We Will Not Sit Down Till He Comes

Transcription

1 We Will Not Sit Down Till He Comes by Rev W. H. Havanas I Samuel 16: And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are these all the children?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep." Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." The King is Coming New King for Israel King Saul had sin and been rejected by God. Saul had been given every chance to become the King he should have been but he would not obey, he would make excuses and without the obedience to God, Saul could not be used to take Israel to the place they should be. So the Lord God sent Samuel on a mission to anoint a new king, he was sent to the house of Jesse. He arrived at Jesse house and all of Jesse's sons that were home at the time was brought before Samuel, they were big and strong and each one looked like they could be the next king, but God had not chosen any of them. So after having looks at all of Jesse s sons that was present and not finding the next king and knowing that he had come to the correct place, Samuel asked Jesse if there was another son. Jesse said there was another out in the field watching the sheep, so Samuel send for and then said that they would not sit down until he came. King of King for the World David is a type of Christ the message is about not stopping work until the Lord comes back. Man keeps trying to create a perfect government, but a perfect government requires a perfect head with perfect knowledge and wisdom and there is no one on Earth that fits that description. The only man that ever will fit that description is the Lord Jesus Christ. They killed Him for it but He would not stay dead, He came back for the dead in a resurrected physical body. However, it was not time for His kingdom on Earth yet, He needed His disciples to do some work first. So He left Earth for Heaven, a temporary arrangement but He promised His return. So in the first chapter of the book of Act we see the ascension to Heaven of Jesus, but before He left He had told his disciple to do several things before His return. We as Christians should be 1 The King is Coming Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

2 busy about the Father business and do the commission of Christ. We are not to stop until His return, that is, not sit down and rest until the return of Jesus. But what should we do until Jesus comes? The Bible gives us three commands of what to do. Be Baptized with the Holy Spirit The first step for a Christian before entering a ministry for Christ. That is to receive the Holy Spirit as commanded by Jesus. Jesus sending His disciples, both past, present and future John 20:21-23 (New American Standard Bible) 21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Not only did He tell them to be filled with the Holy Spirit but to wait until they were filled before beginning to preach. Being filled with the Spirit is every much a part of the Great Commission as the spreading the Gospel. Acts 1 (New American Standard Bible) 4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." 9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 2 Be Baptized with the Holy Spirit Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

3 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven." Don't start preaching yet Jesus commanded the disciple to wait in Jerusalem until He sent the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This was the precondition before preaching the Gospel. [Preach on the need of Christian after being reborn that they should receive the Holy Spirit before entering the ministry. ] The two men were angels sent by God to remind the disciples of Jesus orders. The Church is not to stand around waiting for the return of Christ but to be busy doing the work of Christ. The time of His return is unknown and although there may be signs of the time many Christians have misinterpreted those signs through out the ages. 2 Peter 3:8 (New American Standard Bible) 8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. Peter was addressing the issue of when would the Lord return, and he said that God s time is not our time. If the Lord delays His coming we should be busy about His business or if the Lord comes tomorrow we should be busy about His business. The oil for the ten virgins is a symbol for the anointing of God which is the Holy Spirit. Matthew 25 Parable of Ten Virgins 1 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 "Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 "For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, The church should always be filled with the Spirit and therefore His anointing. What made five of the virgins foolish is the lack of oil. Oil is a representation of the anointing of God. The lamps are for giving light, Christians are the light of the world but if we want those lights to burn brightly for all men to see than we need the anointing of the Holy Spirit. To go forth to spread the gospel without getting the oil first is foolishness. 3 Be Baptized with the Holy Spirit Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

4 What does it means to be filled with the Spirit. Is it just glossolalia; i.e. speaking in tongues? Acts 19 Paul at Ephesus 1 It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. 2 He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." 3 And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into John's baptism." 4 Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus." 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. 7 There were in all about twelve men. Things to know: Speaking in tongues is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit but the initial evidence of being baptized, a Christian does seek to speak in tongues but seek to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and ends up speaking in tongues. [Note: Pentecostal believes that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence, Charismatics do not believe that speaking in tongue is necessary the initial evidence.] Tongues is not a language to be taught, but a Spiritual language spoken by the person as the Spirit gives the utterance, i.e. the Spirit is doing the talking through us. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is more than speaking in tongues People do not have to tarry for it, only the initial outpouring required waiting because God wanted it to happen on Pentecost. It has not passed away Paul spoke in tongues more than all the people at Corinth 1 Tongues is the initial evidence of the baptism, it is a prayer language 2 and it is a gift of the Spirit where a message in tongues is given in an assembly with the purpose of being interrupted Corinthians 14: 18 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; 2 1 Corinthians 14:2 For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries 4 Be Baptized with the Holy Spirit Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

