[Note: this sermon is largely based on Calvin Miller’s work: "A View From the Fields".]
Any attempt to grow the church apart from the Holy Spirit will be disastrous! We can have the most clever programs conceivable, plan the most motivating promotions available, sing the sweetest songs and preach the most well-prepared sermons, but without the work of the Holy Spirit our efforts will be in vain.
The individual most essential for church growth is not the senior pastor, the outreach pastor, or any other human being. The Holy Spirit, the third person in the Trinity lit the fire on the Day of Pentecost! His fire will burn only on the individual or church bent on his purpose.
Before we get back to our text Scripture in Acts 2, witness the example of Eldad and Medad in Numbers chapter eleven. Moses and the seventy elders were visited by the Spirit at the Tabernacle, began prophesying and wouldn’t quit. (Verses 24-25)
Eldad and Medad were "laymen"; not "ordained preachers". Suddenly the Spirit captivated them too and they began prophesying. First Eldad preached and Medad said, "Amen", and then Medad preached and Eldad said, "Amen." Soon the entire camp gathered around them.
So you have Moses and the elders having a wonderful time - the fire of empowered preaching was theirs, their actions befited the tabernacle. Then came the word, "there’s revival in the camp too!"
At first the elders were surprised. "Who would begin preaching without checking with the committee in charge of the church calendar? Who do Medad and Eldad think they are?!"
A motion was made by Joshua to silence Eldad and Medad until they could be checked by the credentials committee and set aside for ordination. At this point Moses said, "Would to God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that THE LORD WOULD PUT HIS SPIRIT UPON THEM!"
Not only does that statement by the human author of the first five books of the Bible tell us that revival and church growth is a people’s movement - but it also illustrates that it is the work of God - the Holy Spirit.
There are three adjectives that describe the work of the Holy Spirit in His association with church growth.
1. The Holy Spirit is INDEPENDENT.
When I say the Holy Spirit is independent I mean what Jesus said in John 3:8 - "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
William Golding indicted us in "The Spire". His novel tells of a priest with a compulsion to add a four-hundred-foot tower and spire to his cathedral. Father Jocelin is advised against building the ill-fated tower. He presses on, however.
The builder, Roger Mason, digs in vain for a gravel base on which to lay the foundation stones. The digging disturbs graves in the cathedral floor, releasing all sorts of foul odors, especially during the rainy season. When the pit is already too deep and no gravel has yet appeared, the tower construction is begun anyway.
On its unsure foundation the tower is doomed. The stone columns sing in the agony of trying to hold the tower steady while resting on a spongy foundation.
Fearful communicants cease coming, and finally the great church is empty. Even the swallows leave their nests in the stone arches. The cathedral, though beautiful, is unsafe. The structure prevented worship within.
The symbolism is obvious. Structure can threaten renewal and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit loves spontaneity, freedom, creativity and openness. He is threatened by rigidity, tradition, and intricate programming. Too often we ask the Holy Spirit to "come in freedom and power - but leave the machinery intact."
Unwilling to disturb our cybernetics, we force the Spirit of God to do most of his work outside the constitution. So we had Eldad and Medad preaching in the camp. We had Wesley and St. Francis in the fields. We had General Booth on the slum sidewalks. Even Christ was evicted from the Nazarene synagogue.
The Spirit of God is like that. He cannot be turned on and off at will. Once He settles in on a man or congregation, He is there. Eldad and Medad would not be silent - even when asked.
In Acts 4, Annas, Caiaphas, Alexander and John commmanded Peter and John, "Not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus." But the independent Spirit sent Peter and John back into the marketplace, and they preached Christ there.
The man born blind (John 9) became born again stubborn under the Spirit’s influence. He gave witness to Jesus under duress of excommunication from the synagogue.
The dauntless Spirit, banned in Whitfield’s church houses, went to the fields.
