Title: What Does it mean to be a Pentecostal
To discuss this question we must talk about the Holy Spirit.
Text: ACTS 2:1-4
The most remarkable aspect of this era that we live in is The pouring out of the Holy Spirit
Many times people in the church relegate the experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit to an historical event.
The simplest way to understand the reason for the outpouring of the spirit is that
The Holy Spirit came to make Jesus real To make God personal To draw us And correct us
The Holy Spirit is not just a doctrine, he is a person He has probably been the most misrepresented and maligned person of the trinity He has been ignored and grieved
But God has used Pentecostals to raise up a standard to hold fast to the integrity of the person of the Holy Spirit.
Pentecostals don’t relegate Him to an "it", we personalize Him, and he personalizes God.
Tonight I want to proclaim to you that we are a Pentecostal Church
-Not because we like fancy titles -Not because we speak in tongues -Not because we want to separate ourselves from other denominations -NOT BECAUSE WE THINK WE ARE BETTER
but we are a Pentecostal church
Because we believe every Christian deserves to have the fullness of the Holy Spirit… The promise of God…
John 14:15 "If you love me you will obey what I command, and I will ask the father, and he will give you another counselor to be with you forever -
GOD HELP US TO BE THE CHURCH GOD INTENDED THAT WE WOULD BE.
PRAYER
I. WRONG EMPHASIS
From the beginning there has been a receiving of the Holy Spirit,
but a wrong motivation or emphasis in the heart of man as to the use and purpose of that gift -soon developed.
Acts 8:9-10 "Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great., and people both high and low gave him their attention and exclaimed
"This man is the divine power known as the great power"
vs 18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of hands he offered the Apostles money and said "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
Simon desired the power, because he wanted people to look at him. He had an inner desire to be seen as
"The divine power known as the great power"
In recent decades there has been an emphasis upon persons receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit for an -Inner illumination, -A spiritual power -An emotional release
But the thrust of the New Testament is empowerment
Not for our sakes
II. The real purpose Empowerment For Service.
For you and I have a great task before us in this day of PENTECOST
Matthew 28:18-20
? I ask you Is he going to leave us powerless to perform this service.. NO...
Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me".
It occurred to me
If God has set before us a Harvest/ and a great commission to reap that harvest.
If God has set before us a Job to do then he will surely set before us the equipment for the Job.
I believe that God gives his disciples the right tool for the right job.
Now you would not use
-a wrench as a hammer -knife as a screw driver -a piece of paper as a dust pan using the wrong tool for the job.
instead you would use a hammer to drive a nail a screw driver for a screw and a dust pan as a dust pan.
Men and women’s efforts and ingenuity cannot accomplish the task of the harvest, of taking the gospel to the whole world.
Many churches try to use the wrong tool for the job set before them.
They use - Skill, - Intelligence, - Money, - Beauty, - Reputation - Eloquence of speech - Talent
They say, "Let us build the most beautiful and friendly church in town and then we will have fulfilled the great commission.
They do these things, because they think that putting their best foot forward is God’s way of completing the task.
What God Really Wants
Are yielded people divinely empowered by the Holy Spirit.
God intended that the task of taking the gospel to the whole world take place through a people who replicate the POWER OF JESUS
not Wall Street or Hollywood.
We are a Pentecostal Church
And you should wear the badge of Pentecostal with honor
III. Marks of a Pentecostal Christian?
To be a Pentecostal Christian Is to desire God in such a way as to expect every gift and every grace that was present in the first century
To be present in the church now..
The gospel must come in word However it must come
I Thessalonians 1:4-5 "not simply with words but also with a demonstration of power with the Holy Spirit, and deep conviction."
"And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up snakes with their hands, and when they drink deadly poison it will not hurt them at all, they will place their hands on sick people and they will get well." Mark 16:17-18
To be a Pentecostal is to live in, long for, and expect the power of God in our lives and our church services.
It is to invite and expect the moving of the Holy Spirit in the giving of Spiritual gifts Like TONGUES AND INTERPRETATION PROPHECY HEALING MIRACLES KNOWLEDGE WISDOM AND DISCERNMENT
And it is to regularly respond to the word of God at the alter and to Permit the spirit access to the deepest recesses of our being
THAT WE MIGHT BE CHANGED
To be a Pentecostal Christian
Should mean that we are hungry and thirsty for nothing less then a full-fledged experience with God.
We are a people of relationship -- Not Religion We are part of an organism -- Not Just an organization.
And Because we know and experience Christ we can effectively
-Oppose worldliness -Suppress the flesh -Rebuke the devil -Defeat the enemy’s strongholds -Bring the gospel to the ends of the earth
And live a holy life in the strength of his Holy Presence in us….
To be a Pentecostal Christian
Is to be willing to be expanded by God
To daily submit our will to his that we might bear the fruit of the spirit in our lives toward all mankind
LOVE JOY PEACE PATIENCE KINDNESS TEMPERANCE MEEKNESS SELF CONTROL
You go to some churches, and Christians are sitting back in services comfortably saying I have done my part,
When I came here and met you folks, ready willing and able to minister, desiring to grow and be expanded, I thought to myself
We are going to move mountains together through this ministry.
To be a Pentecostal Christian Is to worship God in spirit and in truth in Known and unknown languages.
Some people confuse the Pentecostal Baptism in the Holy Spirit / with Tongues.
Tongues is one of the evidences we look for when a person is filled, but it is not the end…its only the beginning.
History records the life of Smith Wigglesworth one of the great Pentecostal Preachers of the last century.
Wigglesworth was a hungry man who desired to be filled with all God had for Him, so when he heard about Pentecostal Happenings in England He decided to Go and receive what ever God had for Him. While Wigglesworth was on his way he heard reports that what was occurring was demonic, but nothing could deter him from receiving power especially the experience of speaking in other tongues.
When he arrived he pressed members of the revival for a demonstration of tongues, he was told that he needed the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
This offended Wigglesworth, because he believed he had already received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as an act of sanctification.
He spent 4 days seeking God and packed to leave disappointed that he had not received tongues.
Before he left, the evangelist’s wife asked if she could pray for him to receive the Holy Spirit.
Wigglesworth agreed - He reported " The power of God fell upon my Body with such ecstasy of joy that I could not satisfy the joy within with my natural tongue, then I found the Spirit speaking through me in other tongues."
Wigglesworth left the revival a changed man, as he put it, ’One time I thought I had the Holy Ghost. Now I know the Holy Ghost has me."
I was reading a book about the baptism in the Holy Spirit written by a man who desired to be true to the scriptures, but did not accept modern day tongues speaking to be from God.
The reason he gave for being in doubt about tongues for today was that he had no impericle evidence that demonstrated what tongues was like…so he could not be sure if it was real or not.
Why do you think it is that God calls it unknown tongues
Its nothing you can learn
Its nothing that stands the test of impiricle evidence.
It’s a supernatural manifestation that demonstrates that one has been filled.
Conclusion:
God wants to fill people with the Holy Spirit He wants to be your co-worker to accomplish the task before us
