Details
Pastor Ian Upward speaks on Pentecost this Sunday out of acts chapter 2 verses 1 - 4
Podcast
speechmale speechman speaking
Comment
Details
Pastor Ian Upward speaks on Pentecost this Sunday out of acts chapter 2 verses 1 - 4
Comment
Pastor Ian Upward speaks on Pentecost this Sunday out of acts chapter 2 verses 1 - 4
Listen to Pentecost by Sompting Community Church MP3 song. Pentecost song from Sompting Community Church is available on Audio.com. The duration of song is 46:51. This high-quality MP3 track has 102.416 kbps bitrate and was uploaded on 26 May 2024. Stream and download Pentecost by Sompting Community Church for free on Audio.com – your ultimate destination for MP3 music.
Comment
Loading comments...
Mae'n ddiddorol y bydd y penderfynwyr gwych sy'n cael ei hyrwyddo y bydd y llun yn dod allan ac, er mwyn ei weld, mae'n rhaid i ni ddrau'r cerdynion. Mae'n anhygoel iawn. Wrth i'r cerdynion hwnnw chwarae, roeddwn i'n teimlo'n amlwg sut ydw i'n ymddiriedu Gogledd y diwrnod hwnnw? Ydw i'n dweud wrth iddo ddewis? Neu ydw i'n dweud wrth iddo ddewis? Ac yna roeddwn i'n meddwl am sut i ni ymddiriedu cyrch. Rydw i'n ymddiriedu, rydw i'n ymddiriedu'n llai, bod ystafell yma ddim yn edrych fel cyrch. Rydw i'n dweud, edrychwch arno. Edrychwch ymlaen. Mae'r rhan fwyaf ohonoch chi wedi cael diwrnodau ysgol ddiwrnod ddiwrnod ddiwrnod ychydig yn eich chair. Mae'n ddiddorol iawn. Rydyn ni'n golygu bannerau ar gyfer ysgolion a chynlluniau. Nid yw'r cyrtynau'n cyffredin yn iawn. Nid yw'r tywyllau ysgol yn gysylltiedig. Nid yw'n dda iawn. Ond rydych chi'n ddiddorol iawn, Bob. Nid yw'n ein ysgol. Dyma'r ysgol. Rydw i eisiau i chi fuddsoddi ar hyn. Mae hwn o ran Joshua. Rydw i o ran Joshua. Yr eithaf arall o'r ffyrdd Jordan, yn y plaenau Moab. Mae'n le dŵr, dŵr. Nid yw'n le dŵr iawn. Dim adeiladau ymlaen. Ac mae'n cael ei hyrwyddo gan yr ysgol i'r Llywodraeth, sydd i gyd yn Iesu. Yr ysgol i'r Llywodraeth ymdrechodd, Gadewch i'ch sandalau. Oherwydd mae'r lle lle rydych chi'n eistedd yn hawl. Doedd dim adeilad yno. Roedd e a Joshua ar eu hunain. Dim unrhyw un arall yno. Ar hyn o bryd. Doedd y dŵr ddim wedi cael ei hyrwyddo. Doedd e ddim yn cael sefydliadau ymdrechol. Ond lle mae Iesu'n eistedd, lle mae Iesu'n eistedd yn hawl, ac er mwyn hynny, mae cod ymdrech i gael ei hyrwyddo. Mae sefydliad i gael ei hyrwyddo. Mae hyrwyddo i gael ei hyrwyddo. Ac nid y mae'n rhaid i ni ymdrechu ymdrechion, ymdrechion. Nid ydyn ni'n rhoi hynny i'r ysgol, mae'n rhoi hynny i ni. A byddwn ni'n edrych ar hynny heddiw. Byddwn ni'n edrych ar y Dŵr. Felly, sut ydych chi wedi ymdrechu i'r ysgol yma'r hyn? Ydych chi wedi ymdrechu i'r ysgol gyda'r Dŵr, neu ydych chi wedi ymdrechu i'r ysgol gyda'ch dŵr? Oherwydd rwy'n dweud i chi, lle rydych chi'n eistedd, mae'r ysgol gyda'r Dŵr, nid ymdrechus sut mae'n edrych, nid ymdrechus lle mae'n edrych. Rydyn ni'n eistedd gyda'r Dŵr, felly, efallai bod ein tŷau yn ysgol gyda'r Dŵr. Amen? Amen. Iawn. Triana, rydych chi'n mynd i ddod i roi'r ysgol hwn yma. Gadewch i mi ddweud i chi. Rydyn ni'n gobeithio y bydd yr ysgolion sydd wedi'u ddweud heddiw gan eich dŵr, gan Triana, bydd yn ymddangos eich pwyllgor fwyaf, byddant yn ddechrau i'n holl dŵrau, ein holl dŵrau a'n meddwl, ac yn siarad â chi, er mwyn i ni ddeall, er mwyn i ni gael ein cymorth, gan eich dŵr. Amen. Yr hyn rydw i'n ei ddweud yma yw o achs 2 versus 1-4. Pan ddododd y diwrnod Pentecos, roedden nhw i gyd yn un lle. Yn awgrymiad, roedd y dŵr o ffwrdd fwyaf yn dod o'r holl dŵr ac yn teimlo'r holl ysgol lle roedden nhw'n sefydlu. Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵrau ffyr sydd wedi'u rhannu ac yn dod i'w golygu ar bob un ohonyn nhw. Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr ac yn dod i'w golygu ar bob un ohonyn nhw. Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr ac yn dod i'w golygu ar bob un ohonyn nhw. Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr ac yn dod i'w golygu ar bob un ohonyn nhw. Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr ac yn dod i'w golygu ar bob un ohonyn nhw. Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Roedden nhw'n gweld yr hyn sy'n teimlo ei fod yn dŵr Yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf Yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf yn y diwrnod hwn, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu trwy'r siarad cyntaf ar gyfer sylweddol iawn. ar gyfer sylweddol iawn. Roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu'r siarad hwn, siarad 1, yn y diwrnod hwn, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, siarad 1, quotes a psalm. And I read through this psalm, and all of a sudden I got this amazing sense of, ah, of course. And bear in mind this happened just over there, just before the explosion. The Bible is a very well constructed book, it's a very well written book, and there's meaning. And I think you'd be remiss not to talk about this, as it was revealed to me. Before Pentecost, they need to replenish their group by getting in someone else. Eventually vote in Matthias. But Peter quotes this psalm, Psalm 69. He deviates slightly from the script. He says, May this place be deserted, let there be no one to dwell in it. Now they're talking about the place that Judas bought with his money, where he went to die. I mean, one script says he hanged himself, and this particular one said that he fell over and his intestines spilled out all over the place. So