WEBVTT 00:00:09.860 --> 00:00:12.679 Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:15.279 Henley, and thanks so much for tuning into our 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:19.000 podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast, 00:00:19.019 --> 00:00:20.859 you can have an encounter with Jesus that will 00:00:20.859 --> 00:00:24.359 change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:29.260 message from our preaching team. Today's reading 00:00:29.260 --> 00:00:35.280 comes from Axe. chapter 1 verse 1 to 8 and chapter 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:40.899 2 verse 1 to 4. The promise of the Holy Spirit. 00:00:41.579 --> 00:00:44.240 In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:47.060 everything Jesus began to do and teach until 00:00:47.060 --> 00:00:49.560 the day he was taken up to heaven after giving 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:52.740 his chosen apostles further instructions through 00:00:52.740 --> 00:00:56.320 the Holy Spirit. During the 40 days after he 00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:58.810 suffered and died, He appeared to the apostles 00:00:58.810 --> 00:01:01.609 from time to time, and He proved to them in many 00:01:01.609 --> 00:01:04.989 ways that He was actually alive. And He talked 00:01:04.989 --> 00:01:08.170 to them about the kingdom of God. Once when He 00:01:08.170 --> 00:01:11.230 was eating with them, He commanded them, Do not 00:01:11.230 --> 00:01:13.709 leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the 00:01:13.709 --> 00:01:17.349 gift He promised, as I told you before. John 00:01:17.349 --> 00:01:20.370 baptized with water, but in just a few days you 00:01:20.370 --> 00:01:24.290 will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So when 00:01:24.290 --> 00:01:26.790 the apostles were with Jesus they kept asking 00:01:26.790 --> 00:01:29.609 him Lord has the time come for you to free Israel 00:01:29.609 --> 00:01:33.409 and restore our kingdom He replied the father 00:01:33.409 --> 00:01:36.269 alone has the authority to set those dates and 00:01:36.269 --> 00:01:39.890 times and they are not for you to know But you 00:01:39.890 --> 00:01:42.129 will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes 00:01:42.129 --> 00:01:44.969 upon you and you will be my witnesses Telling 00:01:44.969 --> 00:01:48.069 people about me everywhere in Jerusalem throughout 00:01:48.069 --> 00:01:51.650 Judea in Samaria and to the ends of the earth 00:01:52.939 --> 00:01:56.680 the Holy Spirit comes. On the day of Pentecost 00:01:56.680 --> 00:01:59.299 all the believers were meeting together in one 00:01:59.299 --> 00:02:02.879 place. Suddenly there was a sound from heaven 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:06.019 like the roaring of a mighty windstorm and it 00:02:06.019 --> 00:02:08.460 filled the house where they were sitting. Then 00:02:08.460 --> 00:02:11.180 what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared 00:02:11.180 --> 00:02:14.780 and settled on each of them and everyone present 00:02:14.780 --> 00:02:17.919 was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:21.199 in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:27.979 this ability. This is the word of God. Thanks, 00:02:28.060 --> 00:02:36.520 Thomas. Hi. Hey, if I don't know you, my name's 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:40.340 Jenny and I am one of the pastors here. I say 00:02:40.340 --> 00:02:42.039 it in kind of prospect, but in kind of Adelaide, 00:02:42.120 --> 00:02:46.860 really, which is a bit fun. And it is so good 00:02:46.860 --> 00:02:50.240 to all be in the house together today. In the 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:52.819 scripture there it said, they were all gathered 00:02:52.819 --> 00:02:55.680 in the one place. And I thought, that's us. That's 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:59.199 us today, praise the Lord. Hey, happy Pentecost, 00:03:00.039 --> 00:03:02.759 right? It's like saying happy birthday church. 00:03:03.020 --> 00:03:05.099 And every time we say happy birthday, we get 00:03:05.099 --> 00:03:08.439 cake, right? Yeah, so I'm giving you all permission 00:03:08.439 --> 00:03:11.259 to have cake because it's Pentecost. Hey, before 00:03:11.259 --> 00:03:13.099 I get into this, just why does one have an excuse 00:03:13.099 --> 00:03:15.819 to have cake, really? Before I get into the word, 00:03:15.900 --> 00:03:19.520 let me just pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:23.080 that you are here with us today. Lord, I know 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:28.080 that your word is all we need. And so Heavenly 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:31.900 Father, I pray today as I speak, Lord God, will 00:03:31.900 --> 00:03:35.340 it be your word, Lord God? And will you bring 00:03:35.340 --> 00:03:38.460 