean away from it. We need to seek a deeper understanding. We need to want more of the Spirit.
2. SOME DON'T LIKE BEING DEPENDENT.
- 2 Timothy 1:7.
- We like to run the show. We like to be in charge. We like to make things happen. It’s a very American way to do things.
- We don’t like being dependent.
- And I get that. It’s not an easy position to be in.
- But 2 Timothy 1:7 teaches us that our power comes from the Holy Spirit. Our love comes from the Holy Spirit. Our self-discipline comes from the Holy Spirit. We are supposed to rely on the Holy Spirit to give us those things.
- Maybe the most helpful way to think about this is that there is a good side and a bad side to being dependent.
- Let’s start with the bad side. The bad side is that it’s difficult and we don’t like it. We’d rather do it ourselves. We’d rather be in charge.
- What’s the good side? The good side is that if we are willing to be dependent on the Holy Spirit, we get to have so much more power than we would have if we only rely on ourselves. The Holy Spirit is obviously so much more powerful than us. He is so much more wise than us. He is so much more sinless than us. If we are able to be dependent and make ourselves conduits of His power, there is a potential for so much more power happening in our lives. But it requires that we rely on Him.
3. SOME DON'T WANT THAT MUCH OF GOD IN THEIR LIVES.
- A third and final reason is that some people don’t want that much of God in their lives.
- There are people who want a respectable amount of God in their lives. They want to come to church on Sunday and be engaged by the singing and preaching. They want to have comfort at a funeral that there is hope beyond the grave. They want a little bit of religion in their lives.
- But they don’t want to follow Jesus in all things. They don’t want to run every decision through prayer. They don’t want to have to make difficult changes to their personal habits. They don’t want to have to give us pet sins that they think they have under control. They don’t want that much of God in their lives.
- When you’re in that situation, this offer of the Spirit being poured out on us doesn’t sound amazing and inviting, it sounds excessive.
- “I’m doing just fine on my own, thank you very much.”
- “I’ve got things under control.”
- Some see the idea of the Spirit being poured out on our lives not as a generous offer from God but as a hostile takeover of their lives.
- This raises a worthwhile question: how much of the Holy Spirit do I want in my life?
- Do I want His guidance in everyday things?
- Do I want His rebuke when I’m going off track?
- Do I want Him to burden me about things that the Father is concerned about?
- Do I want His direction even when it’s not where I was planning on going?
- There is obviously an incredible upside to having the Spirit moving powerfully in your life. But it requires giving over control and that's something that many don’t want to do.
HOW CAN WE EXPERIENCE MORE OF THE SPIRIT'S OUTPOURING? The first step is expectation.
- We’ve talked about a lot this morning. Some of you may feel like you’re already experiencing this in your life. Some of you may feel like you’re a million miles away from this.
- I think the best place to close is a simple question: if you’re not where you want to be on this issue, what’s the first step? Where do you begin?
- I think the answer to that question is the word expectation.
- What do I mean by that?
- The Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood member of the Trinity. Many Christians just don’t know what to do with Him. Often that simply leads to ignoring Him.
- But what we’ve talked about this morning has at least given the broad outlines of what He is supposed to do in our lives. In light of that, the first step is cultivating an expectation that the Holy Spirit can and should be doing these things in my life. This is what He’s here for!
- Look with me again at Ezekiel 39:29, where we started this morning. Allow me to emphasize the words we’ve been focused on in this message: “poured out.” I want you to think again about those words: the Father has generously and abundantly poured out the Spirit upon us. No skimping. No scrimping. Poured out.
- In light of that we need to raise our expectation of what God is willing to do in our lives through the Holy Spirit. Quit expecting so little - almost nothing! Raise your expectation that God is not only willing but eager to pour out the Spirit upon us.