they called it this field of blood, which is quite gruesome. But Peter said of this place, May this place be deserted, let there be no one to dwell in it. So I went back to this psalm, Psalm 69, to read. And it says, May their place be deserted, let there be no one to dwell in their tents. I found this really exciting. The Holy Spirit obviously opened my mind to it. We know the story of Pentecost, right? The Holy Spirit comes down and fills them. You look at the tabernacle. What was the tabernacle? The tabernacle was a tent, the place where God resided. The Holy Spirit was the place where God resided. We look at the temple, which was a continuation of the tabernacle. What was the temple? It was a place where God resided. We look at Jesus. What was Jesus? It was a place where God resided, where God was, God is. And then we come to a place here, where us, we are the tents. We are the temple. We are to be like Christ and be resided in by God. Yet the one who didn't, Judas, there's no one living in his tent. And I thought that was really quite remarkable because just before we see these tents, these people being filled, we see evidence that the one who betrayed Jesus is empty. That was quite shocking to me. So what happens in Pentecost? So the Holy Spirit comes down like tongues of fire, like a wind. So the disciples are all gathered in one place. I prefer, there's a version, I think it's the King James version and a couple of others, talks of the disciples being all of one accord and gathered in one place. The NIV I don't think really gives it enough justice to be of one accord, to all be on the same page. So they're all gathered in the same place. They've got the new recruit, Matthias, they knew he's been with them since the start. He's just been elevated. And they're all in the same mindset. They're all waiting for Christ to come back. They all want him to come back. They've got a daunting task ahead. And Peter who has shown these leadership qualities albeit in small amounts throughout the last three years, finally kind of takes up the mantle and takes leadership of this group because he's been, to put it mildly, he's been through it. He's been through the mill. He denied Christ, remember? He's quite impatient and he's always speaking first without thinking. He never really has quite a tight grip on what he says and what he does. He's quite impetuous. And now he's standing up as a leader and they were all praying. The text doesn't say what they were praying but I can imagine it was, Jesus come back. Lord come back. We need your presence Lord. We need your presence in us Father. Help us. They've been with him for three years and all of a sudden he's not there. When we think about Jesus being their kind of leader he doesn't do it justice. They lived with him every day pretty much, every night for three years. They travelled the country together. They were bonded together in a way that we probably can't really understand. Peter himself gave up even his family life for this mission. He walked away from his wife, his family, his responsibilities. That's a burden that must have really been heavy to carry. So they were bonded in ways that we today probably can't really truly understand because we have homes, we have families and we manage church once a week. We might turn up for a prayer meeting. We might do a couple of little bits here and there. Every single day, every single night, their first thought was Jesus, was God. Their last thought was Jesus. They were doing everything together and all of a sudden the person that glued them together, that pulled them together, that chose them, was gone. So Peter now stands up. Someone's got to lead this lot. We've got to do something. We've seen him. We know that he's gone to heaven. We know that. We know that he's given us a mission and that he's going to send someone else to us, an advocate, a helper, someone else to guide us. So we've just got to pray that that helper, that guider, arrives soon. So they're all praying and true to his word, Jesus, God, sends his spirit. He comes down like tongues of fire, like a violent wind and fills them and immediately the spirit gets to work in them and they start talking in tongues, not the blah blah blah that sort of thing. They start talking in different languages. Their words are heard by the hundreds, maybe even thousands of people outside and Peter goes out to address this. I should imagine that the descent of the Holy Spirit upon man was probably something that people physically saw and felt and they would be gathered in this place going, what earth is going on here? What's this? What's God doing? Why is he going to visit that house full of drunk people? And so Peter steps out to address the crowd and he gives possibly the second most powerful sermon ever given. He gives a sermon that talks about God's grace, God's love, who Jesus was, what Jesus did, what Jesus is going to do. He gave the gospel of Christ. He gave the notion that God will and can forgive sins, not through sacrifice of man but by the sacrifice of his son. And what was the crowd's reaction? A crowd that notably probably witnessed Christ being crucified. A crowd that probably waved their palm leaves as he entered Jerusalem not very long before. This is a fickle crowd clearly. If you remember back to when Jesus was baptised three years before, the whole Judean countryside and the whole of Jerusalem