the scriptures alive in our life, Lord God, as 00:03:38.460 --> 00:03:43.080 we look at how to follow you? Come Holy Spirit 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:45.680 and be in this place as I bring the word in Jesus 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:50.560 name. Amen. Amen. Hey, so it is Pentecost, which 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:54.060 is very exciting. But many of you might not know 00:03:54.060 --> 00:03:57.580 what Pentecost is. In Christian circles, we talk 00:03:57.580 --> 00:03:59.780 about Pentecost being when the Holy Spirit came. 00:03:59.819 --> 00:04:02.879 But Pentecost was actually a festival that the 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:06.620 Jewish people used to attend. So they would travel 00:04:06.620 --> 00:04:09.340 to thousands all over, from all over the world, 00:04:09.560 --> 00:04:13.900 would travel to Jerusalem to celebrate a thing 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:16.980 called Shavuot. I'm so sorry if you're Jewish 00:04:16.980 --> 00:04:19.180 in the room. I would have pronounced that terribly. 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:23.139 But this was a time when they celebrated the 00:04:23.139 --> 00:04:26.720 10 commandments that Moses that Moses was given 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:28.980 on Mount Sinai, about 50 days after they left 00:04:28.980 --> 00:04:32.220 Egypt. So this moment, this day that they celebrate 00:04:32.220 --> 00:04:35.860 was actually a really pivotal moment in their 00:04:35.860 --> 00:04:38.339 relationship with God. And the same thing goes 00:04:38.339 --> 00:04:41.300 for us here now today. As we celebrate Pentecost, 00:04:41.420 --> 00:04:44.750 it's a real pivotal... point in our calendar 00:04:44.750 --> 00:04:46.829 that we celebrate and that we remember the Holy 00:04:46.829 --> 00:04:49.290 Spirit coming. So it's a really important day. 00:04:49.310 --> 00:04:51.670 We don't just brush over this day as an extra 00:04:51.670 --> 00:04:53.910 Sunday that we have. It's actually really important 00:04:53.910 --> 00:04:56.170 to press into Pentecost and what that actually 00:04:56.170 --> 00:04:59.089 means for us. But we always talk about the Holy 00:04:59.089 --> 00:05:01.149 Spirit coming, but very rarely do we talk about 00:05:01.149 --> 00:05:03.949 what happened just before the Holy Spirit came. 00:05:04.050 --> 00:05:07.230 And so I'm going to start there tonight. Now, 00:05:07.490 --> 00:05:09.050 for those of you who don't know me very well, 00:05:09.310 --> 00:05:12.870 I'm a very impatient person, right? I'm like 00:05:12.870 --> 00:05:14.389 Jess, my best friend is just laughing at her. 00:05:14.670 --> 00:05:16.370 Yeah, I'm very, I'm quite impatient. I'm the 00:05:16.370 --> 00:05:19.050 kind of person that when I am ready to go, I 00:05:19.050 --> 00:05:22.509 am out in my car with the car started and it 00:05:22.509 --> 00:05:24.750 doesn't matter whether all the lights in the 00:05:24.750 --> 00:05:26.550 house are on and all the doors are open and my 00:05:26.550 --> 00:05:28.389 husband's in there turning them all off. Am I 00:05:28.389 --> 00:05:30.750 right Mike? It doesn't matter because I'm ready 00:05:30.750 --> 00:05:36.569 to go and that is what matters. Yes, it is. I 00:05:36.569 --> 00:05:38.720 am... I've worked out this week that I have a 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:40.800 lot of traits that are very similar to a toddler. 00:05:41.660 --> 00:05:44.319 I don't know if that's a good thing or not. But 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:47.040 if you ever have a toddler or you know of a toddler, 00:05:47.420 --> 00:05:50.259 you know that when they are deciding they want 00:05:50.259 --> 00:05:52.360 to put their shoes on, they're going to put their 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:54.720 shoes on. And there's nothing you can do about 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:57.040 that, whether you are late to the event or not. 00:05:57.259 --> 00:05:59.839 And then when they decide they're going, they 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:02.120 go and they will drag you and take your hand 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:05.000 and you have no ability to stop them because 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:07.000 they're a toddler. And no one can scream like 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:11.220 a toddler, except possibly me. It's funny, it's 00:06:11.220 --> 00:06:13.439 kind of inbuilt in us some ways to be impatient, 00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:15.579 right? Some of you, I'm sure, are a lot more 00:06:15.579 --> 00:06:17.600 patient than I am. But I think there's something 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:20.759 inside of us that we all are a little bit