A “Last Days” Church
🗣️ Speaker: Pastor Derrel Strickland
This week's sermon by Pastor Tom reminded us of the boundless love of God and the resilient nature of the church in times of crisis. Pastor Tom shared the story about his daughter and son-in-law planting a church in Los Angeles and the urgent need for God's presence amidst the California wildfires. He emphasized that God hasn't given up on us and still speaks and empowers us through dreams and visions. Drawing from Acts Chapter 2, Pastor Tom urged us to embrace the Holy Spirit's power, reminding us that we live in the last days, filled with opportunities to do God's work. Our mission as believers is to share God's love and light in our communities and beyond. Let's ignite the fire of hope, faith, and action together.
Additional Info
The info below was generated by an AI from the audio recording of the sermon.
Introduction to God’s Communication
In a world filled with uncertainty and chaos, it's essential to remember that God continues to communicate with us. He is a speaking and empowering God who desires to share His dreams and visions for our lives. This message emphasizes the significance of what transpired during the Day of Pentecost and how it continues to affect us today.
The Lost State of Southern California and God’s Promises
Recent tragedies, such as the fires in Southern California, have led many to question whether God cares for that region. However, there is a strong declaration that God has not forsaken California, as evidenced by a church planted in L.A. by dedicated individuals. Despite the suffering and loss, there are efforts underway to support those affected, showcasing that the church is alive and engaged in the midst of adversity.
The Importance of Prayer
As the community comes together, prayer acts as a critical element for healing. Through prayer, individuals can reach out to God for intervention, comfort, and miraculous restoration. The church serves as a beacon of hope, reminding us that God’s love is vast and that we are called to partake in His mission.
Understanding Dreams and Visions
In Acts chapter 2, Peter speaks of how God will pour out His Spirit, allowing His people to receive dreams and visions. This revelation transforms the way we communicate with God. Unlike in the Old Testament, when communication was sporadic, God now desires a constant dialogue with us. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit signifies His intention to connect deeply with every believer.
Living in the Last Days
The concept of "last days" is often misunderstood, but it refers to the period beginning with the birth of Jesus. The Last Days signify a new era of communication where God desires to enlighten us about His divine plans through the Holy Spirit. This fulfillment is not just historical but very relevant today as believers navigate their faith in a broken world.
Signs and Empowerment through the Holy Spirit
The events of Pentecost demonstrate that God empowers His followers for action. The Holy Spirit’s outpouring is likened to a rushing wind and a mighty fire, symbolizing the transformational power available to believers. This empowerment encourages believers to engage actively in ministry and evangelism.
The Role of the Church in Today’s World
The modern church is called to be not just a bystander but an active participant in the work God is doing in the world. This involvement means reaching out, serving our communities, and sharing the gospel with boldness. The historical acts of early Christians serve as a model for what is possible when the Holy Spirit is at work.
Revival Through Communication
The church's mission is clear: to evangelize and disciple. The Holy Spirit’s role is pivotal here; He empowers believers to articulate their faith compellingly. As we embrace the Spirit, we can expect to see increased sensitivity to God’s prompting, leading to renewed passion for evangelism.
The Importance of Spiritual Sensitivity
Being filled with the Holy Spirit enhances our sensitivity to the needs of those around us. It makes evangelism more effective and opens hearts to the gospel truth. This is a time when it has become easier for people from various backgrounds to discover Jesus Christ, thanks to the persistent work of the Holy Spirit.
Reading and Understanding God’s Word
To effectively navigate this journey, a strong grasp of God’s Word is necessary. The Holy Spirit illuminates scripture, guiding believers to understand its depths. Memorizing verses enables Christians to wield the Word as a powerful tool for both personal growth and evangelistic efforts.
