Drenched Wk 1

Yesterday we launched into a 2-week series on the Holy Spirit called Drenched. My prayer in 2010 is that the Holy Spirit would come within everyone who is saved by the Gospel and also come upon Vintage Church to display the Glory of God for the salvation of the World.

Here are my notes from the first sermon in our Drenched Series. We walked through Acts 1-2 while looking at three important aspects of the Spirit (Who He Is, When He Comes, and What He Does):

Francis Chan “The Forgotten God”
You might think that calling the Holy Spirit the “forgotten God” is a bit extreme. Maybe you agree that the church has focused too much attention elsewhere but feel it is an exaggeration to say we have forgotten about the Spirit. I don’t think so.
Perhaps we’re too familiar and comfortable with the current state of the church to feel the weight of the problem. But what if you grew up on a desert island with nothing but the Bible to read? Imagine being rescued after twenty years and then attending a typical evangelical church. Chances are you’d be shocked. Having read the Scriptures outside the context of contemporary church culture, you would be convinced that the Holy Spirit is as essential to a believer’s existence as air is to staying alive. You would know that the Spirit led the first Christians to do unexplainable things, to live lives that didn’t make sense to the culture around them, and ultimately to spread the story of God’s grace around the world.
There is a big gap between what we read in Scripture about the Holy Spirit and how most believers and churches operate today. In many churches, you would be stunned by the apparent absence of the Spirit in any manifest way. And this, I believe, is the crux of the problem.

1) WHO HE IS

• THE PROMISE (1:1-11)

Who is He?


*The Holy Spirit is a Person.
He speaks Rev 2:7
He intercedes Rom 8:26
He testifies John 15:26
He leads Acts 8:29
He commands Acts 16:6-7
He guides John 16:13
He appoints Acts 20:28
He can be lied to Acts 5:3-4
He can be insulted Heb 10:29
He can be blasphemed Matt 12:31-32
He can be grieved Eph 4:30

*The Holy Spirit is God.
He is eternal Heb 9:14
He is all-powerful (omnipotent) Luke 1:35
He is present everywhere (omnipresent) Ps. 139:7
He is all-knowing (omniscient) I Cor 2:10-11
He is called God 2 Cor 3:18
He is the Creator Col 1:16-17
He is God. Eph 4:4

2) WHEN HE COMES

• 1. THE OBEDIENCE (1:12-14)

• 2. THE LEADERSHIP (1:15-26)

• 3. THE ARRIVAL (2:1-4)

When does He come?

Before answering this question, we need to establish an important fact. The Holy Spirit has always been.

*For the most part as we study the Bible, here is our conclusion in regards to the Trinity:
OT – Work of God the Father
Gospels – Work of God the Son
From Pentecost – Work of the Holy Spirit

However, Scripture is very clear that God the Father, Son, & Spirit have been working together as three in one since the beginning of existence. Let’s look at the Spirit through Scripture & today.

*From Creation to Bethlehem –
In creation of the world Gen 1:2
In man’s creation Job 33:4
In the saving of man at the flood. Gen 6:3
He came upon, rested on, & filled men like Gideon, Samson, Zechariah, & David.
He told of the coming Messiah in Isaiah.

*From Bethlehem to Pentecost –
Jesus
Begotten of the Spirit Luke 1:35
Baptized by the Spirit John 1:32-33
Led by the Spirit Luke 4:1
Anointed by the Spirit Acts 10:38
Empowered by the Spirit Matt 12:27-28
Became an atonment for sin by the Spirit Heb 9:14
Raised by the Spirit Rom 8:11
Gave commands by the Spirit Acts 1:2

*From Pentecost till Now –
Works in the Individual I Cor 6:19
Works in the Church Eph 2:22
Works in the World John 16:7-11

When does He come?
He comes within everyone who is saved by the Gospel and also comes upon the church to display the Glory of God for the salvation of the World.


3) WHAT HE DOES

• 1. THE CLARITY (2:5-13)

• 2. THE WORDS (2:14-40)

• 3. THE RESULT (2:41-47)

What does He do?

We see the Holy Spirit coming within believers and upon believers for the Glory of God. In more detail here are some other examples of the Spirit at work.

Helps us speak as our MOUTHPIECE. Mark 13:11; Luke 12:12
Teaches us and reminds us as our CONVEYER. Ps. 143:10; John 14-16 Acts 9:31
Empowers us to witness as our EQUIPPER. Acts 1:8; Rom 8:26
Convicts us of our sin as our CONDEMNER. I Thess 1:5
Free us from our sinful slavery as our REDEEMER. 2 Cor 3:17
Protects us from our sinful nature as our DEFENDER. Rom 8:2
Surrounds us into His presence as our COMFORTER. Rom 8:15-16
Leads us by His fruit as our SANCTIFIER. Gal 5:22-23

*taken from "The Holy Spirit" by Billy Graham

Knowing...Who He is, When He comes, What He does. What is God stirring within your heart? I can tell you that what He is stirring within my heart is a longing to experience a DRENCHING movement of the Spirit of God within my life, within Vintage Church, throughout NOLA & the world.

Leonard Ravenhill Why Revival Tarries – A classic on revivals
In his chapter “As the Church Goes, So Goes the World” he writes,
For this midnight hour, incandescent men are needed. On the day of Pentecost, the flame of the living God became the flame of the human heart to that glorious company. The Church began with these men in the “upper room” agonizing – and today is ending with men in the supper room organizing. The Church began in revival; we are ending in ritual. We started virile; we are ending sterile. Charter members of the Church were men of heat and no degrees; today many hold degrees, but have no heat! Ah brethren, flame-hearted men are the crying need of the hour!......We need knights of prayer to lead nights of prayer.