impatient, 00:06:21.379 --> 00:06:26.939 right? I think we don't really like waiting on 00:06:26.939 --> 00:06:31.470 things. So something, preach this text. I tried 00:06:31.470 --> 00:06:35.370 to look up this week how long we wait for in 00:06:35.370 --> 00:06:36.629 our life, right? You know, how there's stats 00:06:36.629 --> 00:06:38.930 and all that kind of stuff. And I don't know 00:06:38.930 --> 00:06:41.230 if it's because some people live in the country 00:06:41.230 --> 00:06:42.850 and some people live in New York, but the internet 00:06:42.850 --> 00:06:45.889 cannot get it right. So as anything from six 00:06:45.889 --> 00:06:48.209 months through to five years of our life, we 00:06:48.209 --> 00:06:51.769 spend waiting. So that's a long time. We wait 00:06:51.769 --> 00:06:54.629 in lines, we wait for people, we wait for traffic, 00:06:54.629 --> 00:06:58.050 we wait for... web pages to load, if you're like 00:06:58.050 --> 00:07:01.350 me, you need a better internet server. Waiting 00:07:01.350 --> 00:07:06.310 can be frustrating. And so what do we do when 00:07:06.310 --> 00:07:09.790 we're waiting? I think for most of us, we've 00:07:09.790 --> 00:07:13.160 been waiting for a little while. we start to 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:15.360 get frustrated, right? We start to go, okay, 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:18.139 I've waited, I've done it on your timing. I'm 00:07:18.139 --> 00:07:19.680 now a little bit frustrated. I'm just gonna do 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:22.480 it on my own timing. I'm just gonna go and step 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:24.560 out and do whatever I wanna do because I've been 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:26.639 waiting a long time for you and there's only 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:31.439 so long we can wait. And so I want us to think 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:34.379 about how hard it is for us to wait. And then 00:07:34.379 --> 00:07:37.149 we're gonna jump into acts. Throughout Acts, 00:07:37.290 --> 00:07:40.290 we hear about the work of the Holy Spirit. We 00:07:40.290 --> 00:07:42.730 also hear about the building up of his church. 00:07:43.230 --> 00:07:46.410 But in Acts 1, we get to hear a little bit, Luke 00:07:46.410 --> 00:07:48.589 talks a little bit about Jesus's last interactions 00:07:48.589 --> 00:07:51.310 with the disciples. And in those last interactions 00:07:51.310 --> 00:07:53.110 with the disciples, one of the things he says 00:07:53.110 --> 00:07:57.120 is, guys, I want you to wait. Now they've been 00:07:57.120 --> 00:08:00.839 with Jesus for 40 days. So three years and then 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:02.560 he rose again. He died and rose again. And then 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:04.740 he was on the earth for around about 40 days. 00:08:04.759 --> 00:08:06.540 And they've been with him for about 40 days and 00:08:06.540 --> 00:08:08.759 he's been teaching them. And it's what an experience. 00:08:09.139 --> 00:08:11.600 What a time to be alive, right? To be alive. 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:14.699 Your Savior, the one that you knew and that you 00:08:14.699 --> 00:08:17.079 had loved and you'd walked with, had died and 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:19.279 then he had rose again. It's pretty exciting 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:21.120 time. I reckon these 40 days would have been 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:23.779 very exciting. And I think about how they would 00:08:23.779 --> 00:08:25.220 have been like, you know what, we've, you know, 00:08:25.339 --> 00:08:27.060 Jesus is here and he's about to go up to heaven 00:08:27.060 --> 00:08:28.819 and we're going to be sent out and it's going 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:32.460 to be great. I just imagine when they're in Matthew 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:34.740 28, when he does the Great Commission, he's saying, 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:38.580 hey, guys, I'm commissioning you to go out into 00:08:38.580 --> 00:08:41.200 the world to make disciples of all nations and 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:43.259 proclaim the good news of Jesus wherever you 00:08:43.259 --> 00:08:44.980 go and let the Holy Spirit come and lead you. 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:46.799 And they would have been like, amen and hallelujah. 