Plugged in Series

   Building the Fire Part 1

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

 

There is a Curious Contradiction in America today

According to the latest Fox news Poll 92 percent of Americans say they believe in God,

 

85 percent in heaven

82 percent in miracles,

 

Barna research

Prayer 51%  Believe in the Power of Prayer

85% of Americans self-identify as Christians

45% attend Church regularly

 

85% of Americans believe the Bible is God’s word

45% of all adults agreed strongly that the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings

 

Those are all good things – and Yet

1-2 Marriages end in Divorce

A) Millions of Children are living in Divorced homes

 

B) And 69% of Americans believe that there are no moral absolutes – Excuse me  

1) How can 85% believe the Bible is God’s word and yet 69% think – No ABSOLUTES

 

 

 

In a Country where 85% call themselves Christians

92% believe in God – 85% believe in the Bible

A) How can so many think these behaviors are morally acceptable.

Will Herberg made this observation about America in the 1950’s

A) America is the most religious and the most secular society in the Western World

 

B) What is missing : Where is the Churches impact

 

C) Now this is what is intriguing to me is when the first Church started in the book of acts –

 

B) It did so in an extremely godless Society

1) Idolatry – sexual Immorality and moral depravity

 

D) And Yet we read in Acts 17:6 They turned the world upside down

The early Church started w/ 120 pp gathered in an upstairs room in Jerusalem –

A) In a short 30 yr time they impacted all of the known world

 

B) Whole Middle East – Egypt – Asia / Greece / Italy / Asia Minor / Ethiopia / other parts of  Africa

 

C) How did they do that w/out radio TV Planes Budgets Staffs / Multi Media ?

 

D) Maybe that is why they could do it - They only had God to depend on.

 

 

Tonight beginning Series – Plugged in

A) How the 1st believers turned the world upside down

 

C) How the Fire Started –

1) Fanning the Fire

 

D) Guarding the Fire

 

E) Spreading the Fire

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight we want to see where it all Started

A) Telling them – He was leaving

 

John 14:16-17

16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever

 

17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

 

Know Him – He dwells – { PERSON

 

Interview had it right -  Holy Spirit is Spirit of Christ – 3rd person of trinity

 

Not a Force { STAR WARS

 

John 20:22

" And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

 

B) Born Again! - 

 

C) Great Commission –

 

Mark 16:15-17

15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

 

D) But Before they went they had to Wait !

 

E) Something missing – POWER !

 

Turn Acts 1:4-5

 

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me;5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

 

Baptism – not water but Spirit

 

John Baptized with Water – Jesus Baptized with the Holy Spirit.

 

Acts 1:8

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come UPON YOU and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

 

Witnesses = Martyrs { Willing to lay it all on the line!

 

Holy Spirit – Come Upon you { Pitcher

A) Holy Spirit – In you

 

B) Holy Spirit upon You ! { Pitcher poured out

 

C) Result Ch.2 – Peter preaches – 3,000 saved

1) Harvest Crusade stuff

 

D) No Posters – no rock bands – no big Promotions ]

1) Cost about 250,000 to put on a Harvest Crusade

 

E) Peter they didn’t need that !

 

China westerner missionaries – 100 yrs 800,000 converts

A) Westerners driven out – persecution started

They wondered how they would survive

  

B)Result – 40 yrs  later: 75 million converts

1)  Radical for the Lord – cost them their lives

 

C) Dependence upon the Holy Spirit !

 

D) Sometimes I think the Lord is waiting for us to get rid of our programs –

1) Two Men Niagara falls – greatest un-used power

 

God worked in early Church – Mighty Power Yielded to the HS dependent on the Spirit

A) I think we need to rekindle that same heart

 

B) HS Blaze in us !

 

C) Turn CCS upside down / Vista High / Rancho / Palomar / Tricity Christian

D) God is alive – We need revival –

1) Brought back to life

 

 

High School Diana Chavez – Senior quad

Tired of friends dying –

 

A) Her Church grew radically that year !

     Wonder why?

 

B) How Start:

 

1st Believed in the Rez

 

2nd Sold out – ready to be martyrs

 

3rd Desired to be used –

 

4th Pure Vessels -  Too much – PTL – beer

PTL – go see that R-rated movie

 

Only difference between us and some of our friends is that we go to Church

 

What would happen – Kids said – pure Vessel

 

HS seeks to work thru Pure vessels- turned on filled up – Sent out !

 

 

Two things we are done!

Luke 24:49

“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."

 

They had to Wait for the Spirit –

 

No more – Now we wait on the Spirit

 

Promise of the Father

 

Luke 11:13 – HS to them that Ask

 

You will Know it – Change

A) Peter and apostles transformed

 

B) Boldness –

 

C) Hungary

 

D) Sensitivity

 

Need to continue to be filled

A) Eph 5

 

B) Keep asking – Dependent life