WEBVTT 00:00:07.730 --> 00:00:10.169 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:10.169 --> 00:00:19.609 Lifehouse Church. God's good. Amen. Come on, 00:00:19.629 --> 00:00:23.570 give him a hand. He's worthy. Can't give him 00:00:23.570 --> 00:00:26.089 too much praise. Hey, before we get started going 00:00:26.089 --> 00:00:27.969 into the word this morning, I'm going to ask 00:00:27.969 --> 00:00:30.750 if the Tangier mission trip team would make their 00:00:30.750 --> 00:00:33.549 way to the front. They're getting ready to leave 00:00:33.549 --> 00:00:36.469 this week. to go out and do missionary work. 00:00:36.630 --> 00:00:38.890 I don't know how many of them are here. We got 00:00:38.890 --> 00:00:41.070 a couple. Could you give them a hand as they 00:00:41.070 --> 00:00:48.329 come up? Come on. There's a few representing 00:00:48.329 --> 00:00:51.350 from LifeHouse, but it is a large team. Charlie 00:00:51.350 --> 00:00:53.750 and Laura are leading this team this year. There's 00:00:53.750 --> 00:00:57.000 how many total this year going? 49 individuals 00:00:57.000 --> 00:00:59.759 are going to be leaving for Tangier. And Bruce, 00:00:59.979 --> 00:01:01.659 I know, is already down there. There's several 00:01:01.659 --> 00:01:03.640 here that are here this morning. And here's what 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:04.920 we're going to do. Church, I'm going to ask you 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:07.040 to stand up one more time. As the team slides 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:09.900 together here, I want you to extend your hand 00:01:09.900 --> 00:01:11.840 this way. A couple of you, if you're comfortable, 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:14.359 just jump out of your seats right now. Come up, 00:01:14.359 --> 00:01:16.379 lay hands on this group. Come on, if you would. 00:01:16.500 --> 00:01:18.060 If you're comfortable doing that, prayer team, 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:21.319 I know some of you are. We're going to pray over 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:23.719 this team. We're trusting the work that they 00:01:23.719 --> 00:01:26.459 do. I got to go to Tangier just about a month 00:01:26.459 --> 00:01:29.900 ago, and I understand now. It's one thing to 00:01:29.900 --> 00:01:32.299 see a missions project. It's another thing to 00:01:32.299 --> 00:01:35.099 go. And they're going down to do the work, but 00:01:35.099 --> 00:01:36.400 more importantly, they're going down to be the 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:38.780 hands and feet of Jesus. Amen? That's what we 00:01:38.780 --> 00:01:41.040 do everywhere. If you would, church, extend your 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:43.269 hand this way. And we're going to begin to pray. 00:01:43.329 --> 00:01:46.189 Father, I thank you for the opportunity, God, 00:01:46.290 --> 00:01:47.989 that has laid before us. God, I thank you for 00:01:47.989 --> 00:01:50.430 this team who's made the commitment. God, they 00:01:50.430 --> 00:01:53.310 have made the investment. God, they have prayed. 00:01:53.450 --> 00:01:55.609 They have sought you. And they are going down 00:01:55.609 --> 00:01:57.870 to work. And most of all, they're going down 00:01:57.870 --> 00:02:00.730 to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Lord, we pray. 00:02:00.829 --> 00:02:03.129 We're hands and feet. And then it's gospel all 00:02:03.129 --> 00:02:05.829 the way. So, Lord, I pray that as this team comes 00:02:05.829 --> 00:02:08.310 together, Lord, with so many others, God, from 00:02:08.310 --> 00:02:10.930 other churches, Lord, as they go to serve, I 00:02:10.930 --> 00:02:12.500 pray that you're blessed. would be upon them, 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:15.240 that your hand would be upon them. God, protect 00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:17.879 them as they work, as they labor. God, as they 00:02:17.879 --> 00:02:20.860 serve first and share the gospel right alongside 00:02:20.860 --> 00:02:23.439 of that work that they're going to do. And Lord, 00:02:23.500 --> 00:02:26.039 we give you praise. We give you glory. God, I 00:02:26.039 --> 00:02:28.379 ask that your will and purpose would be done 00:02:28.379 --> 00:02:31.080 in the work that they're about to do and will 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:33.599 not fail to give you praise for all the increase 00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:36.520 in the kingdom of God. In Jesus' name, we pray 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:40.250 this. And the church said. Amen. Amen. God bless 00:02:40.250 --> 00:02:42.770 you. Give them another hand as they go to serve. 00:02:46.930 --> 00:02:48.870 They're leaving this week, and I don't know how 00:02:48.870 --> 00:02:51.189 many of you have looked at the weather. It is 00:02:51.189 --> 00:02:54.090 going to be hot where they're going. And they're 00:02:54.090 --> 00:02:57.110 going to be fighting heat, the bugs, and every 00:02:57.110 --> 00:02:58.889 other obstacle that comes up. But we're just 00:02:58.889 --> 00:03:00.990 trusting that God's going to use them in a great 00:03:00.990 --> 00:03:04.789 way, like He always does. When we commit, we 00:03:04.789 --> 00:03:08.259 place our small effort in His hands. He does 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:09.740 something with it. I don't know how he does it, 00:03:09.780 --> 00:03:12.599 but he does it every time. It's true. Well, we 00:03:12.599 --> 00:03:15.080 have spent the last multiple months, actually 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:17.120 since the beginning of the year, working our 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:19.780 way through the book of John and completed the 00:03:19.780 --> 00:03:21.560 book of John, and now we're going to slide into 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:24.840 the book of Acts. And I haven't preached every 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:27.919 scripture. We haven't gone down by scripture, 00:03:28.180 --> 00:03:30.759 but we have worked down through chapters of John, 00:03:30.860 --> 00:03:33.099 and now we want to slide into the book of Acts. 00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:36.340 The book of Acts or the Acts of the Apostle is 00:03:36.340 --> 00:03:39.180 the fifth book in the New Testament. And it really, 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:43.060 it ties the gospels of Jesus and the epistles 00:03:43.060 --> 00:03:45.599 together. It's lodged right in between. It's 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:48.180 believed that Dr. Luke was the writer, the author 00:03:48.180 --> 00:03:50.520 of this book as the Holy Spirit moved upon him. 00:03:50.759 --> 00:03:54.500 And it really chronicles the birth of the church. 00:03:54.900 --> 00:03:58.349 We are the church. Amen. All those thousands 00:03:58.349 --> 00:04:00.990 of years ago, the birth of the early church is 00:04:00.990 --> 00:04:03.870 chronicled in the book of Acts. And the key theme 00:04:03.870 --> 00:04:05.830 that you're going to see all the way through 00:04:05.830 --> 00:04:08.110 the book of Acts is the Holy Spirit empowering 00:04:08.110 --> 00:04:11.169 believers to fulfill what Jesus called or what 00:04:11.169 --> 00:04:14.129 we call that Jesus spoke is the great commission. 