00:08:46.840 --> 00:08:49.259 Am I right? Absolutely, they would have been. 00:08:49.259 --> 00:08:51.759 They would have been so excited. So in that moment, 00:08:51.779 --> 00:08:53.919 Jesus is about to go up to heaven. And he's like, 00:08:53.919 --> 00:08:55.399 yep, you guys, you've got this, right? I'm going 00:08:55.399 --> 00:08:56.779 to send you out. You're going to go out. You're 00:08:56.779 --> 00:08:58.360 going to create disciples. You're going to see 00:08:58.360 --> 00:09:00.399 miracles. It's going to be wonderful. But also, 00:09:00.620 --> 00:09:06.580 wait. Hang on, Jesus. Like, what? What do you 00:09:06.580 --> 00:09:08.779 mean wait? Like, I mean, we're three years with 00:09:08.779 --> 00:09:11.299 you, mate. Like, we've seen the miracles. You 00:09:11.299 --> 00:09:13.539 told us we're going out to make disciples. You 00:09:13.539 --> 00:09:15.759 told us what to do. Like, why can't we go? And 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:20.080 Jesus says, wait. Now, as I'm getting older, 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:23.659 I am learning to wait a little bit longer. But 00:09:23.659 --> 00:09:25.980 there's a part of me that desperately wants to 00:09:25.980 --> 00:09:27.500 move forward. And I imagine in that moment there's 00:09:27.500 --> 00:09:28.960 a part of the disciples who desperately wanted 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:33.379 to move forward. But they didn't. They chose 00:09:33.379 --> 00:09:41.039 to wait on the Lord. In Acts 1, Jesus says very, 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:44.629 very clearly, do not leave Jerusalem but wait 00:09:44.629 --> 00:09:47.389 for the gift my father promised which you have 00:09:47.389 --> 00:09:49.870 heard me speak about for John baptized with water 00:09:49.870 --> 00:09:52.169 but in a few days you'll be baptized with the 00:09:52.169 --> 00:09:55.690 Holy Spirit. So the disciples had that choice 00:09:55.690 --> 00:09:59.629 and they made their choice to wait but then they 00:09:59.629 --> 00:10:03.129 had to choose what are they gonna do in that 00:10:03.129 --> 00:10:06.250 waiting. Friends what do you do in the waiting? 00:10:06.570 --> 00:10:08.789 Do you get like me and get a little bit frustrated 00:10:08.789 --> 00:10:10.669 and honk the horn and be like come on it doesn't 00:10:10.669 --> 00:10:13.610 take that long to turn off lights? Or do you 00:10:13.610 --> 00:10:15.570 just like actually put your car into reverse 00:10:15.570 --> 00:10:18.850 and drive out? I've never done that. What do 00:10:18.850 --> 00:10:21.570 you do when you're in the waiting? Friends when 00:10:21.570 --> 00:10:25.389 I was 11 years old I was listening to an audio 00:10:25.389 --> 00:10:28.950 tape of a woman preaching or speaking or something 00:10:28.950 --> 00:10:32.549 and I felt very clearly the Lord say I am calling 00:10:32.549 --> 00:10:37.259 you to pastoral ministry. I was 11. I didn't 00:10:37.259 --> 00:10:40.480 step into my calling into pastoral ministry as 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:45.519 my vocation until I was 33 years old. 22 years 00:10:45.519 --> 00:10:49.840 I waited. 22 years I knew what God was calling 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:53.539 me to and I waited for Him to release me in that. 00:10:53.700 --> 00:10:55.960 But I didn't in those 22 years sit on my butt 00:10:55.960 --> 00:10:58.340 and just like grumble at God, like I probably 00:10:58.340 --> 00:11:00.620 did grumble at God a little bit, but I did things. 00:11:00.620 --> 00:11:03.419 I pressed into God. I worked on my character. 00:11:03.620 --> 00:11:06.299 I worked on my relationship with God and I stayed 00:11:06.299 --> 00:11:09.059 very close to the church and to God. Well, He 00:11:09.059 --> 00:11:14.360 kept me very close. And when He released me, 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:19.269 was I fully ready? No. No, I was not, but I was 00:11:19.269 --> 00:11:22.389 empowered by the Holy Spirit to go out and do 00:11:22.389 --> 00:11:24.909 what He had called me to do. And in this job, 00:11:24.990 --> 00:11:29.929 you need that. Friends, the disciples, when Jesus 00:11:29.929 --> 00:11:32.029 said, wait, they didn't go back to their homes 00:11:32.029 --> 00:11:35.440 and sit and do nothing. They went to a home together. 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:37.360 It says they were all together. So there was 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:40.039 probably about 120 people or so. It would have 00:11:40.039 --> 00:11:42.840 been a room probably about this, I don't know, 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:44.460 the room was this size. The room might have been 00:11:44.460 --> 00:11:45.600 much smaller, but it would have been about this 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:48.740 amount of people probably in that room. And they 00:11:48.740 --> 00:11:51.559 went there and they prayed and they worshiped. 00:11:51.620 --> 00:11:55.039 In Acts 1 it says, they all joined together consistently 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:58.139 in prayer along with the women and Mary and the 00:11:58.139 --> 00:12:01.690 mother of Jesus and his brothers. So friends, 00:12:01.730 --> 00:12:06.309 what is your posture when God says, wait? Will 00:12:06.309 --> 00:12:10.009 you worship till you see the promises fulfilled? 