The Holy Spirit is for You, Today

There are some who teach that the outpouring of the Spirit and the ability to have a Spirit language was only for the early church. It’s not for today. (See Acts 1:3-9.)

Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers of the 1800’s wrote: “First of all, remember that whatever the Holy Spirit was in the beginning of the church He is now. God is the same yesterday, today and forever! So whatever the Holy Spirit did then He is willing and able to do now. His power is in no way diminished and we shall greatly offend the Holy Spirit if we suppose that it is. Every member of the Body of Christ should be anointed by the Holy Spirit.”

Here are some great questions you might want to ask yourself:

• Am I walking in the power of the Holy Spirit?
• Am I seeking for more?

Before you found Christ you probably searched out the claims of Christ. You probably asked questions or began attending church, reading the Bible. Why? You were searching for more to life than you had found.

And one day you found Christ. One day all the tumblers in the lock aligned and you were transformed.

It’s the same with the Holy Spirit. Start a personal journey today. Seek out the claims of God’s Word regarding the power of the Holy Spirit. And remember the promise of Christ. Those who hunger and thirst shall be filled!

You can watch or listen to the full message here. 

Holy Spirit – Power from on High

Years ago, I had a visit from a nearby pastor. He told me about his experience with the Holy Spirit (baptism and prayer language). He said he would never teach this to his church because they wouldn’t understand! “I don’t want to turn anybody off,” he said.

I thought about it. I kinda felt the same way. I didn’t want to turn anybody off. I wanted to turn them on to power of the Holy Spirit!

To be perfectly honest with you, there have been many abuses and misuses of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Some hyperemotional churches have turned off sincere Christians.

They haven’t elicited hunger. They’ve caused confusion and set some against the authentic power of the Holy Spirit. If that’s you, I’m sorry!

So where’s the balance? Lakeview embraces the work of the Spirit as long as it’s done decently and in order, building people up.  We don’t in any way seek to come across as trying to be superior on the subject of the Holy Spirit. We’re trying to learn. We’re seeking to grow.

This is the age of the Spirit and we don’t want to miss what God is seeking to do.

The coming Age of the Spirit was clearly on the mind of Jesus. Towards the end of the Last Supper Jesus said, “I have a lot more to tell you, but that would be too much for you now. When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into the full truth. He won’t speak on his own. He will speak what he hears and will tell you about things to come” (John 16:12-13 GW).

What was on Jesus mind three days later, the first time He met with the disciples after His resurrection? The Holy Spirit

That Sunday evening, the disciples were together behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jews. Jesus stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you!” When he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were glad to see the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” After he had said this, he breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:19-22 GW).

Luke recorded this about that conversation: “What comes next is very important. I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until HE arrives, until you’re equipped with power from on high!” (Luke 24:49 MSG).

And 40 days later on the day Jesus ascended what was on His mind? The Holy Spirit. It’s the last thing Jesus talked about. HE IS COMING!

You can watch or listen to the full message here. 

The Advantage of the Holy Spirit

The Disciples saw Jesus operate under the influence of the Holy Spirit as John 3:34 says; “Jesus had the Spirit without limit!”

No doubt they thought, I wish I could do that, but it’s only because Jesus is the Son of God. That’s how God used Him because He’s God.

Jesus said, that’s not it. You too are going to be filled! And the closer Jesus came to leaving, the more He talked about the coming Spirit. At His Last Supper He said. “I can guarantee this truth: Those who believe in me will do the things that I am doing. They will do even greater things because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12 GW).  Then he said, “If you ask me to do something, I will do it. If you love me, you will obey my commandments. I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper who will be with you forever” (John 14:16-17 GW).

And in John 15:26 he promised a helper: “The helper whom I will send to you from the Father will come. This helper, the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father, will declare the truth about me” (GW). Also in  John 16:7 he said he had to go: “I am telling you the truth: It’s good for you that I’m going away. If I don’t go away, the helper won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (GW).

I like the ESV: “I tell you the truth, it is TO YOUR ADVANTAGE …”

There are so many different ways the Holy Spirit desires to provide us with an advantage.

• He baptizes us.
• He renews our spirit.
• He gives us the power to live holy. He reveals God’s Word.
• He imparts spiritual gifts and then He anoints as to excel in our gifts.
• He indwells us, fills us, leads us, empowers us.
• He fills our mouth with words from God, sets us free from the bondage of sin, reveals truth in every situation, prophesies to us and through us, gives us power over the devil, and reveals all things concerning Christ.