I believe this is the characteristic of the Holy Spirit that causes many to fear him. We’re afraid of things we can’t schedule into the order of services. We don’t want anything in our services that can’t be cancelled in case of embarassment.
The Bible still teaches, "Let all things be done decently and in order." (1 Corin. 14:40) But we often overdo it.
Several years ago I attended a minister’s conference at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Nashville. The slate of speakers had been set, times had been scheduled and we all prayed for God to come down and speak to us.
We thought He was going to speak to us through the scheduled program, but when the Holy Spirit arrived the speaking of the speakers was cancelled. I’m sure they had all prepared to say impressive things. Instead the whole group found ourselves on our faces before God in prayer for hours.
Personal testimonies by preachers with broken hearts gushed forth spontaneously. Some told of how they would have to have God’s fresh annointing on their ministries or they would have to soon start another occupation. Others told of spiritual obstacles they had been trying to move in their churches for years to no avail.
We wept together and prayed together until the early hours of the morning, long after the conference was scheduled to conclude. Waiters from the hotel would come to door to check on us and tip toe away when they saw scores of ministers in suits and ties prostrate on the floor in supplication and intercession to God.
You’d better be ready when you sing, "Holy Spirit, Breathe On Me." A lot of Christians are afraid to have Him breathe down their necks - so they hold back. And when they do - the work of God, revival and church growth, suffers.
To the person in the comfortable pew the Holy Spirit may seem more Disturber than Comforter. Invite Him all the way into your life and service!
Since the Holy Spirit is independent of our structure - we must give Him time for His work, and we must give Him space. We must pray that His presence hallow the people more than the programs. He will not work otherwise.
When there are conflicts between our programs and God’s program - we must yield to Him! We must be willing to grant independence to the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit comes there is revival. When true revival comes, church growth is a natural corollary.
Many times we want part of what He brings - like wanting the church to grow for instance - but we don’t want to yield to the Holy Spirit.
2. Secondly, the Holy Spirit is Intrepid.
(Less I lose you, Webster defines "intrepid = resolutely fearless; dauntless.")
I don’t want to be deemed sacriligious, but the best illustration I can think of here is the little contraption a fellow student brought to to theology class years ago during my undergraduate studies.
This gadget was in the form of a box with a button on it. When you push the button a recording played laughter.
A demonstration of the unique purpose of this "laughing box" was given when the owner accidentally bumped the button that set off the recorded laughter. His face turned red as he realized he had interupted the good professor’s lecture on some serious theological subject. But it was too late!
Once the "laughing box" was started, you could not make it stop laughing until the recording played out! Since nothing is as infectious as laughter, we all began laughing too. Pretty soon the entire classroom, including the professor, was roaring.
The Holy Spirit is that way. He comes in like a rushing mighty wind. His influence is infectious. He is intrepid and we should be grateful that He is.
We need to let Him work and not quench His activity. (1 Thessalonians 5:19)
3. Thirdly, the Holy Spirit is Intriguing.
Why did Eldad and Medad draw such a crowd when the Spirit of God rested upon them, causing them to prophesy in the camp, just as Moses and the elders prophesied at the Tabernacle?
We ought to want to know because we too should want to draw crowds to God.
Why? Because the Spirit was upon them. His intrique captivated the people.
Folks may come into our cut and dried services and say, "what’s missing?" It shouldn’t be that way. There ought to be enough Divine electricity to draw people to Christ.
We need our worship to come alive like it did in the early church. We need the expectancy that the Holy Spirit brings.
Philip won the Ethiopian while going down from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is desert. How did he do it? "The Spirit said to Philip, go and join yourself with the chariot." (Acts 8:29)
He led the man to faith in Christ, baptized him and then, "when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away." (Verse 39)
This story identifies what the personality of the New Testament church should be like. With the Spirit’s intriguing blessing they went from one Divine appointment to another!
Will you pray with me - "Holy Spirit breathe on me like you breathed on Eldad, on Medad and on people like Philip?"