5 The Holy Spirit bares gifts. See Appendix A for a more information 1 Corinthians 12: 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. And the Holy Spirit will bear fruit in your life Galatians 5: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. After a Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit they are now ready to go out into the spread the Gospel. 3 1 Corinthians 14 (read the whole chapter) 5 Be Baptized with the Holy Spirit Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

6 Go into all the world and spread the Gospel Be a witness Notice, that the word spread is used instead of preach the Gospel, all are not called to be preachers, but all are called to be witnesses. This section is about the evangelist nature of Christianity. We are not to hide our light under a bushel 4, we are not to keep so great a salvation 5 to ourselves, but we are to spread the message to all that will receive. Acts 1: 8 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." Jesus states that after receiving the power delivered through the baptism of the Holy Spirit that then this power will let us be witnesses, it s through the power of the Holy Spirit that we make converts not through our persuasive words. Special note should be taken of the fact that Jesus did not say that we were to go and do witnessing but we would be a witness. When we love Jesus and are full with the power of the Holy Ghost, Jesus will shine through us and bear witness to His glory. Being a witness is not an active act of going and doing, being a witness is a state of being that other will see. If you take notice on the day of Pentecost, Peter did not initial the speaking to the crowd. The crowd asked what is this. Peter s sermon was a response. When people see Jesus in you that will ask what is this and the opening is there, not to say what the healer must do, but to state what Jesus has done for you. This way the spiritually hungry will seek to receive what you have. If you wish to win souls, ask God to send the hungry (spiritually) your way, and then let Jesus live in you. Jesus, didn t seek out the multitudes, they sought Him. The woman with the issue of blood sought to touch His garment. Rulers came to him for healing of their children. Remember a witness responsibility is to tell what they saw and heard. If you tell another that you must do X then they will resist. But if you tell them I did X and this is what happened they will listen. For example, tell an overweight person that they need to lose weight and they will become defensive, they know they need to lose weight, they want to lose weight, and they probably have tried to lose weight and failed. Tell the same person that you used a particular diet and you lost weight they will ask you to tell them about it. The same with Jesus, telling a lost person that they need to get save will make them defense, telling that same person how Jesus change you will encourage them to listen. 4 Matthew 5:14,15 5 Hebrews 2:3 6 Go into all the world and spread the Gospel Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

7 1 Corinthians 2:4 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, There are many ways to spread the Gospel from preaching, teaching, being a witness, passing out literature, praying, inviting to church, and many other ways. But the biggest of all is to abide in Christ. Matthew And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." When we go out into the world what are we to do. Make disciples of all the nations. Baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. Make disciples of all the nations. This was where they were to go; the whole world is to be reached. All the disciples and the other followers of Jesus were Jews at this time. Jesus was instructing them that salvation is available to all no matter station in life, national origin, gender, or anything else, if you are human, salvation is available to you. This would be a struggle at times for the early Christians. At first they did not go to the gentiles in fact it took the persecution of the church by people such as Saul to move many Christians out of Jerusalem. Peter had to see a vision from God before going to a gentile and there God had to fill Cornelius and family with the Holy Ghost first and then Peter was willing to baptize them. There was conflict among the early Jewish Christians about what to teach the Gentiles and the Church had their first general assembly to determine what to require of the gentiles. 7 Go into all the world and spread the Gospel Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

