THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL Part 2 LIVING DEPENDENT UPON THE SPIRIT

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1 I. JESUS DEPENDANCY UPON THE HOLY SPIRIT A. Jesus modeled for us the perfect way to do ministry He preached and demonstrated the Gospel of the Kingdom. Jesus came to bring salvation, not just to the soul of man but the whole person [1 Thes. 5:23]. He saved the lost, healed the sick, delivered the oppressed, and set free those bound by demons. Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; Acts 2:22 Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst B. Though Jesus was fully God / fully man He lived entirely dependent upon the Holy Spirit for ministry. Jesus did not do any ministry without first being filled to overflowing with the power of the Spirit. Scripture gives no evidence that there were healings, miracles, or wonders until the anointing of the Spirit came upon Him through fasting and prayer in the wilderness of Judea. Luke 4:1,16 Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness 14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee C. God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with power so that He could go about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. Though He was God, He needed the Spirit of God to be with Him to carry out supernatural ministry. Acts 10:38 God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. D. Jesus affirmed that He could do nothing of Himself but only that which the Father and the Spirit enabled him to do. Though He never laid aside His divinity, He chose to minister out of His humanity. Jesus chose to live just like us, in dependency upon the Spirit s anointing and power. John 5:19 The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. John 5:30 "I can of Myself do nothing a. This view is not the Kenosis theory which teaches that Jesus laid aside His divinity during His first coming. Jesus always was and always will be fully God and fully man. At no time was Jesus merely human and not divine. However, Scripture is clear that during His ministry He chose to live dependent upon the Holy Spirit s power to carry out the Father s will. E. The distinctions of Jesus humanity are two fold: First, He had no sin to separate Him from the Father. Second, He was completely dependent on the Holy Spirits power working through Him. Through regeneration Jesus completely took care of our sin (we are no longer separated from Him), and now we too must live dependent upon the Holy Spirits anointing. 1 P a g e

2 II. THE NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE A. If Jesus needed the Holy Spirit to minister the power of the Gospel to others, how much more do we? Too many people today stop at the Spirits indwelling and never seek the Spirit s empowering. Our purpose for life doesn t end at regeneration. We are called to take the power of the Gospel to others. Mark 16:15 18 Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature 17 "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." a. Mark s record of the Great Commission has the same two fold mandate for ministry: 1) Preaching the Gospel [vv.15] and 2) Demonstrating the Gospel with power [vv.17,18]. b. Supernatural signs will follow every true believer who is open to the Holy Spirit s ministry. These signs begin with deliverance ministry and ends with healing ministry. Every believer is required to live like Jesus and carry out His great co mission. B. Michael Green in his book, I Believe in the Holy Spirit, addressed the question, Why did God send us His Holy Spirit? by saying: There can be no doubt from candid examination of the New Testament accounts that the prime purpose of the coming of the Spirit of God upon the disciples was to equip them for mission. The Comforter comes not in order to allow men to be comfortable, but to make them missionaries. [I Believe in the Holy Spirit. Grand Rapid: Eerdmans, Pg. 58]. C. The Holy Spirit s supernatural ministry is the only thing that makes the Great Commission possible. The task of world evangelization is too large for human efforts of evangelism. Even after Christ gave the commission to go in Matt. 28 and Mark 16, He commanded them to wait first for the Holy Spirit s power. Acts 1:4 8 Being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; 5 "for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."8 " You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." D. The single most damaging theology to the Holy Spirit s power today is that of Cessationism. Cessationism is simply unbelief in the modern day ministry and activity of the Holy Spirit. It affirms that the Holy Spirit saves and sanctifies, but denies that He speaks today, does miracles, gives other tongues, etc. Cessationists believe that miraculous gifts were given only for the foundation of the Church, and they have since ceased after the Canon of Scripture was completed. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 21 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 2 P a g e