00:04:14.759 --> 00:04:17.720 Jesus spoke a commission to the disciples. That 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:20.740 commission has been handed down to us as followers 00:04:20.740 --> 00:04:23.899 of Jesus. And we hear that, the directive, the 00:04:23.899 --> 00:04:26.740 orders, if you want, the mission that Jesus gave 00:04:26.740 --> 00:04:30.680 his disciples to go and reach everyone across 00:04:30.680 --> 00:04:33.839 the face of the globe, across this planet with 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:37.009 the message of Jesus Christ. The book of Acts, 00:04:37.110 --> 00:04:41.550 like all books, will deepen your knowledge of 00:04:41.550 --> 00:04:45.250 who Jesus is, what Jesus is about, and what God's 00:04:45.250 --> 00:04:49.009 plan is for us personally and honestly across 00:04:49.009 --> 00:04:51.870 the world. It really is. And I'm excited to jump 00:04:51.870 --> 00:04:54.629 into the book of Acts. But before we go into 00:04:54.629 --> 00:04:57.069 the book of Acts, we're going to rewind just 00:04:57.069 --> 00:04:59.509 a bit. Anybody ever just rewind something? I 00:04:59.509 --> 00:05:00.990 know we don't do that anymore, right? We just, 00:05:01.089 --> 00:05:03.449 it's digital now. But how many remember cassette 00:05:03.449 --> 00:05:06.839 tape player? Thank you. All right. Had a rewind 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:09.379 button. Some of you young people look it up. 00:05:09.420 --> 00:05:12.339 It's a thing. All right. You would rewind. We're 00:05:12.339 --> 00:05:14.120 going to back up just a little bit, and we're 00:05:14.120 --> 00:05:17.360 going to go into the 20th chapter of John, and 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:19.300 we're going to start at verse 18. And as you're 00:05:19.300 --> 00:05:21.500 turning there, I'll pray, and then we're going 00:05:21.500 --> 00:05:23.139 to set the scene a little bit, and we're going 00:05:23.139 --> 00:05:25.259 to jump into Scripture. Lord, thank you for this 00:05:25.259 --> 00:05:27.339 time together. God, we pray over our ears, our 00:05:27.339 --> 00:05:29.740 hearts, our minds. God, as we take in the Word, 00:05:29.899 --> 00:05:32.860 Lord, change us. Guide us, direct us. Holy Spirit, 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:35.129 fill us full. of your presence, God, that we 00:05:35.129 --> 00:05:37.509 might go forward, God, in your power, Lord, to 00:05:37.509 --> 00:05:41.149 reach others in Jesus' name. And amen. Amen. 00:05:41.310 --> 00:05:44.269 So we're in John chapter 20, and we're going 00:05:44.269 --> 00:05:46.550 to pick up at verse 18. And I want to give you 00:05:46.550 --> 00:05:48.290 just a little backstory to get to this place. 00:05:48.410 --> 00:05:49.930 You need to know a little bit where we are in 00:05:49.930 --> 00:05:52.810 the timeline of what's taking place. Jesus has 00:05:52.810 --> 00:05:55.990 died, he's been buried, and he has risen from 00:05:55.990 --> 00:05:58.220 the grave. That's what's taking place right when 00:05:58.220 --> 00:06:01.220 this is all going on. He's completing the plan 00:06:01.220 --> 00:06:04.500 of God to redeem us from sin. His shed blood 00:06:04.500 --> 00:06:07.199 has become the sacrifice for sin, right? He has 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:09.720 conquered death, hell, and the grave, coming 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:12.540 out of the grave. It is now the finished, completed 00:06:12.540 --> 00:06:15.540 work. Jesus did it all at the cross. He paid 00:06:15.540 --> 00:06:17.519 all the price that needs to be paid for sin. 00:06:17.660 --> 00:06:20.279 It all happened and took place when he stepped 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:23.620 out of that grave. And now Jesus is beginning 00:06:23.620 --> 00:06:27.459 to appear. to his disciples. He's came out of 00:06:27.459 --> 00:06:30.639 the grave. This is post -resurrection time, right? 00:06:30.759 --> 00:06:33.600 And over the course of 40 days, Jesus will show 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:37.480 himself to more than 500 witnesses. So in John 00:06:37.480 --> 00:06:40.759 chapter 20, verse 18, it says this, Mary Magdalene 00:06:40.759 --> 00:06:43.199 was one of the first that Jesus showed himself 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:46.399 to. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:49.899 that she has seen the Lord and that he had spoken 00:06:49.899 --> 00:06:52.600 these things to her. And then the same day at 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:54.680 evening, being the first day of the week when 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:56.740 the doors were shut, where the disciples were 00:06:56.740 --> 00:06:59.160 assembled for fear of the Jews. Now, let me stop 00:06:59.160 --> 00:07:01.800 there for just a second. Jesus is risen from 00:07:01.800 --> 00:07:03.959 the grave, but the disciples don't know it yet. 00:07:04.300 --> 00:07:06.899 And they're actually, they're kind of freaking 00:07:06.899 --> 00:07:11.699 out, all right? They're hiding. Jesus died. He 00:07:11.699 --> 00:07:15.079 was crucified. The religious leaders, right, 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:17.680 they came and got Jesus, arrested him, crucified 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:20.160 him. He's in the grave. They don't know Jesus 00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:22.519 is resurrected yet. And they're kind of worried. 00:07:22.699 --> 00:07:25.319 They're like, we're probably next, right? They're 00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:27.300 going to come after us. So they're in a room 00:07:27.300 --> 00:07:30.730 with the door shut in fear. This is when this 00:07:30.730 --> 00:07:33.990 is taking place. Jesus came. Now, Jesus, they 00:07:33.990 --> 00:07:37.170 shut the door for fear of the Jews. Jesus came 00:07:37.170 --> 00:07:39.970 and stood in the midst and said to them, peace 00:07:39.970 --> 00:07:42.970 be with you. And when he had said this, he showed 00:07:42.970 --> 00:07:46.509 them his hands and his side. Then the disciples 00:07:46.509 --> 00:07:49.480 were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus is appearing 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:51.720 to the disciples the first time, post -resurrection. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:54.600 And they're locked up in a room. They're worried 00:07:54.600 --> 00:07:56.600 about what's going to happen next. All of a sudden, 00:07:56.620 --> 00:07:59.240 he appears in the locked room, and he shows them 00:07:59.240 --> 00:08:01.959 hands. Hey, guys, it's me. I'm alive. Here's 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:04.480 the holes in my hands from the crucifixion. Here's 00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:07.279 the spear hole in my side. He's shown them, and 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:09.660 they're glad. They're excited to see him. They're 00:08:09.660 --> 00:08:12.920 almost probably blown away, right? Almost unbelievable. 00:08:13.459 --> 00:08:15.500 So Jesus says to them, now listen to what Jesus 00:08:15.500 --> 00:08:18.959 says. Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:24.279 I also send you. And when he said this, he breathed 00:08:24.279 --> 00:08:28.000 on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. 00:08:29.259 --> 00:08:31.500 It's Jesus' first interaction with the disciples 00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:35.899 post -resurrection. And he first speaks peace 00:08:35.899 --> 00:08:39.240 to them. He comes in and says peace. But then 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:43.399 he says two very important things. He said, as 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:47.840 the Father has sent me, I also send peace. you. 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:51.159 He's commissioning them. These are his 12. These 00:08:51.159 --> 00:08:53.500 are some of his closest disciples, some of those 00:08:53.500 --> 00:08:55.779 who followed him very closely all along for three 00:08:55.779 --> 00:08:57.940 and a half years. He says, as the Father has 00:08:57.940 --> 00:09:00.679 sent me, now I send you. He begins to commission 00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:04.179 them. And we'll read in Matthew 28, he says that 00:09:04.179 --> 00:09:07.700 further in a deeper manner in Matthew 28. And 00:09:07.700 --> 00:09:10.519 then it says, then he breathed on them and said 00:09:10.519 --> 00:09:14.730 to them, receive. the Holy Spirit. Now, I want 00:09:14.730 --> 00:09:16.529 you to do something just to get the feel for 00:09:16.529 --> 00:09:17.830 what's happening. I want you just to breathe 00:09:17.830 --> 00:09:21.190 for a second. Go ahead. Just draw in and breathe 00:09:21.190 --> 00:09:25.509 out. Just blow it out. Breathe in and blow it 00:09:25.509 --> 00:09:28.250 out. Jesus comes in the room, he commissions 00:09:28.250 --> 00:09:33.009 them, and he breathes on them, and he says, receive 00:09:33.009 --> 00:09:36.190 the Holy Spirit. This is the same