I have mentioned recently that the Lord operates in seasons with how and when He blesses His people.
In my own (personal) life, I have sensed different words of instruction and (especially) correction from God.
Perhaps the reason for this is that the Lord has so many things He is trying to set me straight on.
In fact, I’d like to testify that God has instructed and corrected me on a few things just since coming here. But maybe I am not the only one that feels that way.
I told those who were here last Wednesday night that I believe the Lord is moving our church in a new direction. God wants to refresh each of us with the anointing power of His Holy Spirit.
At the close of that service (on Wednesday) all of us were blessed and refreshed by the Holy Spirit.
My hope today is that we all will begin to appreciate what the Lord is doing for us in these days.
It is good to be a part of God’s family.
His blessings are great and abundant.
We know this by what we read at the opening of this morning’s service from Joel chapter two:
The threshing floors shall be filled with grain; the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.
Let’s pray before we read from God’s Word.
Prayer:
I anticipate a move of the Holy Ghost (in this body of believers) that will bring to us the New Wine and Oil. How about you?
In our teachings on Wednesday night, we have studied that it is (none other than) Jesus Himself Who has sent to us the anointing power of the Holy Ghost.
Jesus always gets all of the glory.
Jesus told the disciples in John 16:7 -
I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Jesus sends the Holy Spirit and gets all of the glory!
Text: John 14:8 through 17
The times you and I are living in are considered by most Bible scholars to be, “Pre-Revival”.
This is because these are the “Last Days”. I am pleased these are the “Last Days”. How about you?
You should know that in the early days of the Old Testament, the children of Israel needed the Lord to bless their crops of grapes and their olives. And as a result they were blessed with the New Wine and Oil.
The season for growing their crops was often long and without the much needed rain. Their growing season began with rain and often ended with rain.
God spoke to His people in Duet 11 and made this promise:
‘ I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.
How many of you are in need for the Lord to bring to you some of that “Early Rain and the Latter Rain”?
The Lord continued that promise on into the days of the New Testament. And thousands of years later, the Lord brought to the new believers the New Wine and Oil.
The Lord’s rain came to the children of God as He did great things (in His first rain) on the Day of Pentecost.
This event is recorded for us in Acts 2. It has been said that this was the “Early Rain”, and it was an exciting event in church history. But today we need the Lord to bless His people once again with His “Latter Rain”.
Church, the days are short. That is -
We are living in the last days before the return of Christ.
We need the Lord to rain down on us the awesome strength and power of His Holy Spirit.
We must have the abundance of the Lord’s Harvest. We need the New Wine and the Oil to, once again, anoint and strengthen our lives.
I truly want all of these things, but I challenge us with this thought. We need to expect God to pour out His New Wine and Oil in His way and in His time, not ours.
What do I mean by that?
Let me ask this:
1. What and how do we expect God to move?
2. Are we open for whatever God wants?
I ask this because when the Lord begins to move, I believe we should expect only one thing.
That is, God to do for His church the unexpected.
The next Great Revival and outpouring of the Holy Spirit will not necessarily look like, or be like, the last one.
I sincerely believe that I will be astonished, amazed and even overwhelmed with what God will do.
God is very mysterious in most of everything He does.
1 Corinthians 2:7 tells us:
…we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
In other words, His ways are seldom our ways.
We cannot allow ourselves to determine what and how God will move in our lives.
Having said all of that -
Let me clarify something that has been misunderstood in several churches I have ministered in times past.
Our text, today, gives to us a clear understanding of
the role that Jesus has in demonstrating the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus must receive from us all of the praise and glory.
You see, the typical mindset for many Christians is that while Jesus was born as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes laying in a humble manger, He was totally empowered with all of God’s anointing.
For the most part, I would have to agree.
Many believe that the baby Jesus had everything He ever needed to accomplish everything He would ever need to. And to an extent I suppose this is true.
But a more mature understanding of the scriptures tell us there is more to this story. Phil 2:6-7 tells us that Jesus:
…being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
but (Jesus) made Himself of no reputation (NIV, made Himself nothing), taking on the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
Jesus made Himself nothing for you and I.
Jesus made it so we could relate and understand Him.
Don’t misunderstand, Jesus never stopped being God. But we should know that Jesus willingly set aside His power, and took on man’s frail frame of flesh.
Let me explain. Consider the life of Christ. Little is known about Jesus until His water baptism and the descent of the Holy Spirit on Him in the form of a dove.
I would ask that you also consider that Jesus did what He did, and said what He said as a direct result of the overwhelming power and anointing of the Holy Spirit.
He did this to demonstrate to all of mankind the dramatic difference the anointing power of the Holy Spirit would make in our lives.
Jesus did not necessarily rely on the resources made available to Him from heaven and His Father.
Rather when I read about the teachings and the miracles of Christ, I see a man relying upon the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit.
And this same Holy Spirit is now available to each of us.
Jesus foretold us of the same power that would fall on us. In our text (in verse 12), we read:
…the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
I am patiently waiting for the Lord to demonstrate that in my life and in your life.
I dearly love and appreciate the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I have experienced these gifts on many occasions.
This is why I consider myself Pentecostal/Charismatic.
The few talents that I have are a direct result of what the Holy Spirit has done in my life over the years.
The manifestations of many supernatural experiences have had a dramatic influence on my life.
One particular miracle always comes to my mind when I think of the power of the Holy Ghost.
(Healings I witnessed as a teenager)
As wonderful as these experiences were, I am looking forward to the next outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
I sincerely believe the next outpouring to be unique and different from the one I witnessed as a teenager.
My hope is that it will be different the next time the wave of the Holy Spirit comes to my life.
I genuinely desire for the anointing to cause me to change. And not just the things around me.
I am referring to real changes that will change me and prepare me to live in eternity.
I am certain this is what God wants for me.
And this should be what I am looking forward to.
We, no doubt, will see powerful manifestations operating within the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
But we need to witness the Holy Spirit change you and I, inside and out. This should be the change of our life. And as a result of the next move of God, we will be more like Jesus. And less like our self.
It is Jesus Who will send the Holy Spirit to us once again. And it will be Jesus Who we will glorify.
We will be people of –
· Patience
· Love
· Joy
· Gentleness
· Self Control
· Peace
· Mercy
We will emulate Jesus. The great evangelist,
Jonathan Edwards said it well –
“I will not believe a man has been revived, until he takes on the nature of the Man Whom I worship.”