00:12:11.049 --> 00:12:13.529 What if your promise takes longer than a year? 00:12:14.750 --> 00:12:18.870 Will you wait? Will you worship? What if it takes 00:12:18.870 --> 00:12:23.049 five years? Will you wait? Will you worship? 00:12:24.539 --> 00:12:27.720 What would it look like if this church decided 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:30.799 to wait and to pray and to worship till we saw 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:33.960 the promises that God has put before us? Friends, 00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:36.899 I think for many of us, we have a set time where 00:12:36.899 --> 00:12:40.440 we're okay to worship God, right? Between 3 and 00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:43.279 4 .30 or 4 and 5 .30 depending on which site 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:48.220 you're at or 10 to 11 .15. We have a set time 00:12:48.220 --> 00:12:51.100 that we worship God and heaven forbid that God 00:12:51.100 --> 00:12:54.659 might want to move outside of that time. And 00:12:54.659 --> 00:12:56.500 unfortunately, friends, I think we need to repent 00:12:56.500 --> 00:12:58.899 of that mindset because God is actually calling 00:12:58.899 --> 00:13:02.419 us as a church to worship at every single opportunity 00:13:02.419 --> 00:13:09.980 that we have in our life. In the waiting, the 00:13:09.980 --> 00:13:15.720 disciples decided to pray. In the waiting, we 00:13:15.720 --> 00:13:20.799 are called to pray. Friends, when we pray, mountains 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:25.210 move. When we worship, strongholds break. When 00:13:25.210 --> 00:13:28.450 the Holy Spirit moves, lives are transformed. 00:13:29.070 --> 00:13:34.230 When the disciples began to pray, they saw something 00:13:34.230 --> 00:13:38.769 miraculous happen. And they prayed and they waited 00:13:38.769 --> 00:13:42.009 and they prayed and they waited. And this was 00:13:42.009 --> 00:13:47.059 all before the Holy Spirit was poured out. I 00:13:47.059 --> 00:13:48.940 think it's really interesting that this week 00:13:48.940 --> 00:13:51.740 in particular, our church has been seeing a move 00:13:51.740 --> 00:13:55.940 of God. I have heard stories this week of miracles. 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:58.879 I have heard stories this week of people speaking 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:01.679 in tongues for the first time. I've heard people 00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:04.340 interpreting tongues in this church. I've heard 00:14:04.340 --> 00:14:06.539 of people that have been a part of ministries 00:14:06.539 --> 00:14:10.179 that have seen hundreds, lots of salvations this 00:14:10.179 --> 00:14:13.559 week. I think it was 25, which is still amazing, 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:19.080 right? Like that's amazing. We have seen prophecies. 00:14:19.460 --> 00:14:22.519 We have seen people meeting people in stores 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:25.519 who just needed that conversation. We have seen 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:27.740 God moment after God moment after God moment 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:30.720 this week. And I truly believe that those moments 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:33.159 are happening because it's coming out of our 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:36.519 willingness as a church to pray. It's no coincidence 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:40.000 that over the last year we have seen the prayer 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:45.279 life at Encounter Adelaide grow. We have now 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:48.320 a dedicated prayer space down at Henley. We've 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:52.259 had 24 seven prayer days. We have a women's prayer 00:14:52.259 --> 00:14:54.460 group that is fire by the way, if you ever wanna 00:14:54.460 --> 00:14:58.519 get there. We have a 7 a .m. that every day people 00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:02.059 meet and pray online. This church is a church 00:15:02.059 --> 00:15:05.679 that prays. And I've noticed as we've been praying 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:08.059 over this last year, the spiritual temperature 00:15:08.059 --> 00:15:13.970 of our church has grown. When we pray, something 00:15:13.970 --> 00:15:18.429 shifts. But friends, if you're in a time of waiting, 00:15:19.450 --> 00:15:22.210 sometimes we pray for a little bit, but then 00:15:22.210 --> 00:15:25.929 we get downhearted, right? And we stop praying. 