breathe that 00:09:36.190 --> 00:09:38.870 you see in Genesis chapter two and seven, when 00:09:38.870 --> 00:09:41.830 God breathed life into Adam, he creates Adam 00:09:41.830 --> 00:09:44.669 and he breathes life into him. Jesus is breathing 00:09:44.669 --> 00:09:47.830 new life into these disciples. These disciples 00:09:47.830 --> 00:09:50.049 have been worried. They have been freaked out 00:09:50.049 --> 00:09:52.590 about what's going on and they're locked up in 00:09:52.590 --> 00:09:56.350 a room in fear. And he breathes into the new 00:09:56.350 --> 00:10:00.610 life. And he says, be empowered, right? Receive 00:10:00.610 --> 00:10:03.870 the Holy Spirit. go into all the world and preach 00:10:03.870 --> 00:10:09.289 the gospel. He authorizes them. It's Jesus authorizing 00:10:09.289 --> 00:10:12.330 and empowering the disciples as he's getting 00:10:12.330 --> 00:10:15.429 ready to leave and ascend once he appears to 00:10:15.429 --> 00:10:17.450 all these witnesses who are going to see him. 00:10:18.269 --> 00:10:21.509 Jesus knows he's about to leave this group. He 00:10:21.509 --> 00:10:22.990 knows that they're going to be on their own. 00:10:23.110 --> 00:10:24.769 He knows that they're going to have to go into 00:10:24.769 --> 00:10:27.470 all the world and preach the gospel. Jesus commissions 00:10:27.470 --> 00:10:30.730 them, right? He gives them the objective. And 00:10:30.730 --> 00:10:35.450 then he imparts the Holy Spirit. Receive. Now, 00:10:35.490 --> 00:10:38.029 when we talk about the Holy Spirit, so many Christians 00:10:38.029 --> 00:10:40.549 get a little tense sometimes. When we start talking 00:10:40.549 --> 00:10:42.009 about the Holy Spirit, they're a little confused 00:10:42.009 --> 00:10:45.370 sometimes. About what we're talking about, because 00:10:45.370 --> 00:10:47.990 it's easy for us to understand the Father in 00:10:47.990 --> 00:10:50.490 Scripture, right? The Creator, God of all. We 00:10:50.490 --> 00:10:53.429 understand the Son, Jesus, who was Savior and 00:10:53.429 --> 00:10:56.370 Lord and died on the cross. But for some reason, 00:10:56.389 --> 00:10:58.490 people start to get a little murky when we start 00:10:58.490 --> 00:11:00.850 talking about Holy Spirit and God's power in 00:11:00.850 --> 00:11:04.389 our life. And He's in us, and He dwells in us. 00:11:04.429 --> 00:11:06.330 And we talk about the baptism of the Spirit. 00:11:06.470 --> 00:11:08.289 People start to get murky, and they start to 00:11:08.289 --> 00:11:11.389 misunderstand. But Jesus was sent. Jesus sent 00:11:11.389 --> 00:11:15.320 us the Holy Spirit. Jesus is sending us out to 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:18.120 bring people into the kingdom of God. Others, 00:11:18.179 --> 00:11:20.960 right? Let me say it again. Jesus sent us the 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:25.080 Holy Spirit because Jesus is sending us out to 00:11:25.080 --> 00:11:29.440 bring others into the kingdom of God. Jesus sends 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:32.259 the Holy Spirit. He imparts the Holy Spirit to 00:11:32.259 --> 00:11:36.159 us. It's salvation. to empower and to authorize 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:38.759 us to begin to share the gospel with other people. 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:43.279 He breathed onto disciples at that moment in 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:45.440 time when he meets with them in that locked up 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:49.220 room. And we see later in Matthew 28, 18, he 00:11:49.220 --> 00:11:52.289 speaks this same commission. that he spoke in 00:11:52.289 --> 00:12:17.370 John. It says, Amen. Holy Spirit is given to 00:12:17.370 --> 00:12:20.850 empower the disciples and to empower me, to empower 00:12:20.850 --> 00:12:25.909 us, to authorize us, to minister to others. He's 00:12:25.909 --> 00:12:29.970 there so that we begin our international ministry, 00:12:30.389 --> 00:12:34.250 right? Our missionary work into all nations. 00:12:34.750 --> 00:12:36.690 Now, most of you are like, wait a minute here. 00:12:36.929 --> 00:12:39.669 I just came to hear a message. Now you're saying 00:12:39.669 --> 00:12:42.309 I'm going to do an international missionary work. 00:12:42.590 --> 00:12:48.100 What? Right? You talking about me? No way, pastor. 00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:51.620 I just came to hear a message this morning. I 00:12:51.620 --> 00:12:53.059 don't want to hear anything about an international 00:12:53.059 --> 00:12:57.580 ministry thing. I don't know. Listen, if you're 00:12:57.580 --> 00:13:01.220 saved, if you're redeemed, if you're blood -bought 00:13:01.220 --> 00:13:03.700 and the shed blood of Jesus has saved you, he's 00:13:03.700 --> 00:13:06.179 called you to international ministry. He said 00:13:06.179 --> 00:13:08.559 to go into all the world, right? You're an international 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:14.000 missionary. Surprise! You're supposed to go everywhere. 00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:16.919 Surprise. He might be like, I didn't even sign 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:19.240 up for that. Well, it's automatically assigned 00:13:19.240 --> 00:13:22.590 to you as a believer, as a follower. Kevin and 00:13:22.590 --> 00:13:24.009 Kayla, are they here this morning? Kevin and 00:13:24.009 --> 00:13:25.750 Kayla, I don't think I saw them this morning. 00:13:25.870 --> 00:13:28.070 But Kevin and Kayla are part of our church. And 00:13:28.070 --> 00:13:29.750 they're in the process right now of becoming 00:13:29.750 --> 00:13:32.250 international missionaries. They've been going 00:13:32.250 --> 00:13:35.610 through a very long, arduous process of actually 00:13:35.610 --> 00:13:37.710 being credentialed to be missionaries. Their 00:13:37.710 --> 00:13:39.950 heart is to go to Italy. They're probably going 00:13:39.950 --> 00:13:42.269 to start out in other locations first as they 00:13:42.269 --> 00:13:44.110 go. And they're working through this credentialing 00:13:44.110 --> 00:13:46.490 process. And it's a slow process. But the first 00:13:46.490 --> 00:13:48.929 step in the process for them is the first step 00:13:48.929 --> 00:13:51.279 in the process for all of us is that it is. heavenly 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:54.159 process. It's not a credentialing thing, but 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:56.360 it is defined authority where the Holy Spirit 00:13:56.360 --> 00:13:58.480 is sent to us, and he commissions us, Christ 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:01.559 commissions us to go reach everybody, to go get 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:04.620 everybody, right? To go in places, and it might 00:14:04.620 --> 00:14:06.440 not be an organization that you're going to go 00:14:06.440 --> 00:14:08.480 and get credentialed with, but he commissions 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:12.759 us to go. It's one of the reasons, it is the 00:14:12.759 --> 00:14:15.080 reason that Jesus breathed on the disciples. 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:17.860 He commissioned them, and he breathed the Holy 00:14:17.860 --> 00:14:21.590 Spirit onto them and said, go. Right? No joke, 00:14:21.610 --> 00:14:23.990 for reals. You're an international missionary. 00:14:24.129 --> 00:14:25.990 Raise your hand in the house if you're a missionary. 00:14:26.309 --> 00:14:27.769 Y 'all should put your hands up. I just told 00:14:27.769 --> 00:14:31.769 you you were. All right? And listen, your international 00:14:31.769 --> 00:14:35.149 ministry might be in your backyard. It might 00:14:35.149 --> 00:14:36.830 be you just need to go to your neighbor. How 00:14:36.830 --> 00:14:38.309 many know that's somewhere in the world, right? 00:14:39.019 --> 00:14:40.740 That is somewhere in the world. You might need 00:14:40.740 --> 00:14:42.360 to go to your backyard. You might need to go 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:44.879 across town. You might need to go down the street. 