Acts 1:8 You will RECEIVE POWER when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be energized with “explosive power.” Power is the Greek word “ dunamis ” from which we get our word dynamite. The energy of the Holy Spirit will transform your life, in the same way that dynamite was used on a mountain side in the black hills of South Dakota which now bears the images of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. In the same way the “ dunamis ” power of the Holy Spirit will transform you from the inside out.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is not just to make you feel good; it’s more than just God giving you a prayer language so you can speak in tongues. When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, our lives should bear the invisible imprint of Jesus.
Why did Jesus say that the dynamite power of God would come upon believers? To equip or enable them to be witnesses of Christ in their world. You are empowered by God’s Spirit, so that as you interact with people around you Christ is made known–both by what we say, and how we live our lives.
Thomas Aquinas said, “Go preach the gospel, use word if you have to.” Your life and mine should be marked by the character of Jesus, so that our testimony–our life story as told in words–is validated or proved by how we live.
Acts 2:4 ALL OF THEM were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues AS THE SPIRIT ENABLED THEM.
God is not going to overlook you; He will empower ALL who believe. The moment you acknowledge Christ as your personal Savior, the Holy Spirit entered your life and made you really alive; you were made new creation in Christ. That’s powerful! But the power does not stop there; the Holy Spirit remains in you life to continually empower and quicken your heart to be like Jesus.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is should set the match to the fuse; the explosive power of God working in your life is further evidence that your life is being transformed into the image of Jesus.
If you have not been baptized in the Spirit, then ask and expect God to fill you. Peter said in & Acts 2:38-39, "you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call." If you have not be baptized in the Holy Spirit, you need to be. If you have been filled, you need to be filled again–scripture teaches us to continually keep on being filled with the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God. You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
Can I put it simply to you? Your body is a temple; a temple that you have either dedicated to God, or a temple that you have defiled for God’s enemy Satan. Ultimately your life and mine is either lived for God or the devil.
Now if you have been saved, the Holy Spirt has entered His temple–your body; He is within you. Okay, now stay with me because I’m about to lose some of you I’m sure, and if I don’t lose you, you may not like what you hear–but it is the truth.
Because your body is a temple filled by the Holy Spirit, how does Paul say we should live? He says we should honor God with our bodies.
Why is that important? Because people around us will should recognize the INVISIBLE IMPRINT which marks our lives–whether good or evil.
EVERYONE--young and old, boys and girls, men and women; EVERYWHERE--American, Arab, Chineese, Indian, European, or African, the rich, poor and middle class--ALL OF US AS HUMAN BEINGS WILL BEAR AN IVISIBLE IMPRIT; an imprit of good or evil–the imprint of God or of Satan. Because our lives are not our own, and the Holy Spirit dwells within us, people should see the imprint of God upon our lives; God empowers our relationships by His presence in our lives, so that our family, friends and acquaintances might see Jesus in us.
What imprint will others see upon your life? How will you affect those you come in contact with each day? God wants to empower your relationships that others may see Him in you.
Every human being is a miracle. The mathematical odds that you would be born who you are through your parents is incredible. As your parents child, you bear their resemblance. No two individuals are exactly alike, and yet you can find family resemblances in each of us.
Likewise our lives can take on the imprint or family resemblance of our Father in heaven–& John 1:12 tells us that we can become children of God, and as His children our lives should then be marked by His presence.
Now if we don’t have the invisible imprint of God, then we will bear the family resemblance of God’s enemy Satan– & in John 8:44 Jesus tells the religious Pharisees that they belonged to their father the devil. Jesus didn’t mix words; He plainly stated that how these religious men were living bore the mark of Satan.
We can see how Jesus recognized this invisible imprint or family resemblance in the life of Peter as well:
Matthew 16:16-17, 21-23 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. . . From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
We may not want to say someone bears the invisible imprint of Satan, but Jesus did; He saw what marked an individual’s life. Each of us will either show the family resemblance of God’s family or Satan’s. What is the invisible imprint that marks your life, and which family does this imprint resemble?