00:15:26.970 --> 00:15:28.669 Friends, when the disciples were in that room 00:15:28.669 --> 00:15:32.110 together, they didn't have to wait long. It was 00:15:32.110 --> 00:15:34.409 about, probably about 10 days they waited for, 00:15:34.409 --> 00:15:38.330 but they prayed. And they stayed in that attitude 00:15:38.330 --> 00:15:40.909 of prayer. And do you know what? I have a feeling, 00:15:41.129 --> 00:15:43.950 that even if had gone for weeks and for months, 00:15:44.049 --> 00:15:45.929 they would have stayed and they would have kept 00:15:45.929 --> 00:15:48.389 praying. And I think I know that because they 00:15:48.389 --> 00:15:51.710 knew that the assignment was that important, 00:15:52.029 --> 00:15:54.730 that they needed to pray and to keep praying. 00:15:54.929 --> 00:15:57.710 And some of you here, your assignment is that 00:15:57.710 --> 00:16:01.009 important, all of you. Your assignment is that 00:16:01.009 --> 00:16:03.009 important that you need to pray and you need 00:16:03.009 --> 00:16:06.009 to keep on praying until you see those promises 00:16:06.009 --> 00:16:11.879 of God fulfilled. Today we have to pray in the 00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:16.220 waiting. And we also have to worship in the waiting. 00:16:17.460 --> 00:16:20.759 Now the disciples knew what worshiping meant. 00:16:21.259 --> 00:16:23.639 And by gathering together they were doing various 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:27.340 acts of worship. Now when I say worship, most 00:16:27.340 --> 00:16:33.600 of you think of... No one? Yeah, you think of 00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:39.759 music, right? Now worship is not... Not that, 00:16:40.740 --> 00:16:45.700 but it's not only that. It's not just prayer, 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:49.100 although that is an act of worship. It's not 00:16:49.100 --> 00:16:53.860 just that. Worship is an act of devotion. It's 00:16:53.860 --> 00:16:56.700 where we put God in his rightful place, acknowledging 00:16:56.700 --> 00:16:59.960 his power and his sovereignty. And when we sing 00:16:59.960 --> 00:17:03.440 songs and they've got words of praise to God, 00:17:03.700 --> 00:17:06.160 absolutely that is worship. But it's just one 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:08.380 kind of worship. And the disciples were worshiping 00:17:08.380 --> 00:17:11.380 in many different ways. They're encouraging each 00:17:11.380 --> 00:17:15.920 other. They were serving each other. They were 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:18.539 worshiping God in every way that they could in 00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:23.000 that home before the Holy Spirit fell on them. 00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:28.619 Before it. We were waiting for a miracle. or 00:17:28.619 --> 00:17:32.000 our promise to be fulfilled, it can be easy to 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:35.480 slip out of worship. Why serve others when I'm 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:39.200 hurting? Why sing about how good God is when 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:43.440 I don't feel like He is good? But if you want 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:49.420 to see a move in power of the Holy Spirit, then 00:17:49.420 --> 00:17:54.059 worship is your weapon. There is peace beyond 00:17:54.059 --> 00:17:56.380 understanding when we worship in the waiting. 00:17:56.680 --> 00:18:00.400 And we worship when we're not quite there yet. 00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:05.619 There's some peace that comes there. Friends, 00:18:05.619 --> 00:18:08.700 if we wanna see a move of the Holy Spirit tonight, 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:12.019 I believe we have to pray and we have to worship. 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:14.180 And the last thing we have to do is we have to 00:18:14.180 --> 00:18:21.720 come expectant for the Holy Spirit to move. The 00:18:21.720 --> 00:18:25.900 disciples don't walk to Jerusalem and then worship. 00:18:25.950 --> 00:18:29.190 for over a week straight, without the knowledge, 00:18:29.390 --> 00:18:32.349 without the anticipation, without knowing that 00:18:32.349 --> 00:18:35.390 Jesus is gonna move. And that when Jesus says 00:18:35.390 --> 00:18:37.789 something's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. 00:18:39.150 --> 00:18:43.490 Excuse me. They are expectant of God to send 00:18:43.490 --> 00:18:48.109 the Holy Spirit. They worship, but knowing that 00:18:48.109 --> 00:18:51.289 if God's promised something, He would provide 00:18:51.289 --> 00:18:53.589 it. They had seen it for the last three years. 