00:14:45.059 --> 00:14:47.700 It might be in the next state somewhere. The 00:14:47.700 --> 00:14:49.820 Tangier team's getting ready to go a couple states 00:14:49.820 --> 00:14:52.259 away, right? It might be something like that. 00:14:52.340 --> 00:14:54.379 Or God might even call you to go international, 00:14:54.500 --> 00:14:56.019 and you'll have to go through the credentialing 00:14:56.019 --> 00:14:58.259 process. And you might say, well, I feel overwhelmed 00:14:58.259 --> 00:15:04.700 by that. You should. I do. Right? That's way 00:15:04.700 --> 00:15:08.080 bigger than me. That's something that's beyond 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:10.799 anything I even think. You might be thinking, 00:15:10.840 --> 00:15:13.659 man, I don't know about that, right? You might 00:15:13.659 --> 00:15:15.460 be thinking, I had a hard enough time just trying 00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:17.559 to keep myself on the straight and narrow, let 00:15:17.559 --> 00:15:19.940 alone helping anybody else. Some of you are like, 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:22.539 I had a hard time getting out of bed today, let 00:15:22.539 --> 00:15:24.440 alone going and doing some kind of international 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:26.879 ministry kind of thing. I'm just trying to get 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:32.179 through another day. I'm with you. I hear you. 00:15:33.059 --> 00:15:36.919 But Jesus said, he... The disciples were locked 00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:42.200 up in a room, hiding in fear. And Jesus comes 00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:45.419 in and commissions them, and he brings on them 00:15:45.419 --> 00:15:49.000 the Holy Spirit. This is how he does it. Jesus 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:52.120 knew the commission was way bigger than they 00:15:52.120 --> 00:15:54.919 were, right? He knew that they would need Holy 00:15:54.919 --> 00:15:57.919 Spirit to overcome their fear. He knew that they 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:01.080 would feel super inadequate, super underqualified, 00:16:01.460 --> 00:16:05.649 super underpowered. He knew we would be just 00:16:05.649 --> 00:16:08.389 like the disciples, like hiding in a room somewhere, 00:16:08.450 --> 00:16:10.230 like, I don't even know. I can't even take care 00:16:10.230 --> 00:16:13.629 of me sometimes. Jesus knew this was way beyond 00:16:13.629 --> 00:16:17.649 us. He knew it. He never, I can tell you, in 00:16:17.649 --> 00:16:19.389 the halls of heaven, Jesus never looked at me 00:16:19.389 --> 00:16:22.309 and thought, you know, international ministry, 00:16:22.490 --> 00:16:24.669 I think he can handle it. He never did that, 00:16:24.730 --> 00:16:26.750 right? He's probably looking at me and going, 00:16:26.830 --> 00:16:30.690 he's going to need the Holy Spirit. He's going 00:16:30.690 --> 00:16:33.509 to need them bad, all right? That's what he saw. 00:16:33.889 --> 00:16:38.730 That's what he saw. Our whole lives are, hmm, 00:16:38.889 --> 00:16:43.509 but God. Our whole lives. Our whole lives are, 00:16:43.549 --> 00:16:49.830 hmm, but God. Our whole lives. Jesus breathes 00:16:49.830 --> 00:16:53.070 Holy Spirit. He imparts Holy Spirit to the disciples 00:16:53.070 --> 00:16:57.470 and commissions them. Peace to you. As the Father 00:16:57.470 --> 00:17:02.159 has sent me, I also send you. Let that soak in. 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:06.619 Let that get in your spirit. But Jesus says something 00:17:06.619 --> 00:17:09.920 really interesting a little bit later. He tells 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:13.140 this same group of disciples, after I leave, 00:17:13.400 --> 00:17:16.980 go to Jerusalem and I want you to wait for a 00:17:16.980 --> 00:17:21.500 promise. He says, I want you to wait for further 00:17:21.500 --> 00:17:24.579 empowerment. Go and wait for the Holy Spirit 00:17:24.579 --> 00:17:27.579 to show up in a different manner and in a different 00:17:27.579 --> 00:17:29.960 way. And you might be thinking, well, wait a 00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:33.059 minute. Didn't Jesus just breathe on the disciples 00:17:33.059 --> 00:17:36.900 and they had a Holy Spirit? Yes. But he sends 00:17:36.900 --> 00:17:39.579 them to Jerusalem. He says, go wait for the promise. 00:17:39.619 --> 00:17:42.359 He says something different. If you're in Acts, 00:17:42.460 --> 00:17:44.619 go to Acts chapter 1. We're going to dive into 00:17:44.619 --> 00:17:47.700 Acts verse 1. It says this, the former account 00:17:47.700 --> 00:17:51.019 I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began 00:17:51.019 --> 00:17:54.279 both to do and to teach until the day in which 00:17:54.279 --> 00:17:57.299 he was taken up, after he through the Holy Spirit 00:17:57.299 --> 00:17:59.960 had given commandments to the apostles whom he 00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:02.660 had chosen, to whom he also presented himself, 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:05.119 we just read about it, alive after his suffering 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:08.140 by many infallible proofs, being seen by them 00:18:08.140 --> 00:18:11.109 40 days and speaking of things. pertaining to 00:18:11.109 --> 00:18:14.029 the kingdom of God. He talks about this, right? 00:18:14.450 --> 00:18:17.349 And being assembled together with them, he commanded 00:18:17.349 --> 00:18:20.849 them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait 00:18:20.849 --> 00:18:23.089 for the promise of the Father. He says, after 00:18:23.089 --> 00:18:26.049 I leave, after I'm gone, after I'm done being 00:18:26.049 --> 00:18:28.930 seen by 500 witnesses, after you're done talking 00:18:28.930 --> 00:18:30.569 to me and I'm talking to you and pointing to 00:18:30.569 --> 00:18:34.009 you, go wait in Jerusalem. He commanded them, 00:18:34.029 --> 00:18:36.210 don't depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the 00:18:36.210 --> 00:18:39.890 promise. Say the promise. of the Father, which 00:18:39.890 --> 00:18:42.170 he said, you have heard from me. For John truly 00:18:42.170 --> 00:18:44.769 baptized with water, which is a baptism of repentance 00:18:44.769 --> 00:18:47.609 in God's word, but you shall be baptized with 00:18:47.609 --> 00:18:52.109 the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Once 00:18:52.109 --> 00:18:54.950 Jesus leads the disciples, they are to go to 00:18:54.950 --> 00:18:58.430 Jerusalem and they are to wait. For the promise, 00:18:58.529 --> 00:19:01.250 which is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or baptized 00:19:01.250 --> 00:19:03.309 with the Holy Spirit, is really what the Word 00:19:03.309 --> 00:19:05.349 of God says. It's what it says plainly, right? 00:19:05.609 --> 00:19:07.990 Jesus breathes on them, and they receive the 00:19:07.990 --> 00:19:09.789 Holy Spirit. Sometimes you'll hear that terminology 00:19:09.789 --> 00:19:11.730 used, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That 00:19:11.730 --> 00:19:13.910 happens in salvation. Holy Spirit comes into 00:19:13.910 --> 00:19:17.109 your life. At salvation, He's there, right? But 00:19:17.109 --> 00:19:19.269 then He instructs that there's a separate experience. 00:19:19.410 --> 00:19:21.869 There's something different. Go be baptized with 00:19:21.869 --> 00:19:24.559 the Holy Spirit. Go to Jerusalem and wait. There's 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:27.700 this separate experience. And we are to become 00:19:27.700 --> 00:19:30.779 baptized with the Holy Spirit. Just like the 00:19:30.779 --> 00:19:34.079 disciples were to become baptized. The word baptized 00:19:34.079 --> 00:19:38.359 means immersed. We do water baptism here. We 00:19:38.359 --> 00:19:41.519 do it by immersion, okay? I loved it. The last 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:44.059 time we did baptism, we had 14 people baptized. 00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:47.779 And I loved watching some of them. Once in a 00:19:47.779 --> 00:19:49.440 while, people, when I'm baptizing them in water, 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:52.140 they stiffen up. We tell them not to, but they 00:19:52.140 --> 00:19:54.559 get stiff. And ours is a sitting down pool. And 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:56.920 a couple of them, man, they got stiff. And when 00:19:56.920 --> 00:19:58.880 I dunked them, I saw their feet come up, whoop, 00:19:58.940 --> 00:20:00.440 out of the water and right back down, right? 