The Voice of the Spirit! - Zech 4:6

The Voice of the Spirit

July 14, 2013
Zechariah 4:6

INTRODUCTION

• Told that when he went to be with the Father, he would send the Holy Spirit
• John 14:20 says that on that day” you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you
• In John 20, on resurrection evening, he tells the disciples, Receive the Holy Spirit
• For a further 40 days, Jesus teaches the disciples
• Then He ascends to heaven
• But before he leaves, he tells them to wait in Jerusalem for a climactic event, and event that would be huge in its impact
• Acts 1:8
• Then they stay in the upper room for 10 more days, praying
• Finally the day of Pentecost comes
  

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

• Lets read Acts 2:1-4
• They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them
• What kind of tongues were these?
• In the following verses we see that a further amazing miracle happens
• Jews had assembled for the day of Pentecost, an annual pilgrimage to the temple
• They had come from all over the known world. They represented a huge number of dialects and languages
• What happened, is that the apostles, who had no knowledge of all these languages, spoke in tongues
• And the people listening, each understood what was being said
• So there are two miracles here, one is that of speaking in tongues, and the second is that of people each being able to hear in their own language
  

The Importance of being Filled With The Spirit

• Jesus knew that we would be unable to follow through on the Christian life, without God's help
• The ancient Israelites were testimony enough to that
• They had said, all the Lord commands we will do (Exodus)
• But in the end, their unbelief and rebellion drew them away from God, till they had to go into captivity
• And when they came back, having learned a lesson, they became hypocritical in their legalistic obedience
• They missed the point entirely
• Zech 4:6
• It is the same with us
• We can come to Jesus, and receive the Holy Spirit just as the disciples did in John 20
• But without being filled with the Holy Spirit, our Christianity will get us nowhere
• Jesus commanded the disciples to wait till they were imbued with power from on high
• Then, they would go out and be his witnesses, doing the works that he did, and the church would explode into the whole of the known world
• Without being filled with the Holy Spirit, we just do not have the power to impact this town
• We can have the most interesting plans and ideas for reaching Susanville, but unless The Holy Spirit is the vehicle for transformation, our efforts will be doomed to failure
  

Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit

• Mat 3:11
• Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit
• To baptize means to immerse underwater, to soak, to completely saturate
• When we are baptized after receiving Jesus, there is a meaning associated with it
• It symbolizes burying our old way of life, and being raised up again to a new life
• This happens when we receive the earnest of the spirit
• Eph 1:13-14
• We are now sealed, our inheritance is guaranteed
• There is now a deposit of the Holy Spirit
• But so many Christians today seem powerless
• They don't know how to do battle, they don't know how to be overcomers
• They are missing something
• The answer is that Jesus also came to Baptize with the Holy Spirit
• When we are immersed in the Holy Spirit, he leaves his mark
• Moses being in the presence of God 40 days left its mark in the glory of God attaching itself to him so that he had to put a bag over his head because people were afraid of the glory shining from his face
• In the same way, when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, he leaves his mark
• That mark is that we become able to speak in tongues
• This is a gift he gives to us
  

Our heavenly prayer language

• It is a way we now can pray to God, unimpeded by our natural fleshly thoughts and distractions
• This prayer language enables us to have a way closer contact and relationship with God
• The closer we are to God the more he can build us up in our spiritual walk
• It starts with being filled with the Holy Spirit, and then praying in the language of the Spirit, which is in tongues
• Through praying in tongues, we are built up in our inner man
• We are strengthened and emboldened, to accomplish Jesus’ purpose in and through us.
  

Invitation