00:18:53.630 --> 00:18:56.750 It had been their life. That if Jesus said, this 00:18:56.750 --> 00:18:58.309 is gonna happen, then this is gonna happen. And 00:18:58.309 --> 00:19:00.430 Jesus has said, pray and the Holy Spirit will 00:19:00.430 --> 00:19:02.710 come. So they came expected knowing that the 00:19:02.710 --> 00:19:04.589 Holy Spirit would come. And I wanna ask us church, 00:19:04.710 --> 00:19:07.210 are we expected for the Holy Spirit to come today? 00:19:07.809 --> 00:19:10.470 Do we want the Holy Spirit to come? Because it 00:19:10.470 --> 00:19:15.049 was promised to us on 10 days. Before Pentecost, 00:19:15.130 --> 00:19:17.109 the Holy Spirit would come and fall upon all 00:19:17.109 --> 00:19:19.650 believers. So we can't expect that to happen 00:19:19.650 --> 00:19:24.509 even today. Friends, if you have been given a 00:19:24.509 --> 00:19:29.710 promise by God, hold on to that promise. Hold 00:19:29.710 --> 00:19:32.730 on to that promise because He is a God who fulfills 00:19:32.730 --> 00:19:39.869 His promises. Psalm 27 14 says, wait and confidently 00:19:39.869 --> 00:19:45.390 expect the Lord. Be strong and let your heart 00:19:45.390 --> 00:19:51.029 take courage. Yes, wait confidently. Expect the 00:19:51.029 --> 00:19:59.490 Lord. It is joy. It should be our joy to come 00:19:59.490 --> 00:20:06.369 to the altar expecting God to move today. It 00:20:06.369 --> 00:20:11.829 was God's joy to send Jesus his greatest promise 00:20:11.829 --> 00:20:16.490 to us. Friends, He fulfilled right then in that 00:20:16.490 --> 00:20:20.049 moment, every promise you could ever need. The 00:20:20.049 --> 00:20:25.009 gift of salvation, a free gift given to you by 00:20:25.009 --> 00:20:28.910 sending His Son. So church, let's be a church 00:20:28.910 --> 00:20:33.059 who expects God to move. I know it's in His timing 00:20:33.059 --> 00:20:35.660 and we don't force these kind of things but we 00:20:35.660 --> 00:20:39.259 can worship and we can pray and we can seek the 00:20:39.259 --> 00:20:42.220 Lord and we can wait on Him expectantly for Him 00:20:42.220 --> 00:20:49.819 to move. In Acts 2, the last little bit, it says 00:20:49.819 --> 00:20:52.359 they were gathered in a house and a sound like 00:20:52.359 --> 00:20:54.839 a rushing wind swept through the house and tongues 00:20:54.839 --> 00:20:58.759 of fire came to rest on each one of them. Fire 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:01.859 over their heads, what does that mean? Well, 00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:05.720 you need to understand the significance of this 00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:08.740 moment. This is not just a pretty cool moment. 00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:10.140 Like, I mean, it would be pretty cool if there 00:21:10.140 --> 00:21:12.460 were little fires above all your heads right 00:21:12.460 --> 00:21:15.640 now as I preached. But it wasn't just a cool 00:21:15.640 --> 00:21:21.799 moment. In the Old Testament, when God established 00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:25.420 a temple, He uses wind and fire to show this. 00:21:26.059 --> 00:21:29.069 When God's presence showed up, by fire in Mount 00:21:29.069 --> 00:21:31.549 Sion. He made a covenant with his people and 00:21:31.549 --> 00:21:34.309 gave them the Ten Commandments. When the fire 00:21:34.309 --> 00:21:38.849 fell and poured on the tabernacle, God's presence 00:21:38.849 --> 00:21:41.890 went out to his people. And when Solomon built 00:21:41.890 --> 00:21:45.069 the temple, he put a sacrifice and God sent fire 00:21:45.069 --> 00:21:48.329 to heaven and the fire filled the temple. And 00:21:48.329 --> 00:21:51.400 God's presence was there. So when the tongues 00:21:51.400 --> 00:21:54.240 of fire came and rested on their heads, it's 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:56.880 not just about a physical fire to keep them warm, 00:21:57.119 --> 00:22:00.720 but rather about God's dwelling place shifting 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:06.759 from the physical temple in Jerusalem to us, 00:22:07.460 --> 00:22:13.740 the believers. The Holy Spirit is symbolized 00:22:13.740 --> 00:22:21.609 by fire. is poured out upon all believers, empowering 00:22:21.609 --> 00:22:25.730 them to speak in different languages, signifying 00:22:25.730 --> 00:22:29.490 the church as God's new temple, a community where 00:22:29.490 --> 00:22:34.950 God's presence resides. All believers are the 00:22:34.950 --> 00:22:38.490 temple of God. In the Old Testament, they needed 00:22:38.490 --> 00:22:41.529 a building, and it's lovely to meet in a building, 00:22:41.549 --> 00:22:45.589 particularly on a wet winter's day. But this 00:22:45.589 --> 00:22:50.289 is not the temple of God. We are the temple of 00:22:50.289 --> 00:22:53.150 God. You, if you believe in Jesus, are the temple 00:22:53.150 --> 00:22:57.849 of God. And there is power in the presence of 00:22:57.849 --> 00:22:59.890 God. If you are the temple and the presence of 00:22:59.890 --> 00:23:03.170 God lives in you, then