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:02.519 We immersed them. I did. We got the first part 00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:05.920 wet and then the second part wet. And they were 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:08.519 immersed into the water. They went down under 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:12.450 the water. And really, if you look this word 00:20:12.450 --> 00:20:16.150 up here, it's to be immersed. It's to wash. It's 00:20:16.150 --> 00:20:19.009 to plunge. It's to be imbued. It's to go. It's 00:20:19.009 --> 00:20:23.059 saturated. It's deeper. purpose and significance 00:20:23.059 --> 00:20:26.220 that affects throughout the whole. If you look 00:20:26.220 --> 00:20:28.740 this up, it's what it speaks, right? Jesus told 00:20:28.740 --> 00:20:31.700 his disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait there 00:20:31.700 --> 00:20:35.200 to be washed. Wait there to be immersed. Wait 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:37.819 there to be plunged. Wait in that place to be 00:20:37.819 --> 00:20:40.359 dipped in the Holy Spirit's presence. Wait for 00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:43.180 the baptism. You're going to be baptized. And 00:20:43.180 --> 00:20:45.839 we all know this, right? We know that. How many 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:47.859 know you can be? There's a difference between 00:20:47.859 --> 00:20:51.079 being in someone's presence. and being baptized 00:20:51.079 --> 00:20:52.839 in their presence. I don't know if you know that 00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:54.920 or not. There's a difference between the two. 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:59.920 I can be in somebody's presence and not necessarily 00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:03.099 be baptized in their presence. If you're dating 00:21:03.099 --> 00:21:07.880 somebody right now, you're in somebody's presence. 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:10.579 You're learning about them. You're getting to 00:21:10.579 --> 00:21:13.119 know them. You're finding a few things out. But 00:21:13.119 --> 00:21:15.680 how many know when you get married, you're baptized 00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:19.789 into their presence? Amen? You start to see things 00:21:19.789 --> 00:21:23.519 you never saw before. My wife's going, right? 00:21:24.119 --> 00:21:28.680 Come on, right? When you marry them, some of 00:21:28.680 --> 00:21:30.660 you single people need to listen up. All right, 00:21:30.700 --> 00:21:33.660 this is true. You get baptized. You get immersed 00:21:33.660 --> 00:21:37.440 into their presence. You can catch a sense of 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:39.960 what somebody's like in their presence, and you'll 00:21:39.960 --> 00:21:42.539 learn about them, and there's this relationship 00:21:42.539 --> 00:21:45.460 that takes place. But when you get immersed in 00:21:45.460 --> 00:21:48.700 their presence, it changes. You find out what 00:21:48.700 --> 00:21:51.039 they're really like. This even happens on a mission. 00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:53.539 trip. We just got back from Guatemala a couple 00:21:53.539 --> 00:21:55.240 of weeks ago. And when you go on a mission trip, 00:21:55.420 --> 00:21:57.839 I know some of the people that before we go on 00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:59.839 these mission trips, right? I'm in their presence. 00:21:59.920 --> 00:22:01.799 When you go on a mission trip, you get immersed 00:22:01.799 --> 00:22:04.460 in their presence. You really do. You're spending 00:22:04.460 --> 00:22:06.900 every minute together. You're going, you're flying, 00:22:07.299 --> 00:22:09.619 you're getting to the hotel or wherever you're 00:22:09.619 --> 00:22:11.500 staying, right? Bunkhouse, wherever you're staying. 00:22:12.619 --> 00:22:15.000 Where we went in Guatemala, there's a bunkhouse 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:17.240 for the men and there's a bunkhouse for the ladies. 00:22:17.299 --> 00:22:19.539 So we're all sleeping in bunk beds in the same 00:22:19.539 --> 00:22:23.000 room. I got immersed in some presence, some of 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:25.140 the people. I can tell you who went on the team. 00:22:25.180 --> 00:22:28.019 I can tell you who snores. I can tell you who 00:22:28.019 --> 00:22:30.799 talks in her sleep. I can tell you who grinds 00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:32.940 their teeth. I can tell you some of them just 00:22:32.940 --> 00:22:35.640 roll all night long, just flipping over and over, 00:22:35.720 --> 00:22:38.259 right? We get immersed in, you know, when you're 00:22:38.259 --> 00:22:40.420 in the mission ship and they're out there with 00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:42.119 a hammer, swinging a hammer, and they hit the 00:22:42.119 --> 00:22:43.880 wrong nail instead of hitting the nail, they 00:22:43.880 --> 00:22:45.960 hit their thumbnail. How many of you get immersed 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:48.140 in their presence? You start to find out what 00:22:48.140 --> 00:22:49.740 was in the inside, starts to come out on the 00:22:49.740 --> 00:22:54.000 outside. It's true. Jesus told his disciples. 00:22:54.519 --> 00:22:58.500 Go to Jerusalem and wait to be dipped in my spirit. 00:22:58.740 --> 00:23:01.599 Wait to be dipped in my presence. It's going 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:05.000 to be different. 1 Corinthians 6 .19 says, or 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:07.859 do you not know that your body is a temple of 00:23:07.859 --> 00:23:10.880 the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have 00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:14.980 from God? You are not your own. You get immersed 00:23:14.980 --> 00:23:19.420 in him. We fill up this temple with Holy Spirit. 00:23:19.539 --> 00:23:23.710 It's not like out in the world, right? Baptism 00:23:23.710 --> 00:23:26.450 isn't just bunking with someone for a week, man. 00:23:26.569 --> 00:23:30.509 It is immersed. It's dipped. It's empowered. 00:23:30.769 --> 00:23:34.609 It's authorized. And, you know, as you read through 00:23:34.609 --> 00:23:36.789 Scripture, one of the interesting facts that 00:23:36.789 --> 00:23:39.650 I caught reading through there is that we read 00:23:39.650 --> 00:23:41.910 in Scripture that Jesus showed himself to over 00:23:41.910 --> 00:23:45.250 500 witnesses following his resurrection. But 00:23:45.250 --> 00:23:47.809 if you read in Scripture, there's only 120 that 00:23:47.809 --> 00:23:50.269 go to the upper room. I thought that's interesting. 00:23:50.430 --> 00:23:53.289 He shows himself to 500, but just 120 decide 00:23:53.289 --> 00:23:56.890 to go, you know, into this upper room. Only 120 00:23:56.890 --> 00:23:59.509 decide we're all in, right? We're going to go 00:23:59.509 --> 00:24:03.349 up and be plunged. Jesus sent the promise of 00:24:03.349 --> 00:24:06.970 God so we can fully immerse ourselves, so he 00:24:06.970 --> 00:24:10.269 can further commission us, authorize us, empower 00:24:10.269 --> 00:24:13.650 us by the Holy Spirit, so we can tangibly feel 00:24:13.650 --> 00:24:16.890 his presence, so we tangibly know his power in 00:24:16.890 --> 00:24:20.210 our life, so we're tangibly empowered to go, 00:24:20.329 --> 00:24:24.329 to go reach someone else. So we influence the 00:24:24.329 --> 00:24:28.250 world around us. We need him. We need Holy Spirit. 00:24:28.950 --> 00:24:32.109 We need him as a guide. We need them as an empowerment. 00:24:32.569 --> 00:24:36.269 It's true. Some years back, and I can't remember 00:24:36.269 --> 00:24:38.230 how many years. I'm terrible with this sometimes. 