The Call to Action
Ultimately, the message is a call to action. Every believer has a part to play in God's mission. Whether through dreams, visions, or powerful acts of service, the call is clear: get off the bench and participate in what God is doing. Every person, regardless of age or status, is invited to engage fully in the life of the church and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion: The Power of God’s Spirit
The fulfillment of the Day of Pentecost is ongoing and relevant today. The call to preach the gospel resonates now more than ever, and every believer has access to God’s empowering presence. Through dreams and visions, we can see beyond our circumstances and into God’s glorious plans for us and the world around us. Armed with the Spirit’s power, we can transform lives and communities, igniting a revival that reflects the love and purpose of God.
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Use the questions listed below as a launching point to discuss the sermon points together as a family. These are great for dinner table discussions and small groups.
What emotions do you experience when you hear the term “last days”? Why do you think you feel that way?
Do you ever wish that you could talk to Jesus face to face? How would that change your relationship with him?
Do you believe it is to your advantage that Jesus is no longer physically on the planet? What do you think went through the disciples minds when Jesus said this?
How should the day of Pentecost affect our lives? Why do we seem to fall short of these ideals?
As a Christian, do you have a vision for your life? Is it connected to the church?
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Acts Chapter 2 describes the day of Pentecost, an important event in the early Christian church where the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles. This event took place in Jerusalem, around 30 AD, during a Jewish festival called Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks. This festival was a time of thanksgiving for the harvest and also commemorated the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
Jerusalem at the time was under Roman occupation, and Jews from various parts of the Roman Empire would gather in the city for major festivals. This diverse gathering facilitated the spread of the Gospel, as pilgrims heard the apostles speaking in their native tongues through the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Roman Empire was known for its strong pagan traditions, yet it maintained a level of tolerance towards Judaism. However, the emergence of Christianity posed a challenge both to Roman authority and traditional Jewish beliefs.
Theologically, Pentecost marks a shift from the Old Covenant, characterized by adherence to the law, to the New Covenant, in which the Holy Spirit empowers believers to live out God’s commands. This empowerment was demonstrated on Pentecost through miraculous signs and a powerful declaration by Peter, drawing a parallel with the prophecy of Joel in the Old Testament. This context set the stage for the rapid growth of the early church, spreading beyond Jewish boundaries to Gentiles across the empire.
Understanding this context enhances our insight into the profound impact of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church, as highlighted in Pastor Tom's sermon.
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Children’s Lesson: Hearing God’s Voice and Sharing His Love
Theme: God still speaks to us today, and He uses us to share His love with others.
Lesson Title: Listening to God and Sharing His Love
Introduction:
“Have you ever played a game of telephone, where you whisper a message around a circle? Sometimes, the message gets all mixed up, right? But wouldn’t it be amazing if we could hear directly from the person speaking, loud and clear? Did you know that God wants to talk to us, and He wants us to hear Him clearly?”
Bible Verse:
Acts 2:17 – “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.”
Main Points:
1. God Still Speaks Today:
In the Bible, God talked to people in dreams, visions, and through His Word. Today, God speaks to us through the Bible, prayer, and the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
God wants to help us understand His big plans for the world and for our lives.
2. The Holy Spirit Helps Us Hear God:
On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to help Jesus’ followers. It was like a big wind and fire, but it wasn’t scary—it was exciting!
The Holy Spirit gives us strength and courage to tell others about Jesus and live like Him.
3. We Share God’s Love Like a Light:
Imagine you’re carrying a flashlight. When it’s dark, the flashlight helps everyone see. God’s love is like that light—we can share it by helping others, being kind, and telling them about Jesus.
There are people in the world, like the families in California, who need to know about God’s love. The Holy Spirit helps us show them love through our actions.
Activity:
“Holy Spirit Fire:” Give each child a red, orange, or yellow paper flame. Write one way they can “light up the world” for Jesus (examples: pray for someone, help a friend, share about Jesus). Stick these flames on a paper “campfire” as a reminder that the Holy Spirit helps us share God’s love.
Prayer:
“Dear God, thank You for always speaking to us. Help us to listen to Your voice and share Your love with everyone around us. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit so we can be a bright light in the world. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
Takeaway:
“Remember, God loves to talk to us, and He has big dreams for your life. This week, think about one way you can share God’s love with someone else. Maybe it’s praying for them, helping them, or just being kind!”