8 Baptism Baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus teaches the trinity. Water baptism is a sacrament of the Church in both the Catholic and most Protestant churches (Quakers and the Salvation Army do see it as necessary). Jesus was baptized; the Apostles taught and practice baptism. Baptism is a obedience act that symbolizes a Christian death to sin, the burial of the of the old life (buried in the water) and the resurrection of the new life through the new birth. [If preaching this as a three part sermon, then water baptism can be expanded to add more information.] [Side bar: Catholic are strong believers in water baptism as being necessary for salvation, but they also have doctrine for those who was unable to be baptize in water. There is the baptism of blood for martyrs and the baptism of desire for those that want to be baptism but died before being able to receive it. Catholicism and much of Protestantism believe in infant baptism often via sprinkling whereas Pentecostal and Baptists denominations believe in age of consent baptism to be performed after receiving Christ as savior and requiring full-immersion.] Teaching commandments What are the commandments of Jesus? Matthew 22: 37 And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' The Lord condensed all the commandants and laws into just two. 1. Love God with everything, mind, body and soul 2. Love Neighbor as yourself The common theme for both commandants is Love. 1 John 4:7-8 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. The Father motivation for sending His son was love. 8 Go into all the world and spread the Gospel Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

9 John 3:16 (King James Version) We Will Not Sit Down Till He Comes For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Loving God Jesus is not looking to burden us down with dos and don ts but to change our nature through the new birth. We cannot be good enough on our own, we must lean on Jesus. No man knows how bad he is until he has tried to be good. 6 C.S. Lewis. The Law cannot save us, it just reveals our sin, we cannot be good on our own but Jesus offers a path to righteousness. Matthew 11: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." What Jesus is offering to whosoever will accept, is to reestablish a relationship with Him, the same relationship that Adam had in the Garden with the Lord but was lost when Adam sinned, a relationship of love, of forgiveness and of communion. Revelation 3:20 20 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. When Jesus comes into our hearts it is not as a stern taskmaster but as a loving bridegroom. He wants to share a meal with us, just as a bridegroom wants to share a meal with his future wife. During that time we can share our burdens, our needs and our love for Him and He will comfort us and if we will listen, give us the directions we need. So as we learn to listen to Jesus voice we will then be able to follow Him. John 10:17 27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; David knew this relationship with his shepherd 6 C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, page Go into all the world and spread the Gospel Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

10 Psalm 23 1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 4 Even though I ( walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. So to follow the first commandment, a person must reject their rebellion of God, that is, repent of their wrong doings (sin) and accept the gift of God (Jesus) by inviting Jesus into your heart. Remember, the Law requires perfection, Jesus requires commitment. A good strong statement to drive this point home is: If you decide that they don t want to follow Christ all you have to do to get to Heaven is be perfect, good luck on that. Loving your neighbor The first commandment was about our relationship to God, the second is about our relationship with our follow man. Galatians 5:14 14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." The question then becomes who is our neighbor? Jesus answered this with the parable of the Good Samaritans. Every person is our neighbor; we are to love them all. This is also seen in the golden rule 10 Go into all the world and spread the Gospel Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

11 Matthew 7: "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Love is the mark of a Christian; Jesus also told the disciple that John "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." Love of each other makes Christian unique. 1 John 3:14 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. When we have love for each other we know we are on the correct path. 1 John 5:2, 3 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. Jesus commandments are not a heavy burden. Not only are we to love our friends but to love our enemies Luke 6: 27, "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Love does no harm to your neighbor. If you love your neighbor you won t kill him, steal from him, lie about him, commit adultery with his wife, nor covet his possessions. If you love your mother and father you will honor them. And Paul in 1 Corinthians describes how love behaves. 11 Go into all the world and spread the Gospel Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

12 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. If we love our neighbor as ourselves then we will do the work of Christ. Do the work of Christ Build the church and minister to the People Build the Church 7 So after the Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit, and then operating in love, the gospel will be spread and new converts will be harvested. Now we need a place for the new converts to grow. When they are born again they are a babe in Christ and need the support of the body of Christ to nourish them. John 21: So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You " He said to him, "Tend My lambs." 16 He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Shepherd My sheep." 17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You " Jesus said to him, "Tend My sheep. Here we see that Jesus in instructing Peter about his priorities and motivation. Jesus was preparing to leave Earth for Heaven but His work wasn t done, it was time to turn over the work to the Church. Earlier Jesus had told Peter about building the Church on the rock. 7 Gold City Quartet sings a song God s Building A Church can be used as a special song to lead into this section especially if preached in a three part sermon. 12 Do the work of Christ Build the church and minister to the People Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