00:24:38.390 --> 00:24:39.849 Dixie will probably be able to say it out to 00:24:39.849 --> 00:24:43.049 me. But we went on a family vacation, and we 00:24:43.049 --> 00:24:46.170 had the opportunity to go on an excursion. We 00:24:46.170 --> 00:24:47.890 were on a boat, and we got the opportunity to 00:24:47.890 --> 00:24:50.170 go on an excursion. And it just so happened, 00:24:50.210 --> 00:24:52.230 it was on January 19th, which is my birthday, 00:24:52.309 --> 00:24:53.670 if you want to get me something, just saying. 00:24:55.360 --> 00:24:57.160 You know, it was my birthday, and we went on 00:24:57.160 --> 00:25:00.079 this excursion for the day. And I was pumped 00:25:00.079 --> 00:25:02.980 because where we were going was Belize. It was 00:25:02.980 --> 00:25:04.880 a little country of Belize. And we were supposed 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:06.559 to go, and the excursion was this. We were going 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:08.599 to get off the boat, and we were supposed to 00:25:08.599 --> 00:25:11.839 go and tube through the caves in Belize. And 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:14.180 I'm like, I'm in, right? There's water. You get 00:25:14.180 --> 00:25:17.359 on a tube. You swim some. And you do a little 00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:21.319 tour through the tropical forest, getting to 00:25:21.319 --> 00:25:23.940 the caves. I'm all about that kind of thing. 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:27.119 I'm like, let's go. This is awesome. And so we 00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:29.799 signed up for this thing, paid for it. And you 00:25:29.799 --> 00:25:31.799 know what the first instruction was for this 00:25:31.799 --> 00:25:34.299 particular mission for the day, right? This thing 00:25:34.299 --> 00:25:36.279 that we're going to go do. They tell you, get 00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:38.440 off the boat. There's going to be a van that 00:25:38.440 --> 00:25:41.900 you're looking for with your guide inside. So 00:25:41.900 --> 00:25:44.059 we get in this van, right, with, I don't know, 00:25:44.099 --> 00:25:45.660 half a dozen other people. I don't remember how 00:25:45.660 --> 00:25:48.039 many were there. But there's this guy inside 00:25:48.039 --> 00:25:50.640 that we begin to get to know. And he's the guide. 00:25:51.360 --> 00:25:54.440 And I find out that he's a survivalist. He's 00:25:54.440 --> 00:25:57.539 the kind of guy, he's an expert in the jungle. 00:25:57.880 --> 00:25:59.839 This is the kind of guy that can go into the 00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:01.940 tropical rainforest. You drop him in by helicopter, 00:26:02.220 --> 00:26:04.160 he can live there for a year, come back, and 00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:06.299 he's got a tan and he's good, right? The rest 00:26:06.299 --> 00:26:08.880 of us die, right? This was the kind of guy. And 00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:13.980 he was the guide. He knew the tropical rainforest. 00:26:14.200 --> 00:26:16.859 He knew where we were going. He knew all of these 00:26:16.859 --> 00:26:19.319 things. And he walked us through as we did the 00:26:19.319 --> 00:26:21.579 hike. He walked us through when we got up to 00:26:21.579 --> 00:26:25.000 the boats. He knew what to do, what to touch, 00:26:25.119 --> 00:26:27.579 what not to touch, what was poisonous, what was 00:26:27.579 --> 00:26:29.920 not poisonous, right? All of it. He knew which 00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:33.160 tree you could eat off of, which one you should 00:26:33.160 --> 00:26:35.859 never even get near. He knew all of it. He knew 00:26:35.859 --> 00:26:38.400 the bugs, the animals, anything that could harm 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:40.640 you, the things that, I guess you could eat bugs, 00:26:40.759 --> 00:26:44.519 I don't know. But he knew all this. And the thing 00:26:44.519 --> 00:26:48.299 is, the guide, he could not just survive out 00:26:48.299 --> 00:26:51.619 there, but he could thrive. And because he was 00:26:51.619 --> 00:26:54.819 with us, we didn't just survive it, but we thrived 00:26:54.819 --> 00:26:57.160 that day going through this little tour that 00:26:57.160 --> 00:27:01.839 we did through the tropics and then on these 00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:04.039 floaty things going through the caves. Nobody 00:27:04.039 --> 00:27:06.079 got injured. Nobody got hurt. We all enjoyed 00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:07.500 ourselves. We all learned a bunch of things. 00:27:08.389 --> 00:27:10.630 That's what the Holy Spirit, God instructs him 00:27:10.630 --> 00:27:12.690 to go to Jerusalem. And he says, you need to 00:27:12.690 --> 00:27:15.029 wait because I'm sending you out to do something 00:27:15.029 --> 00:27:18.089 that if you don't take the Holy Spirit with you, 00:27:18.130 --> 00:27:20.990 if you do not get empowered by Holy Spirit in 00:27:20.990 --> 00:27:24.230 this new way, you're going to get taken out, 00:27:24.329 --> 00:27:26.309 man. You're going to go into the jungle and your 00:27:26.309 --> 00:27:28.410 knees are going to get taken out from under you. 00:27:28.450 --> 00:27:30.130 You're going to go share the gospel and they're 00:27:30.130 --> 00:27:32.630 going to eat you alive. But the Holy Spirit will 00:27:32.630 --> 00:27:35.410 not only help you survive, but you will thrive 00:27:35.410 --> 00:27:42.160 wherever you go. Amen? He's the guy. I need that. 00:27:42.259 --> 00:27:44.500 I don't know about you, but I need that. Every 00:27:44.500 --> 00:27:48.240 week I stand in this pulpit, I pray, Lord, Holy 00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:50.000 Spirit, if you do not come with me, I'm just 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:51.799 going right there and sitting down and somebody 00:27:51.799 --> 00:27:57.140 else can do it. I need him. I need him. I need 00:27:57.140 --> 00:28:00.319 him. I need to be immersed. I need to be dipped. 00:28:00.440 --> 00:28:03.480 I need a different experience because it's not 00:28:03.480 --> 00:28:06.119 easy sometimes. I can't see what's out ahead 00:28:06.119 --> 00:28:09.019 of me. Holy Spirit can. I don't know what's in 00:28:09.019 --> 00:28:11.740 my future. Holy Spirit does. I don't even know 00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:14.099 what's around the next corner. Holy Spirit does. 00:28:14.859 --> 00:28:20.000 And he sends them to Jerusalem. And the disciples, 00:28:20.099 --> 00:28:22.220 while Jesus is telling them this, just like the 00:28:22.220 --> 00:28:23.779 disciples, I love the disciples because they're 00:28:23.779 --> 00:28:25.700 so real. They're a lot like me. They don't get 00:28:25.700 --> 00:28:27.380 it the first time around. Dixie says things about 00:28:27.380 --> 00:28:29.259 three times because I don't get it the first 00:28:29.259 --> 00:28:32.279 two times. And that's kind of how the disciples 00:28:32.279 --> 00:28:35.779 work. Because if you read Acts 1, verse 6, Jesus 00:28:35.779 --> 00:28:38.000 is talking to them. He commissions them, right? 00:28:38.039 --> 00:28:39.859 He tells them about the Holy Spirit. You know, 00:28:39.880 --> 00:28:43.299 he talks about the Holy Spirit. And then listen 00:28:43.299 --> 00:28:46.400 to what... you know, the disciples begin to say, 00:28:46.420 --> 00:28:47.980 they don't get it. They don't even catch it quite 00:28:47.980 --> 00:28:50.220 at first. Because in Acts 1, 6, it says, therefore, 00:28:50.279 --> 00:28:52.220 when they had come together, they asked him, 00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:54.440 they asked Jesus saying, Lord, will you at this 00:28:54.440 --> 00:28:56.940 time restore the kingdom of God, of Israel? Jesus 00:28:56.940 --> 00:28:59.000 talking about the world, going into everywhere, 00:28:59.579 --> 00:29:01.660 sharing the gospel. And they're like, hey, Jesus, 00:29:01.700 --> 00:29:05.420 back to Israel. By the way, we have these Romans 00:29:05.420 --> 00:29:07.839 that keep, you know, lording over us. You know, 00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:11.529 is this the time where we rise up? You came back 00:29:11.529 --> 00:29:13.329 from the grave. Is this a time we get empowered 00:29:13.329 --> 00:29:17.269 by the Holy Spirit and we take out Rome? They're 00:29:17.269 --> 00:29:20.769 not even totally getting it yet. And Jesus said 00:29:20.769 --> 00:29:22.490 to them in verse seven, he says, it's not for 00:29:22.490 --> 00:29:24.349 you to know the times of the seasons, which the 00:29:24.349 --> 00:29:26.789 father has put in his own authority. And he gets 00:29:26.789 --> 00:29:29.250 them right back on track. He goes to one eight 00:29:29.250 --> 00:29:31.650 and he says, but you shall receive power when 00:29:31.650 --> 00:29:33.430 the Holy Spirit has come upon you is when you 00:29:33.430 --> 00:29:35.930 go to Jerusalem and you shall be my witnesses. 