That is by no means a complete list of all that He does!

Are you experiencing the advantage that the Holy Spirit has for us?

Ask yourself, are you better off as a result of His work in you?

Do you utilize His power in your everyday, walking around life?

 

You can watch or listen to the full message here. 

The Holy Spirit is for Everyone Today

Peter led those who didn’t understand the Holy Spirit to God’s Word “Then Peter stood up with the eleven apostles. In a loud voice he said to them, “Men of Judea and everyone living in Jerusalem! You must understand this, so pay attention to what I say. These men are not drunk as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning. Rather, this is what the prophet Joel spoke about” (Acts 2:14-16 GW).

Who was the prophet Joel? He was an Old Testament prophet, prophesying about a coming age. Joel gave them hope! Things are going to change in the age of the Spirit in a big, big way!

And … that’s the age we’re living in. “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will speak what God has revealed. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour my Spirit on my servants, on both men and women. They will speak what God has revealed (Acts 2:17-18 GW).

Joel said, in this new era the Spirit will no longer work in only a select few; prophets, priests and kings. He will work in everyone. Peter said, that day is here! It has arrived. And here’s the upshot. God desires to empower all of us – male and female, young and old, rich and poor, the powerful and the powerless.

Every difference that mankind has used to separate and differentiate has been overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit working in all of us!

As you read through the Old Testament clearly the Spirit came on a select few, and it came occasionally, in limited amounts.

Notice Joel’s language; “God says, I will pour my Spirit on everyone!”   

I’m not going to give you a dab of the Holy Spirit occasionally. I’m going to pour Him into your body. The Spirit will empower your voice! He will work through your hands! He will infuse you with visions and dreams.

The Holy Spirit is for everyone!

Peter led those who didn’t understand the Holy Spirit to God’s Word “Then Peter stood up with the eleven apostles. In a loud voice he said to them, “Men of Judea and everyone living in Jerusalem! You must understand this, so pay attention to what I say. These men are not drunk as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning. Rather, this is what the prophet Joel spoke about” (Acts 2:14-16 GW).

Who was the prophet Joel? He was an Old Testament prophet, prophesying about a coming age. Joel gave them hope! Things are going to change in the age of the Spirit in a big, big way!

And … that’s the age we’re living in. “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will speak what God has revealed. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour my Spirit on my servants, on both men and women. They will speak what God has revealed (Acts 2:17-18 GW).

Joel said, in this new era the Spirit will no longer work in only a select few; prophets, priests and kings. He will work in everyone. Peter said, that day is here! It has arrived. And here’s the upshot. God desires to empower all of us – male and female, young and old, rich and poor, the powerful and the powerless.

Every difference that mankind has used to separate and differentiate has been overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit working in all of us!

As you read through the O.T. clearly the Spirit came on a select few, and it came occasionally, in limited amounts.

Notice Joel’s language; “God says, I will pour my Spirit on everyone!”   

I’m not going to give you a dab of the Holy Spirit occasionally. I’m going to pour Him into your body. The Spirit will empower your voice! He will work through your hands! He will infuse you with visions and dreams.

The Holy Spirit is for everyone!

You can watch or listen to the full message here. 

The Work of the Holy Spirit

At Lakeview Church, we always lay out each new year by praying and seeking God for the upcoming teaching series. We felt God leading us to come out of this prayer season by putting a strong focus on the work of the Holy Spirit.

It’s amazing how many Christians know almost nothing about the Spirit. Maybe they grew up in a church that avoided the subject. Some churches don’t focus much about the Holy Trinity. They don’t know much about the Spirit because they haven’t been taught much.

What keeps people away from the truth about the Spirit is ignorance and fear, and both of those have been around since the beginning of the church.

The day God poured out His Spirit, questions arose that very day. Notice the two reactions: “All of these devout men were stunned and puzzled. They asked each other, “What can this mean?” Others said jokingly, “They’re drunk on sweet wine” (Acts 2:12-13 GW).

Isn’t it amazing that it’s still true about the Holy Spirit? Some are curious because they’ve never been taught, and others mock because they don’t understand. When it comes to spiritual matters, we ought to be very careful about ignoring, mocking or even attacking the things we don’t understand.