13 Matthew 16: He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." Now, many have interpreted this passage to mean that Peter was the rock the church will be built on, but not so fast. Jesus is the rock, the cornerstone, the rock that Jesus was referring to was the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Messiah. This is the rock that Jesus is building His church on. Several times Peter talked about that rock. Peter and John were taken before the high priests preached about the Jesus being that rock and in particular the corner stone rejected by them. Acts 4: let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead--by this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 "He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. 12 "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." Peter expands this point when he writes about living stones. 1 Peter 2: 4-10 As Living Stones 13 Do the work of Christ Build the church and minister to the People Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

14 4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For this is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." 7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone," 8 and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. 9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. With Jesus as the cornerstone and Christians as the living stones, as church will be built. The church is not a denomination, nor a building; the church is the living body of Christ. As Jesus builds His Church we are called to do the work of Christ. John 14:12 12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Jesus had a full service ministry; He ministered to all the needs of the people both spiritual and physical and as such we should do the same. The works of Christ Healed the sick Feed the hungry Preached good news 14 Do the work of Christ Build the church and minister to the People Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

15 In order to do the work of Christ is why we need the baptism of the Holy Spirit, to be endued with the necessary power. Heal the Sick Isaiah 53:5 (King James Version) 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 1 Peter 2:24 (King James Version) 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. Healing of our bodies is provided for us in the Atonement, it s already has been paid for, just go to Doctor Jesus and claim your healing. The Bible teaches the laying on of hands for healing. James 5:14, Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. This is a positive statement of healing, not they might be healed or they could be healed but that they will be healed. 3 John 1:2 2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. Some will say that a physical healing is not that important, that we should be more concern about healing the soul and they are right about healing the soul. However, God can do both and in fact the healing of the body shows that Christ can heal the soul. Mathew 9:1-8 1 Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city. 15 Do the work of Christ Build the church and minister to the People Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

16 2 And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven." 3 And some of the scribes said to themselves, "This fellow blasphemes." 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, "Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5 "Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, and walk'? 6 "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--then He said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home." 7 And he got up and went home. 8 But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men. Healing becomes a sign to the unbeliever and will bring converts to Christ. Healing and miracles are a big part of Jesus ministry, both while He walked the Earth and now as He sits on the right hand of the Father. To receiving a healing faith must be exercised, in the 2 verse of the above scriptures it states Seeing their faith, not just the faith of the paralytic but the faith of those that brought him to church. [If doing a series it should not be hard to expand this section on faith] Feed the Hungry In addition to our spiritual welling being, Jesus is interested in our financial well being and our physical well being. When the multitudes were hungry He feed them. John 6: One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, 9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?" 10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. 16 Do the work of Christ Build the church and minister to the People Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

17 12 When they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost." 13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world." While our most important task is to feed the soul of men we should also be concern with feeding the body when needed. When we are hungry we eat, therefore, if we love our neighbor as ourselves we will feed the hungry. It is hard for a man to think about his soul on an empty stomach. The feeding of the 5 thousand is a precedent of the Lord feeding the physical, body Some preachers have preached that the 12 baskets were given to the disciples, one for each. While this may make the math easy, there is no reason to assume this was the case. While the bible doesn t say what happened to the baskets, the bible does state. Luke 6:38 38 "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." So the question is who did the giving, the disciples? No, the lad, he gave the loaves and the fish, so according to Luke 6:38 he would get the increase back. [ This is a good place if time permits to preach about the positive results of investing in the Lord s work.] Both the old and new testament is full of scriptures reminding us to feed the hungry. Also Jesus did not tell us to have the government feed the hungry but for the church to feed the hungry. If the government feeds the hungry the politicians receive the credit, if the church feeds the hungry the glory goes to God. Preach the Good News This was already covered in the second section but this is a good place to reiterate the commission to go into all the world spreading the gospel. Remind the people that the word gospel means good news; they should lift up Christ and not put down churches, Christians or other people in the world; remembering what Jesus said in John 12: 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." Always lift up Jesus, that is where there is the power to save. 17 Do the work of Christ Build the church and minister to the People Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