were on the banks and they witnessed Jesus being baptised by the Holy Spirit. They heard the voice of God say, this is my son and I am so pleased with him. So you can see how kind of fickle they were. They've seen all this stuff and still their hearts are quite far. And then Peter gives this sermon and just like it did with the disciples it all starts dropping into place in their hearts. Yes. God, I understand it now. I can see how it's all coming together and the Holy Spirit just descended upon them and opened up their hearts, opened up their minds, opened their eyes and thousands of people were saved. And that church started to grow and it started to flourish and amazing things started to happen. And for one brief moment we had the perfect church. It was very brief. It didn't last long before they all started fighting. But we have here in Acts 2 the perfect church. Just for a little while. Now we look at the Holy Spirit and there are lots of questions about the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit? He's God. The Holy Spirit is God. Was this Pentecost the first time the Spirit had ever been involved? No. When did the Spirit first turn up? At creation. Like the second sentence of the Bible. God spoke. It was Christ the Word and then the Spirit hovered over creation. The Spirit of God. The first three lines of the Bible we find the three people, the three persons of God. So right from creation. Before creation the Spirit was. In all eternity the Spirit was. Three persons. God knew love before he created. Isn't that wonderful? God was in relationship. In perfect love. Three people. A triune God in relationship. Perfect relationship. Before he created. He didn't create us for a laugh. He didn't create us because he was lonely. He created us so that we may know him. That we may glory in him. That we may worship him. Not in a selfish way. Not in a I must create something so I've got something to bow and scrape at me. He didn't want that. He just wanted to create us. Each of us so that we might know the perfection that he is. The glory that he is. So why did the Holy Spirit come? Well we have to look at the Bible as ages. Remember I said this the other day that if you want to know about God you look in the Old Testament right? The Old Testament is a description of who God is and what God has done. If you want to know about Jesus if you want to know all about him you have the New Testament. So we have two ages don't we? We have the Old Testament God. We have the New Testament Jesus. Now I don't write sermons but this week I felt compelled to write. We God's people since the day of Pentecost are living in the age of the Holy Spirit. He the Holy Spirit is the person through whom God has chosen to communicate and educate his people in the absence of the physical person of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the person through whom God has chosen to facilitate his word, that's to make it easier and to wake up his people in the absence of the physical person of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the herald by which Scripture speaks and the power in which it is received. He now speaks to us individually whereas before he spoke one at a time or maybe to a select few. Whereas Christ he came to reach those few disciples and the people in a specific region at a specific time. We are now, that's you and I, in a new revelation of God. We are in the age of the Holy Spirit. He is more personal now with his people than at any point in history. Why is that? Why now? God has always been exactly who and what is needed in the times he is needed and the place he is needed. He was a cloud to Israel when he led them out of Egypt. He was easily seen and followed. He was flesh and bone in Christ when Israel needed the sacrifice to end all sacrifices and lead that small group of disciples out of the spiritual wilderness that turned faith into religion. Each interaction was perfect. The perfect presence of God that was needed at the time to accomplish his will. So why the Spirit and why now? Think about it. Why would God need to take up residence in the hearts of mankind? What is the reason that God needs to inhabit, to dwell in each of his children today? Why would he need to communicate with every individual at the same time in multiple different places? What possible problem could the Spirit be the answer to? Perhaps the process of sanctification. That's what we call being changed into the image of Christ. Restoring us to the image bearers we are supposed to be. A gradual and sometimes painful process of giving up sin and becoming the bride fit for the groom. Now that is certainly a factor. Without the Spirit's guidance we would surely fall short. I truly believe there's another thing at play. Separation. Separation from each other. From the body of Christ. The separation of the Church. Who would do such a thing to separate the Church? We know the answer to that don't we? Do we know the method? Division. Persecution. When the Church becomes illegal. When gathering becomes illegal. When faith becomes illegal and we are once more thrown into the wilderness how are we going to fare? Because this time the wilderness that we could be thrown into will be worse than it was before. Because this time we won't have the comfort of fellowship like Israel in the desert. There were about a million of them all walking around the desert