There is no such thing as a morally neutral human being. You can neither coast through life free from moral choice, nor can you put your life in park and just remain where you are. Life is continually moving and you will respond to the situations and people that intersect your life. . . for good or evil.
The body–your life and mine–will express the presence of the spirit being which dominates your mind. Our world is dominated by evil; sin is everywhere. Therefore if we as believers are going to bear God’s resemblance–if His invisible imprint is going to mark our life, then we have to let His Spirit dominate our thinking. His Spirit is going to have to empower us to turn off our TV’s to meditate upon His Word. His Spirit will have to quicken us to get up early for time to pray. Unless we choose to respond to the impulses of the Spirit–to intentionally make room for God within our daily lives, Satan will find opportunities to crowd God out of our life and place his imprint upon us. What imprint are we likely to bear if we have no time for God?
What do people feel when they are around you? We are often more aware of how others make us feel than how our presence will affect others. We are often unaware of the invisible imprint upon our life; we are unconscious of how we make others feel, but we know how others make us feel.
Who do you know that you would describe as an angry person? I’m sure each of us would have our own list. These people intimidate you; they are porcipines who you can’t get close to.
What about the person who is overly sensitive--you know the one you have to walk on egg shells around? They are the kind of people who will motivate you through guilt.
Who do you know that is envious or jealous? Do you enjoy being with them?
Do you know any anxious people–fearful. They too are uncomfortable with intimacy.
Who do you know as a critical person, or as overbearingn. They have an opinion about everything, and of course they are always right.
What about pessimistic people–it rains everywehre they go--the light at the end of the tunnel is a frieght train.
How many of these people do you know that are in the church –those who are supposed to be Christians? Is it any wonder the world is turned off by the church? Is it possible that you have any of these characteristics?
We all live in the world but we are not of it. Peter called us, “aliens and strangers in this world” (1Peter 2:11).Our problem is we spend too much time WITH the world. Now I don’t mean that we should stay in our chruches safe within our "holy huddles" and never interact wtih those outside the church. How can we be salt and light to the world if the salt stays in the salt shaker and the light is only turned on in the sunlight? We must interact relationally with our world; the salt must come into contact with the meat, and the light must shine in dark places. When I say that we spend too much time with the world, I mean we spend to much time participating in the things of the world, thus we have no time to particpate in the things of God. If we have no time for God, then His invisible imprint may be missing from our lives.
What does God’s imprint look like? If we want to know what good looks like being lived out in a person’s life, then all we need to do is look at Jesus. God has given us the perfect example in Jesus; He lived His life within a sinful world and yet he was under the full control of the Spirit of God. No sin could be found in Him. The Apostle Paul defined some of the characteristics that were a part of Jesus’ life and will be a part or our lives as well in Galatians 5. The fruit of the Spirit describes the invisible imprint that should mark the lives of believers. This is how God wants to empower us to relate with others:
Galatians 5:22-25 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
How many people do you know who bear these marks? It is not by chance. Those whose lives are marked by the fruit of the Spirit are empowered by the Spirit; they keep in step with the Spirit.
What kind of person am I? I want to reflect Jesus; that people will recognize His imprint upon my life--but unfortunatley I’m still far from perfect. My daughter Chrysta lets me know when I’m grumpy. I don’t want to be grumpy...that is an angry person, but sometimes that how I’m seen–even when I don’t feel grumpy, but that’s what she feels around me sometimes. I need God’s help to overcome the grumpy spells.
What kind of person are you? Are you aware of where you need God’s help that His imprint will be seen within you?
As we conclude: God wants to empower your relationships–He wants you to bear His invisible imprint. God will give you everything you need to live a life that makes Him know to others.
2 Peter 1:3-4 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world cause by evil desires.
What did Peter tell us? First God has given us what? "Everything we need for life and godliness." God will empower your life; He will empower your relationships. Second, God has given these things in order that we might "participate in the divine nature." We will bear the invisible imprint of Jesus.
Let’s let God place His Imprint upon our lives; our family, friends, and acquaintances will notice.