Peter gave some great advice regarding the Holy Spirit’s work on that day. Seek to understand. “Then Peter stood up with the eleven apostles. In a loud voice he said to them, ‘Men of Judea and everyone living in Jerusalem! You must understand this, so pay attention to what I say’” (Acts 2:14 GW).

If the work of the Holy Spirit is new to you, I hope you follow Peter’s advice. Seek to understand. Seek to open your heart to all God has for you. Become a seek-er!

You can watch or listen to the full message here. 

Love Must Be Demonstrated

Love must be authentic, it must be communicated, and love must be demonstrated. We are continuing our blog series, Christmas through the Eyes of John. This is the third of the three things John says about love that will make all the difference.

John didn’t focus on the events and happenings of the Christmas story. He focused on the reason why. Why did Jesus come?

The simple answer is, God loved … God sent. God loved the world and God communicated that love and ultimately demonstrated it.

You can almost hear John 3:16 from this passage: “God has shown us his love by sending his only Son into the world so that we could have life through him,” (1 John 4:9 GW).

What was the action that God took to communicate His love?

He sent His ONLY Son “This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the payment for our sins. Dear friends, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love each other,” (1 John 4:10-11 GW).

God loved … God sent. God demonstrated His love.

Through our Christmas offerings we have opportunity to demonstrate our love for 58 families. That’s helping more families than we have ever done before.

Once again John captures the Spirit of Christmas. The greatest demonstration of love the world has ever seen is in 1 John 3:16. “We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers,” (GW).

Sometimes we lay down our lives simply by opening up our wallets and laying down our money.

“We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers. Now, suppose a person has enough to live on and notices another believer in need. How can God’s love be in that person if he doesn’t bother to help the other believer? Dear children, we must show love through actions that are sincere, not through empty words,” (1 John 3:16-19 GW).

We’ve asked all who call Lakeview home to give a special offering for Christmas. This offering is over and above our tithes. Tithes belong to the storehouse to ensure this work continues strong day in and day out. We are asking you to do two things: 1) Pray about your part, and 2) Give your Christmas offering as the Lord leads.

If you’d like to make a Christmas gift offering, you can make a donation online here. 

You can watch the complete message on video or listen to the audio here. 

Love Must Be Communicated

We are continuing our blog series, Christmas through the Eyes of John. This is the second of the three things John says about love that will make all the difference. Love must be authenticated, and love must be communicated.

It’s one thing to have love in our hearts for people, but it’s another thing to communicate our love. What if God loved the world, but He never found a good way to communicate it? What if God just sat on His throne in heaven and felt wave after wave of love for this world, but we didn’t know about it.

It wouldn’t be enough. The giver has to somehow communicate their love, to let the recipient feel it, not just see it.

It’s possible to show up at a food pantry or a soup line and give out food to needy people at Christmas but never communicate love.

Love isn’t just shown by what we do. It’s felt by what comes out of us.

Sometimes children will say to their parents, “Do you love me?” And sometimes parents will respond by saying, “Well don’t we buy you things?” The child is not reaching out for more things. The child is trying to authenticate love. Do my parents really love me?

The best response a parent can give to that question is a big hug and a soft reminder, “Yes my child, I love you!”

It’s possible to do things that LOOK LIKE love without actually communicating love to the people we’re reach out to.

So how did God choose to communicate His love for us?

He said, it’s not enough to just give man things. I must communicate my love in a way that is sensed and felt by them.

So God sent Jesus to earth and said, Touch My Son and you touch Me, hear My Son and you hear Me, (1 John 1:1-3 GW).

And this is the same plan that God has chosen for us. God wants us to communicate His love by touch, by presence, by the tone of our voice and the smile on our face, which comes flows out of agape love.

God put within the heart of mankind the ability to sense the spirit of another person. When someone truly loves with the love of God, it is communicated by more than words or even actions.

I love the story of Tom Cousins. I met him in 1998, at a presentation on community development and impact that asks questions like, “Why are you here? What is it you want from this? What are you really after?”

The same is true of us. Love must be authentic, but it also has to be communicated or it will never be felt.

You can watch the complete message on video or listen to the audio here. 

Love Must Be Authenticated

We are continuing our blog series, Christmas through the Eyes of John. John says three things about love that will make all the difference. The first is, love must be authenticated. In other words, what does authentic love look like? Where does authentic love come from?