for 40 years building relationships with each other, building relationships with God. God was with them, they saw him they heard him. They were not lonely in the desert. We won't have the freedom to worship like the people in Christ's time. They were under occupation. The Romans were occupying Jerusalem the Holy Land. They had done for three or four hundred years. They were not nice people the Romans but they gave them freedom to worship. Freedom to gather. They had the priests, they had the Sadducees the Romans went, you know what, you manage that that's your bag, you do your religion you pay your taxes and we're all good. They still had freedom to gather and be a community of believers. We won't have the freedom to worship and the freedom of publicly expressing our faith as the children of Israel did during the Roman occupation. We see it now in the news Christians are being persecuted in this country they are being arrested for praying. It is coming. This time we may be utterly separated from each other. There will be no gathering in Jesus' name in the public spaces or the mediums such as radio and the internet to spread the good news. There won't be anywhere to go to be ministered to. Pastors and shepherds will be silenced one way or another. Why? Because when the persecution comes the owner of those mediums like TV won't allow it. We are being divided with the view of being conquered. Stop the messages stop the gathering you stop the gospel, you stop the worship you stop the faith. That's the enemy's plan. He is seeking to control the means by which we can see and hear and experience God. And if you think he won't or that he's not already begun you're a fool. We saw during lockdown many of our churches were closed. Many of the people that went to those churches never returned. Perhaps they couldn't maintain their faith or their commitment to God when the doors reopened. Perhaps like scripture says many just got out of the habit of meeting together or they got out of the habit of listening to God. Perhaps they'd never even heard the voice of God or known the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Is that for me to judge? Nope. I'm sure there are many reasons why people we stood next to for years in church don't now attend any church. All I know is the devil wants us to stop listening to God and he thinks he controls the avenues the earth uses to reach him. If you think the devil doesn't control the media and the authorities listen to it for a bit watch it for a bit you'll see him, you'll hear him you'll feel him and if you think your Bibles are safe don't be deceived the devil could buy a printer if I can change the word of God so can he if you can change the word of God so can he but there's one thing he can't twist there's one thing he can't corrupt there's one thing that he can't get his grubby little mitts on and that ladies and gentlemen is the Holy Spirit of God he can't hear him he can't see him and he can't be with him because the Holy Spirit does not dwell in him his tent is empty your tent is full you have an untappable an unfathomable an untouchable link to God God's people will not be cast out into the wilderness of separation from the church you might be 200 miles from the nearest Christian but through the Holy Spirit you're not only brought together you are one in the Spirit God can talk to you both at the same time even though you're in different geographical locations this week I was watching something I really needed to feel the presence of God because believe it or not I don't always feel the presence of God I struggle I struggle with my faith I'd be worried if I didn't and I was watching something and they were talking about this verse and I heard this verse and it was mentioned two times and I thought you know what I so want that I want that verse God I want that to be true for me I just want to read you this verse it's beautiful it's in Zephaniah the Lord your God is one the Lord your God is with you the mighty warrior who saves he will take great delight in you in his love he will no longer rebuke you but will rejoice over you with singing oh my goodness me I wanted that verse give me that Lord flipping heck if there's one verse that I want to be true it's that one and you read the rest I mean I encourage you to go and read the rest it is stunning it spoke to me so much and just as I was sitting there going God for goodness sake please let that be true I got this text message from a retired pastor and normally he texts me on a Sunday and he says I'm praying for you you and your family and your ministry I'm praying for you he's a lovely guy Phil he's a solid guy and he texts me and he texts me this was on I think Wednesday he never does that and he sent me that very verse right in that minute literally I said God for goodness sake please let that be true bing here you go what and I just texted back thank you so much you have no idea what that means to me I was just meditating on that exact verse when you think of all the verses you've got in this book there's thousands and thousands and thousands for that to be coincidence is so impossibly small even if he got the day right to send it the very instant I started asking God for it he sent it and he said I'm so glad that's what you got I felt prompted I felt prompted the Holy Spirit said to him Ian needs to hear that he's asking me to give him evidence