00:29:36.049 --> 00:29:39.349 And you will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem 00:29:39.349 --> 00:29:43.349 and in all Judea and in Samaria and to the ends 00:29:43.349 --> 00:29:48.970 of the earth. What am I trying to say? Holy Spirit. 00:29:49.500 --> 00:29:52.180 puts the amazing in our witness for Jesus. He 00:29:52.180 --> 00:29:55.779 does. He puts the amazing, right? Spirit baptism 00:29:55.779 --> 00:29:59.980 puts the amazing in our witness for Jesus because 00:29:59.980 --> 00:30:05.279 he's amazing. He's the one. And I know, as I 00:30:05.279 --> 00:30:07.539 look out over this crowd, maybe those listening 00:30:07.539 --> 00:30:10.960 online, there's hundreds of stories in here of 00:30:10.960 --> 00:30:13.359 Jesus' redemption, right? You might have got 00:30:13.359 --> 00:30:15.779 saved, and he might have pulled you out of the 00:30:15.779 --> 00:30:18.279 ditch. He might have pulled you out of the mess, 00:30:18.420 --> 00:30:22.099 the mud, the sin, the mire. And if you tell your 00:30:22.099 --> 00:30:24.400 story, we're going to be in awe of what Jesus 00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:27.980 did. You might be able to detail what a train 00:30:27.980 --> 00:30:31.160 wreck you were spiritually and emotionally and 00:30:31.160 --> 00:30:33.420 physically and the bondage. that you used to 00:30:33.420 --> 00:30:35.819 be under and the trauma that you've walked out 00:30:35.819 --> 00:30:38.859 of, right? And you were going down for the third 00:30:38.859 --> 00:30:42.039 time and he pulled you up. You might have an 00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:45.339 amazing testimony to share of God's grace and 00:30:45.339 --> 00:30:48.819 you should share it. You should tell people what 00:30:48.819 --> 00:30:50.900 Jesus has done for you. You have a testimony, 00:30:51.059 --> 00:30:55.500 give it, right? And God needs to empower that. 00:30:55.579 --> 00:30:57.440 Or you might even have a boring testimony. How 00:30:57.440 --> 00:30:58.740 many of you feel like you got a boring testimony? 00:30:59.079 --> 00:31:01.279 You grew up, come on, thank you, all right? You 00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:02.799 grew up in church. You're like, I got saved at 00:31:02.799 --> 00:31:05.720 seven. I went to the altar. That's it. God's 00:31:05.720 --> 00:31:08.480 awesome, right? I think that's the most awesome 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:10.980 testimony in the world, honestly. He kept you. 00:31:11.099 --> 00:31:13.759 He saved you. And you're like, people telling 00:31:13.759 --> 00:31:16.240 all these, like, he drugged me out of drug abuse. 00:31:16.359 --> 00:31:17.779 And, you know, I was down. And you're like, yeah, 00:31:17.799 --> 00:31:19.440 I got saved at seven. It's been awesome ever 00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:24.200 since. That's an awesome testimony, by the way. 00:31:25.119 --> 00:31:28.279 And your testimony might lead somebody to Christ 00:31:28.279 --> 00:31:31.000 and it might inspire them for a moment to follow 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:33.480 Jesus. But how many know sometimes people hear 00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:35.920 your story and they're like, man, that's awesome 00:31:35.920 --> 00:31:39.660 for you. I've heard that so many times. That's 00:31:39.660 --> 00:31:43.720 awesome for you. Man, I'm so glad God did something 00:31:43.720 --> 00:31:46.539 in your life. That's awesome for you, right? 00:31:46.599 --> 00:31:49.039 Sometimes they're inspired for about 10 minutes 00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:52.509 at a time. Sometimes it's not even that. And 00:31:52.509 --> 00:31:56.769 I need the Holy Spirit in my story. I need, you 00:31:56.769 --> 00:31:59.569 know, the witness of Christ. I need the power 00:31:59.569 --> 00:32:02.589 of God somehow on display in a story. And sometimes 00:32:02.589 --> 00:32:05.049 it's just a sense that people have, like, I don't 00:32:05.049 --> 00:32:06.809 know why, but God's in it. You feel kind of like 00:32:06.809 --> 00:32:08.349 what you felt in praise and worship this morning. 00:32:08.430 --> 00:32:11.079 You can just feel them moving. You can feel him 00:32:11.079 --> 00:32:13.539 shift. Sometimes he does so much more. Because 00:32:13.539 --> 00:32:16.240 if you go to Acts chapter two, verse one, the 00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:19.259 120, they go to the upper room and they get baptized 00:32:19.259 --> 00:32:21.519 in the spirit. Look what happens. Watch what 00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:23.559 happens. When the day of Pentecost had fully 00:32:23.559 --> 00:32:26.160 come, this is Acts chapter two, verse one, they 00:32:26.160 --> 00:32:28.460 were all in one accord in one place. And suddenly 00:32:28.460 --> 00:32:30.819 there came a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty 00:32:30.819 --> 00:32:33.299 wind. Now you got to remember, the author here 00:32:33.299 --> 00:32:36.240 is trying to describe what this looks like. There's 00:32:36.240 --> 00:32:38.980 120 people in his upper room. Holy Spirit shows 00:32:38.980 --> 00:32:41.849 up. He's baptizing them in the Holy Spirit, and 00:32:41.849 --> 00:32:43.910 they're trying to come up with words. Did you 00:32:43.910 --> 00:32:45.170 ever try to describe something? You're like, 00:32:45.250 --> 00:32:47.549 well, it's kind of like this. It's kind of like 00:32:47.549 --> 00:32:48.809 that. That's what he's doing. That's what's happening 00:32:48.809 --> 00:32:50.509 right here, right? It says, when they were in 00:32:50.509 --> 00:32:52.829 one accord in one place, and suddenly there came 00:32:52.829 --> 00:32:56.809 a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind. 00:32:56.869 --> 00:32:58.940 So it sounded like wind. And they filled the 00:32:58.940 --> 00:33:00.859 whole house where they were sitting. Then it 00:33:00.859 --> 00:33:03.039 appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, 00:33:03.140 --> 00:33:05.539 and one sat on each of them. It's kind of like 00:33:05.539 --> 00:33:07.359 there was wind, and it kind of felt like there 00:33:07.359 --> 00:33:09.759 was fire on each one of them, and they were all 00:33:09.759 --> 00:33:12.140 filled with the Holy Spirit. They were baptized 00:33:12.140 --> 00:33:14.180 in the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other 00:33:14.180 --> 00:33:17.150 tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And 00:33:17.150 --> 00:33:19.289 they were dwelling in Jerusalem. Now, and all 00:33:19.289 --> 00:33:21.730 of Jerusalem around them, devout men from every 00:33:21.730 --> 00:33:23.970 nation under heaven. And when the sound occurred, 00:33:24.109 --> 00:33:26.329 the multitude came together, and they were confused 00:33:26.329 --> 00:33:29.349 because everyone heard them speak in their own 00:33:29.349 --> 00:33:32.450 language. And when they were all amazed and marveled, 00:33:32.450 --> 00:33:34.470 here's the amazing part, this is Holy Spirit, 00:33:34.609 --> 00:33:36.789 not them, right? And marveled, saying to one 00:33:36.789 --> 00:33:40.569 another, look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:43.380 And how is it that we hear our own language in 00:33:43.380 --> 00:33:46.420 which we were born? Parthians, Medes, right, 00:33:46.519 --> 00:33:49.279 and Alamites, those who were dwelling in Mesopotamia 00:33:49.279 --> 00:33:52.400 and Judea and Cappadocia and Pontius in Asia 00:33:52.400 --> 00:33:56.460 and Pamphylia, I got them backwards, in Egypt 00:33:56.460 --> 00:33:59.660 and all the parts of Lydia joining Cyrene, visitors 00:33:59.660 --> 00:34:03.460 of Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and 00:34:03.460 --> 00:34:06.720 Arabs, we hear them speaking in our own tongues 00:34:06.720 --> 00:34:10.159 the wonderful works of God. So they were all 00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:12.539 amazed and perplexing to one another. Whatever 00:34:12.539 --> 00:34:16.559 could this mean? These individuals are baptized 00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:19.380 in the Holy Spirit, and they go out into the 00:34:19.380 --> 00:34:22.420 streets, and they begin to witness. But they're 00:34:22.420 --> 00:34:24.300 going out to witness to people they don't know 00:34:24.300 --> 00:34:27.099 the language of. They speak a different language. 