John clearly says it comes only from God. “Dear friends, we must love each other because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God,” (1 John 4:7 GW).

The word he uses for love is agape, and it means divine love which originates with God. Agape love is super-natural. That means it is not something mankind can generate apart from God. And since it is supernatural, it is powerful beyond human understanding. It is life changing.

The world talks about love all the time. It’s found in songs and movies, but the reality is, true, authentic love can ONLY come from God.

John goes so far to say that when we move in God’s authentic love, that’s a clear sign that we have been born again, “Dear friends, we must love each other because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, because God is love,” (1 John 4:7-8 GW).

Do you know why authentic love is so critical? Because when it is at work in our lives, people actually see God through us. “No one has ever seen God. If we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us,” (1 John 4:12 GW).

Let me ask. Do you think the opposite is true? Do you think when people operate in hate, they are showing they’re children of the devil?

John says that is actually the case, “The message that you have heard from the beginning is to love each other. Don’t be like Cain. He was a child of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain murder his brother? Because the things Cain did were evil and the things his brother did had God’s approval. Brothers and sisters, don’t be surprised if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love other believers. The person who doesn’t grow in love remains in death,” (1 John 3:11-14 GW).

Authentic love is a big deal. Love comes from God and connects us to God because God IS love.

You can watch the complete message on video or listen to the audio here. 

A Look Beyond What to Why

We are continuing our blog series, Christmas through the Eyes of John.

The Apostle John had special eyesight. He was a lot like Superman with x-ray vision and can see into deep space. John saw the whole story. He took us beyond what happened and led us to why it happened.

John seemed to be able to see the cosmic battle between darkness and light. It’s why God chose him to write the Book of Revelation. He saw our fight with sin and the encounters we’d have with demonic forces.

And unlike any other writer, John saw the power of love. So much so, he became known as the Apostle of Love (I always want to say that with a deep voice). John was kind of the Barry White of the gospel writers.

John was so fixated on love that his name evolved into John the Beloved. If you look at how many times he mentions love in his writing compared to the other gospel writers, its kind of astonishing.

• Matthew – 11 times
• Mark – 5 times
• Luke – 12 times
• John’s Gospel – 44 times
• John’s Epistles – 40 times

Only John captured the depth of God’s love for our broken world and wrote what is arguably the greatest verse in the entire Bible, John 3:16: “God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life,” (GW).

It’s interesting that all the other writers completely missed the profound statement Jesus made on love; “By this shall everyone know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another,” (John 13:35 GW). That’s such a clear call that should guide every church.

Jesus said we should be known more for our love than for our judgment. In the very next verse John 3:17, says Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world … the world was already condemned. He came to save the world through the power of God’s love. It seems to me the church needs John’s writings more today than ever.

Christmas is all about love and during the Christmas of 1885 Christina Rossetti wrote:

“Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, Love divine; Love was born at Christmas, Love incarnate, Love divine; Love shall be our token, Love be yours and love be mine.”

We’re going to look at three things John says about love that will make all the difference in the next few upcoming blogs. Stay tuned!

You can watch the complete message on video or listen to the audio here.

Jesus Incarnated … Christmas through the Eyes of John

Our job is to do exactly what Jesus did. Jesus INCARNATED.

Break down the word carnivore … carnal … flesh.

As followers of Jesus our job is simple. We do what Jesus did. Jesus incarnated. We incarnate. We enter the world of others. We don’t come to condemn, we come to understand their world and to care.

We are touched by Jesus, and we, in turn touch others. It’s really simple. This is the message we heard from Christ and are reporting to you: God is light, and there isn’t any darkness in him (1 John 1:5 GW).

Throughout the rest of John’s pastoral letter, he seems to deal with the same themes over, and over again:

• The brokenness of our flesh.
• The pain and darkness of our world.
• The endless battles between life and death.
• And the unlimited power of Jesus love that overcomes the world.

The amazing book of 1^st John ends with a great awareness: We know that we are from God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we know the real God. We are in the one who is real, his Son Jesus Christ. This Jesus Christ is the real God and eternal life. Dear children, guard yourselves from false gods (1 John 5:19-21 GW).

Aren’t you glad that Jesus came in the flesh to give hope to my flesh and bring peace to a broken world!

Watch or listen to the complete message here.