3 a. Without question the Holy Spirit s ministry is never to contradict or usurp the authority of Scripture. All miraculous gifts, teaching, and revelation are to be tested in light of God s Word. If God s Word doesn t affirm it we are to reject it, but if it is in the Book we are required to believe it though we do not understand it in its fullness. E. God is a God of the miraculous. One read through the Gospels and the Book of Acts proves the necessity of the miraculous activity of God in the Christian life. The Normal Christian Life was one of supernatural demonstrations of the Spirit s power. Psalm 77:11 14 I will remember the works of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. 13 Who is so great a God as our God? 14 You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. Acts 1 The Disciples saw Jesus ascend and disappear into heaven. Acts in the Upper room spoke with tongues and flames of fire rested upon each of them. Acts 3 A man lame from birth is instantly healed through faith in Jesus name. Acts 4 Through prayer the Holy Spirit shook a building. Acts 5 The Holy Spirit killed Ananias and Sapphira, the Apostles performed signs and wonders, Peters shadow healed people, and angel opened their prison doors. Acts 6,7 Steven performed great signs and wonders and was martyred for it. Acts 8 Philip performs signs and wonders, receives direction from an angel, and gets transported. Acts 9 Unbelieving Paul encounters the resurrected Christ, and Peter raises the dead. Acts 10 Cornelius meets an angel, and Gentiles receive the Spirit and speak in tongues. F. In fact, the Bible teaches that it is ABNORMAL to live the Christian life without the miraculous. To put it another way, we are not the weird ones! Any ministry that denies the supernatural activity of God is unbiblical at its core. If evil King Nebuchadnezzar affirmed that God is a God of Wonders why do we as believers deny Him? Daniel 4:2,3 I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me. 3 How great are His signs, And how mighty His wonders! III. THE GOSPEL OF POWER A. The Apostle Paul confronted those within Corinth who talked the talk but did not walk the walk. They boasted in knowledge but denied the power of God. Paul judged their spiritual state on how much of the Holy Spirit s power they had moving in their ministry. 1 Corinthians 4:19,20 NIV I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. 20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. B. Paul affirmed that the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. The Kingdom of God is not manifested by talking or teaching alone, but by power that confirms the spoken Word. The power of the Holy Spirit proves (or convicts) the truthfulness of the Word. 3 P a g e

4 Mark 16:20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed His word by the signs that accompanied it. a. Notice that God always confirms His Word with signs, He does not necessarily confirm the messenger. Jesus prophesied that many who have performed many wonders in His name will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 7:22,23 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' C. When Paul took the Gospel to new regions, peoples, and cities; He did not bring the message of the Gospel only; but the message along with demonstrations of the Spirits power. Paul followed the model that Jesus and His disciples taught to follow proclamation combined with demonstration. 1 Thessalonians 1:5 Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance D. Paul learned this lesson the hard way when ministering in Athens. After preaching what most scholars consider the most eloquent sermon in all of Scripture Paul left with only a few converts [Acts 17:16 34]. As good as this sermon was it did not have a far reaching effect. Acts 17:33,34 So Paul departed [Athens] from among them. 34 However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them. Acts 18:1 After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. E. After Paul left Athens he came to Corinth. I am convinced that during his weeklong trip, 50 miles to the southwest, Paul reassessed his approach at Athens and came to Corinth with a different proclamation (Christ crucified) and a different demonstration (of the Spirit s power). 1 Corinthians 2:1 5 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. F. In Acts 17 Paul alluded to Jesus resurrection but never declared His name and nor the power of the cross. However in Corinth Paul was saying, I have not come just to argue about philosophy and theology; but I am coming to preach Jesus Christ and demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit. Scripture affirms that this is the most effective model for all ministry and outreach. 4 P a g e

5 WHY WE NEED SIGNS AND WONDERS TODAY II. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POWER AND AUTHORITY A. The Greek language gives two New Testament words for power and authority. The King James version wrongly translates both words into English as power. However, one means power (dunamis) and the other means authority (exousia). Dunamis Supernatural power, miraculous ability, or strength Exousia Delegated authority or influence B. Newer translations make a clear distinction between these two Greek words. They are not synonymous terms, but speak of two different realities. Matthew 28:18 KJV Jesus spake unto them, All power [exousia] is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Matthew 28:19 NKJV Jesus spoke to them, "All authority [exousia] has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Luke 4:32 KJV They were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power [exousia]. Luke 4:32 KJV And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority [exousia]. Luke 10:19 KJV Behold, I give unto you power [exousia] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power [dunamis] the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Luke 10:19 NKJV "Behold, I give you the authority [exousia] to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power [dunamis] of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. C. This distinction is very important in the ministry of Jesus. Jesus excercised authority (exousia) when casting out demons, and used power (dunamis) when ministering to the sick. Jesus never prayed for the demon possessed to be healed, but rather used his authority to cast them out. 5 P a g e

6 Mark 6:7 He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority [exousia] over unclean spirits. Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give you the authority [exousia] to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. D. Jesus taught His disciples that they had been given all authority over demons on the earth. E. Because Jesus triumphed over the grave In acts 2 the disciples did not need to receive authority for ministry but power. 6 P a g e