the Holy Spirit – Mt Freedom Baptist Church

In the Garden of Gethsemane on the night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed that His disciples would be one just as He and the Father are One. But that doesn’t mean we should be cookie-cutter duplicates of one another – all striving under our own power and by our own will to do the same old things we believe are “the right things to do.” Rather, it means that we should be united under the guidance of God’s Spirit that by His power and in His will we may apply the individual spiritual gifts that He has given all of His children. If we rely upon our own power to accomplish the things we ourselves have determined, we will be ineffective in accomplishing the mission God has assigned to us – to share the Gospel of eternal salvation in Jesus alone, and to raise up disciples of Jesus to carry on the mission of building God’s Kingdom together in true unity of mind and spirit.

Jesus warned His apostles that they would be brought before rulers to give a defense for their Gospel testimony and that they were not to wonder what they would say in those moments – that God’s Spirit would give them the right words at the right time. Such was the case when Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin to explain by what power and in whose Name they had healed a lame man and were preaching the Gospel. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter gave a powerful testimony, saying that there is only one Name given by whom we must be saved – the Name of Jesus of Nazareth. After they were released and reported what had happened to the other disciples, all of them offered prayers of thanks and praise giving God all the glory for the miraculous healing and for Peter and John’s release. In response, God’s Spirit powerfully shook the place they were praying.

Throughout history, God has placed His Spirit upon various people at various times for His good purposes. We see a good example of this in the book of Numbers chapter 11 when God poured out His Spirit upon the leaders of the clans of Israel in response to Moses’ cries for help. But many years afterward, the prophet Joel foretold that God would one day pour out His Spirit upon all people. The fulfillment of that prophecy came just a few days after Jesus ascended back to His Father on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus’ apostles just as He had promised at the last supper, and reiterated just before He was taken up.

On the evening He was betrayed, Jesus gave a new commandment to His disciples – that we are to love one another, saying that all people will know that we disciples of Jesus by the love we show toward one another. Later in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed for all of those who would come to believe in His Gospel through the words of His disciples. We who are followers of Jesus have a sacred calling from our LORD to go forth and share the Good News of salvation in Him with the lost and dying world all around us who desperately need to hear. Therefore, Pastor Brian asks simple yet critical question. In response to our call from Jesus, Will you go?

John 3:16 declares the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ in a single verse. It is also a very simple and powerful tool for evangelism. Almost every Christian and many non-believers have this verse memorized. Believers can simply proclaim this single verse to bring the Good News of salvation in Jesus to a lost and dying world desperate to hear it.

We can and should pray fervently for revival, but revival is ultimately a work of God’s Spirit alone. We see this demonstrated in Ezekiel 37 when God led the prophet out into a valley full of dead, dry bones and asked Ezekiel pointedly whether those bones could ever live again. Ezekiel was honest in his answer. He didn’t know, but he recognized that God knows all things and can accomplish anything – even restoring those bones to life. Ezekiel was obedient when God commanded him to preach God’s Word to the bones. In response, God knitted the bones back together but they remained as lifeless corpses. Then God commanded Ezekiel to pray for God’s Spirit to breathe life back into the corpses, and God then brought the corpses back to life with His Spirit.

As we pray we must do so in the sure knowledge that God also desires revival in us and through us. We must pray with the expectation, that God will indeed fulfill all the promises we find in His Word regarding our Spiritual revival.

In the first message of this series, we looked at the universal desire among Christ followers for “revival.” We explored the meaning of revival, and were encouraged as we seek revival within ourselves to pray the words of King David from Psalm 51 – “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” We must seek to be holy before God when we pray for revival because God also tells us in Leviticus – “I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.” As we seek revival, we must also seek to live in holiness empowered by God’s Spirit within us.

Believers often talk about “revival.” Many churches and denominations hold “revival” services from time to time. Most of us desire and pray for “revival.” But what exactly is revival? In this message we try to answer that question.

Today, more than ever in history, Christians need to understand the significance of the Holy Spirit’s presence in their heart. Once understood, the believer will begin to truly experience, not just His presence, but also His powerful work. There is nothing more reassuring and peaceful in life than experiencing the powerful presence of God’s Spirit as He works in our daily lives.

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