00:34:27.260 --> 00:34:30.739 I was just in Guatemala. I was on my app, man, 00:34:30.980 --> 00:34:33.139 like trying to bumble through getting through 00:34:33.139 --> 00:34:36.239 three or four words. They get moved on by the 00:34:36.239 --> 00:34:38.480 baptism of the Holy Spirit. The power of God 00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:41.719 comes upon them, and they speak in perfect dialect 00:34:41.719 --> 00:34:44.460 to the people that are in Jerusalem. And they 00:34:44.460 --> 00:34:46.639 talk about the wonderful works of God, and it 00:34:46.639 --> 00:34:50.000 blew people away. They're like, what? These are 00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:52.480 Galileans. They don't speak our language. What 00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:58.579 is this? 3 ,000 people come to Christ that day. 00:34:59.119 --> 00:35:01.659 This is the first church plant. This is the first 00:35:01.659 --> 00:35:07.559 church. 3 ,000 people are saved because the disciples 00:35:07.559 --> 00:35:11.460 went out commissioned, right? Full of the Holy 00:35:11.460 --> 00:35:19.639 Spirit. Immersed in the Holy Spirit. Full. Not 00:35:19.639 --> 00:35:21.860 worrying about their inadequacies because it 00:35:21.860 --> 00:35:24.940 wasn't them. It was Holy Spirit. Worship team, 00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.539 if you'd come. If you go further into Acts, and 00:35:29.539 --> 00:35:32.099 we'll hit this eventually as we work through 00:35:32.099 --> 00:35:34.619 Acts. In Acts chapter 4, it starts with verse 00:35:34.619 --> 00:35:39.320 5. Peter and John one day as disciples and followers 00:35:39.320 --> 00:35:41.800 of Jesus. Jesus is in heaven. Holy Spirit's come. 00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:43.980 They've been baptized in the Holy Spirit. They're 00:35:43.980 --> 00:35:45.860 walking into the temple and there's a lame man. 00:35:46.139 --> 00:35:49.300 And they stop and they're like, hey, you know, 00:35:49.320 --> 00:35:50.920 the lame man's begging. And they're like, we 00:35:50.920 --> 00:35:53.949 don't got any money, but... but we have, we'll 00:35:53.949 --> 00:35:55.869 give to you. And they grab his hand and they 00:35:55.869 --> 00:35:59.530 pull him up and he's healed instantly. And the 00:35:59.530 --> 00:36:02.550 word of God says that, you know, everybody's 00:36:02.550 --> 00:36:05.269 rejoicing, but the religious leaders are not 00:36:05.269 --> 00:36:07.030 rejoicing because they didn't like Jesus. They 00:36:07.030 --> 00:36:09.329 don't like the disciples and they arrest Peter 00:36:09.329 --> 00:36:12.530 and John. And the word of God goes on to say, 00:36:12.630 --> 00:36:14.530 if you go further down in that chapter in verse 00:36:14.530 --> 00:36:17.500 eight and then down into 13. It says that they 00:36:17.500 --> 00:36:19.559 brought him in before these religious leaders, 00:36:19.699 --> 00:36:22.820 these educated. Now, these are people, in modern 00:36:22.820 --> 00:36:24.460 days, it would be people who have doctorates 00:36:24.460 --> 00:36:27.059 in ministry. They're drugged before these people 00:36:27.059 --> 00:36:30.860 who are educated, who are, you know, they're 00:36:30.860 --> 00:36:33.159 versed in the Old Testament. A lot of them have 00:36:33.159 --> 00:36:35.300 to memorize, I think it was the first five books 00:36:35.300 --> 00:36:38.840 of the Bible, some of the people that were in 00:36:38.840 --> 00:36:41.280 these courts. They're drugging before these people, 00:36:41.380 --> 00:36:44.679 and Peter and John begin to speak, and they're 00:36:44.679 --> 00:36:48.800 amazed. Because they know these are uneducated 00:36:48.800 --> 00:36:51.679 men. These are fishermen, right? Peter's a fisherman. 00:36:52.320 --> 00:36:55.360 And they come in, and Peter and John begin to 00:36:55.360 --> 00:36:59.159 speak and answer for the power of God and Jesus 00:36:59.159 --> 00:37:02.119 who healed this man. And the Word of God says 00:37:02.119 --> 00:37:04.440 that they were stunned. They were amazed, right? 00:37:04.539 --> 00:37:09.900 I'm paraphrasing. What was that? It was the Holy 00:37:09.900 --> 00:37:14.179 Spirit. Luke 12, 11 says, when they bring you 00:37:14.179 --> 00:37:16.239 into the synagogue and the magistrate's authorities, 00:37:16.500 --> 00:37:19.239 when they bring you before the authorities, do 00:37:19.239 --> 00:37:22.019 not worry about how or what you should answer 00:37:22.019 --> 00:37:24.739 or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will 00:37:24.739 --> 00:37:26.599 teach you in that very hour what you ought to 00:37:26.599 --> 00:37:31.780 say. He's the power of God. He's the amazing 00:37:31.780 --> 00:37:36.099 in your testimony. He's the only way, right, 00:37:36.280 --> 00:37:39.539 that we can go and be completely empowered. So 00:37:39.539 --> 00:37:42.420 I'm going to ask you to stand this morning. I 00:37:42.420 --> 00:37:45.800 just got a question for you. And just be honest 00:37:45.800 --> 00:37:47.480 with yourself. You don't got to be honest with 00:37:47.480 --> 00:37:50.719 me. I want you to bow your heads. But you got 00:37:50.719 --> 00:37:52.719 to ask yourself the question, do I want to be 00:37:52.719 --> 00:37:57.559 immersed in the Holy Spirit? Do I want more and 00:37:57.559 --> 00:38:00.659 more and more of his amazing in my testimony 00:38:00.659 --> 00:38:05.340 of Jesus? Do I want more of that? Do I want to 00:38:05.340 --> 00:38:12.340 be baptized, immersed in his presence? The Holy 00:38:12.340 --> 00:38:16.260 Spirit's amazing in my acts of service to God. 00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:20.440 Do I want that? And as your eyes are closed, 00:38:20.679 --> 00:38:23.440 I know some of you right now, your heart's leaping 00:38:23.440 --> 00:38:26.019 right out of your chest. You want immersed. You 00:38:26.019 --> 00:38:28.599 want more of the Holy Spirit. You want to be 00:38:28.599 --> 00:38:32.099 baptized fully in the Holy Spirit. You need more 00:38:32.099 --> 00:38:34.460 of that. Some of you, it'll be for the very first 00:38:34.460 --> 00:38:37.739 time. Some of you, you've experienced what I'm 00:38:37.739 --> 00:38:42.159 talking about, and life is just... drug you down, 00:38:42.300 --> 00:38:45.099 and you're like the disciples, man. You're hiding 00:38:45.099 --> 00:38:47.619 in a room. You've locked the door. You're freaking 00:38:47.619 --> 00:38:50.440 out in fear about some things in your life, and 00:38:50.440 --> 00:38:53.219 you just need Jesus to come and breathe on you. 00:38:53.860 --> 00:38:56.940 and fill you for it and begin the process of 00:38:56.940 --> 00:38:59.400 baptizing you. Some of you are listening to me 00:38:59.400 --> 00:39:01.539 this morning and you're like, I'm not sure about 00:39:01.539 --> 00:39:04.340 this baptism stuff, Holy Spirit baptism. I need 00:39:04.340 --> 00:39:06.780 to learn more. That is perfectly okay. I tell 00:39:06.780 --> 00:39:09.559 people, dig in, man. Go into God's word, research 00:39:09.559 --> 00:39:11.780 it, find it. You'll find it there. Just look 00:39:11.780 --> 00:39:14.199 at what God has to say. Research for yourself. 00:39:14.579 --> 00:39:16.880 If some of you are in curiosity stage, awesome. 00:39:17.340 --> 00:39:20.059 Love it. Just keep seeking. Just keep looking. 00:39:30.119 --> 00:39:33.539 to this message from Lifehouse Church. We pray 00:39:33.539 --> 00:39:36.079 that you were impacted powerfully by this message. 00:39:36.420 --> 00:39:39.440 If you have been personally affected by our ministry 00:39:39.440 --> 00:39:42.199 and you would like to partner with us as we love 00:39:42.199 --> 00:39:45.340 God, love people every day, visit our website 00:39:45.340 --> 00:39:45.780 at