there is power in and 00:23:03.170 --> 00:23:07.970 through Jesus, through you. There is the disciples 00:23:07.970 --> 00:23:09.789 when the Holy Spirit came, they went out and 00:23:09.789 --> 00:23:12.210 they spoke in tongues and they saw 3 ,000 people 00:23:12.210 --> 00:23:15.230 come to know the Lord. Do you know that God can 00:23:15.230 --> 00:23:18.269 do that here today, in this moment, in this church, 00:23:18.269 --> 00:23:22.470 because He can. He can. He wants to move. He 00:23:22.470 --> 00:23:25.470 wants to transform your life, to break chains, 00:23:25.589 --> 00:23:28.329 to see healing, to see your family and friends 00:23:28.329 --> 00:23:33.329 know the love of Jesus. So friends, if God is 00:23:33.329 --> 00:23:38.410 so powerful, why don't we wait for Him? Why don't 00:23:38.410 --> 00:23:40.809 we long for the power of the Holy Spirit within 00:23:40.809 --> 00:23:45.480 our lives? Because this is the power that breaks 00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:51.539 chains. We're going to be sent out of this place 00:23:51.539 --> 00:23:57.160 tonight, but not without power of the Holy Spirit. 00:23:58.940 --> 00:24:00.700 And some of us, we've been trying to do this 00:24:00.700 --> 00:24:02.640 in our own strength, this Christian walk in our 00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:05.779 own strength. We don't want to wait for Jesus 00:24:05.779 --> 00:24:08.059 to show up and to show us what to do and to guide 00:24:08.059 --> 00:24:10.119 us and to lead us and to fill us. We just want 00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:13.779 to get on with the work. And I get that. I love 00:24:13.779 --> 00:24:19.339 that, but also I hate that because there is so 00:24:19.339 --> 00:24:23.200 much more power when God comes upon you and you 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:27.839 allow the Holy Spirit to be at work in you. What 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:32.099 we do in the waiting prepares us for the calling 00:24:32.099 --> 00:24:36.519 on our lives. I want us to change the world for 00:24:36.519 --> 00:24:40.880 God. But I want us to be like the disciples who 00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:43.339 wait for the Holy Spirit to empower us to do 00:24:43.339 --> 00:24:47.299 it. And the cool thing about where we are today 00:24:47.299 --> 00:24:49.960 is the Holy Spirit has been poured out. We don't 00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:53.259 have to wait for Pentecost. The Holy Spirit has 00:24:53.259 --> 00:24:57.640 already been given to us. We can simply say the 00:24:57.640 --> 00:25:07.339 words, Holy Spirit come and watch Him move. Friends, 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:12.099 when you receive the Holy Spirit, it's not for 00:25:12.099 --> 00:25:14.940 your enjoyment necessarily, although it is a 00:25:14.940 --> 00:25:19.359 wonderful encounter with God. It's actually so 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:23.559 that we can go out into the world proclaiming 00:25:23.559 --> 00:25:27.279 the good news, seeing more people come to know 00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:32.539 Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. When you prophesy, 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:35.079 you glorify the Father. When you speak in tongues, 00:25:35.119 --> 00:25:37.980 you glorify the Father. When you share the good 00:25:37.980 --> 00:25:42.099 news of Jesus, you glorify the Father. When we 00:25:42.099 --> 00:25:45.839 say, Holy Spirit come, we need to do it for His 00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:50.339 glory. And so tonight, I felt like God said, 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:54.279 will you as a church pray? Will you worship? 00:25:55.539 --> 00:26:00.160 And will you come expectant for me to move? Because 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:03.940 friends I know there is a lot of you here who 00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:06.940 have been given promises from God and you are 00:26:06.940 --> 00:26:12.420 in that waiting time. Do not stop praying. Do 00:26:12.420 --> 00:26:17.859 not stop worshipping. Do not stop expecting that 00:26:17.859 --> 00:26:26.660 God who promised you will fulfill. Thanks so 00:26:26.660 --> 00:26:29.160 much for tuning into this week's message. If 00:26:29.160 --> 00:26:32.099 you felt challenged or need prayer, we'd love 00:26:32.099 --> 00:26:34.519 to hear from you on Instagram at encounterhenley. 00:26:35.200 --> 00:26:37.440 Or if you're interested in how you can support 00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:41.400 this ministry, please go to our website encounteradelaide 00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:45.579 .com .au. Thanks again for listening. God bless 00:26:45.579 --> 00:26:45.940 you.