that I am with him and I am singing over him oh my goodness God is real God is good we have access to a spirit that cannot be touched by Satan's dirty disgusting little hands he can communicate with us he can communicate with us in ways we can't even imagine good God whatever this world throws at you that connection will not and cannot be broken he can speak to you in ways you cannot imagine he can call you to do things you can't even imagine something so small do you know what I was thinking about that verse it would probably be good for someone I'll just send it and a day, a week is changed from despair to joy like that if you doubt whether you're indwelt by the Holy Spirit if you doubt that he can use you look at Peter what do you see instantly after Pentecost in Peter do you see a fisherman or do you see a fisher of man because he walked out of that room and he gathered men in a net the gospel net he was given power he was given authority, he was given the word through the Holy Spirit many thousands were converted through that sermon and they went off to their homes, their countries and they told the good news to their families and their friends and it was spread even more it was growing, it was growing this was an amazing time of God the start of the age of the Holy Spirit and was that through Peter's oratory no, I've seen Peter's oratory in Mark's gospel and he's not that clever he's not that bright but what he was was willing he was willing to let the Holy Spirit guide him, teach him comfort him and lead him just as he did with Christ Christ satisfied despite every need that Peter had and he trusted in that Holy Spirit to do the same God has given us the Holy Spirit for times such as these, he has poured out his spirit for times such as these we need the Holy Spirit we are going to survive the race not just finish the race but finish the race well we cannot do it apart from the Holy Spirit of God it pains me to say this we might, this generation might if not this one maybe the next or maybe the one after but soon we won't be able to gather in places such as this where we can probably see another Christian or get the fellowship that you so rightly need from another Christian because you won't know who they are because we're all wearing, I don't know grey boiler suits with numbers on them marching around communication freedom of expression I was reading the other day that they are looking at reading minds, they've got this technology this AI technology that can read people's minds they can take this digital information and figure out what that person was thinking at that time do you know the one thing they can't hear can't read is God's Holy Spirit they may read your thoughts and kill you for them they may read your thoughts and delete them but they can't remove the Holy Spirit from you you have a power residing in you that you cannot fully understand that you do not deserve but my gosh you can use and he can use you don't be discouraged do everything in the Spirit pray in the Spirit talk in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit play in the Spirit, love in the Spirit anything you can do, you can do in the Spirit of God absolutely anything husbands, love your wives in the Spirit wives, love your husbands in the Spirit love your friends in the Spirit listen to the Spirit discern the Spirit if you want to know what the Spirit is up to, read the Bible read the New Testament, read the Old Testament find out what sort of behaviours the Holy Spirit has and listen to them but I tell you this if you want to know if someone else has got the Holy Spirit there's one thing you have to look for fruit fruit because if they're rooted in the Holy Spirit of God they're listening to the Holy Spirit doesn't matter if they're not always doing it but they're listening and they're obeying you will see fruit not apples not bananas, not cherries you will see the fruits of the Spirit what are the fruits of the Spirit? Sunday, fruits of the Spirit put you on the spot the fruits of the Holy Spirit love, kindness, gentleness patience yeah we could just carry on all day how do I know that that Phil guy is indwelt by the Holy Spirit I haven't seen him for months how do I know? because the Holy Spirit spoke to me through him I didn't need to be in the same room he could be in Czechoslovakia if that's even a place now I know fruit someone's indwelt by the Holy Spirit there will be fruit, you will see it you will hear it, you will feel it you will sense it so my challenge to you where's your fruit? have you got any fruit? someone was to follow you around for a week where's your fruit? can they see your fruit? is it time to start listening? is it time to start doing what that sweet still voice is telling you to do? where's your fruit? just lead us in prayer thank you Father that we have received your word this morning thank you Lord that we are now living in the age of the Holy Spirit where we can be led even if we are on our own Lord there's no other person around us we can be led and guided and comforted and consoled by your Holy Spirit I pray now that your Holy Spirit be upon us we will feel his presence we will feel his person inside our hearts in your name we pray Amen let's say the grace to each other may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and forevermore God bless you all
There are no comments yet.
Be the first! Share your thoughts.