18 Conclusion We as Christians should ask ourselves are we meeting the great commission; have we been filled with the Holy Spirit, if not why not, when did you plan to do the command of Jesus. Jesus didn't say it was optional. Some worry about acting "strangely" but the Holy Spirit would manifest Himself in your life anyway that you don't want. Have you been spreading the Gospel, are you a good witness, have you been developing your ministry, if not why not and what are you going to do about it? Isn't it time to be about the Father business? Are you loving your neighbor as yourself, have you reached out to them, are you showing the attributes of Christ; if not why not and what are you going to do about? Today, right now is a good time to turn things around if you are going in the wrong direction; if you was driving down the road going in the wrong direction away from your goal wouldn't you stop and then turn around and start going in the right direction, why not do that with your Spiritual life, stop heading in the wrong direction, turn around start heading in the correct direction, God will direct you. 18 Conclusion Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

19 Appendix A: Spiritual Gifts The Trinity Gifts We Will Not Sit Down Till He Comes 2009 The New Testaments talks about different types of Gifts from God which leads to the concept of the Trinity Gifts. In this concept spiritual gifts are divided into three groupings. Each grouping represents on part of the Trinity as shown in the following table. The Father (operative gifts) The Son (administrative gifts) The Holy Spirit (charismatic gifts Roman 12:6-8 Ephesians 4:11 1 Corinthians 12:1-14 Prophecy Apostle Word of Wisdom Ministry Prophet Word of Knowledge Teaching Evangelist Discerning of spirits Exhortation Pastor Message in tongues Giving Teacher Interpretation of tongues Leading Compassion Prophecy Faith Miracles Healing For the purpose of preaching on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit the charismatic gifts are the gifts of interest. In addition to being called the charismatic gifts, they are also known as the manifestation gifts or miraculous gifts. There are two schools of thought on the charismatic gift and their relevance to the modern church. The Cessationism view claims the charismatic gifts cease to operator after the last book of the New Testament was given or the death of the last Apostle. The Continuationism view claims they still operate today. In addition to Pentecostals and Charismatics, both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church have voiced their support of continuationism. The word gifts; Message in tongues Different then Interpretation of tongues Prophecy These are used for God to speak to His people The decision gifts or teaching gifts; 19 Appendix A: Spiritual Gifts Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

20 Word of Wisdom The wisdom of God is given to the person to know what to do. Example, Solomon solution to the child custody claims by two women. Word of Knowledge The knowledge of God is given to revel information unknown to the person. Example, Old Testament, Nathan knew about David sin. Discerning of spirits The ability to differentiate the spirits, Of God, of Satan, or of man. Example, Paul and the girls proclaim they were of the most High God. These are given to help in making a decision about how to handle something or what course to take. The power gifts also called the sign gifts Healings Supernaturally healed. Example, woman with the issue of blood Miracles Supernaturally laws of the universe are suspended. Example crossing the river Jordan, walking on the water, or when combined with a healing the lame man at the gate (Silver and Gold We have now) Faith The receiver have the Faith of God for a particular instance. Often works with the other two power gifts. This is harder to show an example but it is reasonable to speculate that Peter and John first had this gift operate for the lame man and then These gifts are given for God to work in a supernatural way in the lives of believers. 20 Appendix A: Spiritual Gifts Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

21 Contents The King is Coming... 1 New King for Israel... 1 King of King for the World... 1 Be Baptized with the Holy Spirit... 2 Jesus sending His disciples, both past, present and future... 2 John 20:21-23 (New American Standard Bible)... 2 Acts 1 (New American Standard Bible)... 2 Don't start preaching yet Peter 3:8 (New American Standard Bible)... 3 Matthew Acts Corinthians 12:... 5 Galatians 5:... 5 Go into all the world and spread the Gospel... 6 Be a witness... 6 Acts 1: Corinthians 2: Matthew Make disciples of all the nations Baptism... 8 Teaching commandments... 8 Matthew 22: John 4: John 3:16 (King James Version)... 9 Loving God... 9 Matthew 11: Revelation 3: John 10: Psalm Loving your neighbor Galatians 5: Matthew 7: Appendix A: Spiritual Gifts Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved

22 John John 3: John 5:2, Luke 6: 27, Corinthians 13: Do the work of Christ Build the church and minister to the People Build the Church John 21: Matthew 16: Acts 4: Peter 2: John 14: Heal the Sick Isaiah 53:5 (King James Version) Peter 2:24 (King James Version) James 5:14, John 1: Mathew 9: Feed the Hungry John 6: Luke 6: Preach the Good News Conclusion Appendix A: Spiritual Gifts Appendix A: Spiritual Gifts Copyright 2009 by William H. Havanas all rights reserved