Memory Challenge:
Acts 2:17 – “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.”
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Wow. I mean, my first Sunday in Oxford, it's already gonna start off a little different than I anticipated. And what I mean by that is I didn't expect a national tragedy to be on the networks all week long with these fires in Southern California. And I know a lot of people think that God has given up on SoCal, especially the Los Angeles area.
But I'm here to declare that God loves California. California. All right. God loves the Californians. And I think he has a special place in his heart for a couple named David and Randall Araujo.
My son in law and my daughter. And here's a picture of them because they planted a church in the heart of LA just three years ago. Yeah. When they told me the story that they wanted to plant a church, I was like, yeah, let's do it. Let's do it.
They said, we're going to la. I said, are you sure? Are you sure? I mean, and they said, well, God told us. And I'm like, well, I know one thing.
God still speaks today. Amen. I am convinced of it beyond a shadow of a doubt. That's what this sermon is primarily gonna be about, is that we serve a speaking and empowering God today. But before we get started, I want to pray for this couple.
I want to pray for their children. They've got three kids, and that's the three kids. I wanted to just put a few face on the people of LA for you, because I spent my first grade year in Downey, California. I spent my second grade year in Lynwood, California. And the rest of my life, I grew up in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
So I'm a little bit of everything. I met a girl who was born and raised in California, and we're now here. Your pastor's here in Oxford, Florida. So God moves the pieces of the puzzle around or the pieces on the chessboard around and puts them where they're supposed to be, who can say Amen. And so we have a great opportunity to pray for my kids, my grandkids, but literally the people of LA that have suffered a tremendous loss.
Now, Floridians are very accustomed to this. We've been hit by two hurricanes just recently. And the devastation is still being taken care of North Carolina with the floods. And so this is a common occurrence. And we get the opportunity to partner with a group called Convoy of Hope.
And so if you wanna partner with them, you can. My daughter and her husband, they're partnering both with Convoy of Hope. And one of the brothers who started Convoy of Hope broke off and formed another nonprofit called City Hope. And he's already got water and clothes and food at their church. So some of the firemen themselves are getting supplies there.
People are getting underwear and T shirts and socks and shoes, because they can't. So I want you to know that the church is boots on the ground. The church is operating alive and well in Los Angeles, California. So would you just join me as we pray for each and every one of these families that have been impacted by this devastation? Heavenly Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus Christ.
We come to you, Father God, not in some superstitious name mag, you know, waving a magic wand, but in the Savior of the world, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And with that, Father God, I am coming to you. I am petitioning you for you to do a miracle in the midst of Southern California. I am praying, Father God, literally, that rains would come. I am praying, Father God, that the winds would die down.
I am praying, Father God, that you would intervene on behalf of these people that are struggling and suffering, Father God, and bring some relief in the name of Jesus Christ. Because as our Savior was on this planet, he gave us an example of what it was like to live as a true human. He gave us an example of ministering to the poor. He gave us an example of taking care of the hungry. And, Father God, we know that there are churches in that vicinity that are doing that right now.
So I pray that you'd move our hearts and allow us to partner with them to the best of our abilities. That we would pray that we would minister, Father God, I pray for my sin and my daughter. I pray for their family. I pray for their safety, Father God, I pray that you'd give them wisdom to minister in an appropriate way. I pray, Father God, for your peace to be in that vicinity, Father God, literally.
I pray a supernatural shalom would come down in that area, Father God, and that you would use this fire, Father God, to transform the entire community, the entire state, Father God, I pray that a revival would break out because of what is happening in this place. That you would move supernaturally in the name of Jesus Christ. We pray and together, everybody says amen. Amen. Pastor, you should get excited.
I will work up to it. I will. I'm here to tell you, if you knew the God that I know, you'd be excited, too, because we serve the greatest God in the entire universe. If you've got your Bibles, you can turn with me to Acts, chapter two. We're gonna be looking at verses 14 and following.
I got voted in on November. I think it was the 17th. And for the last two months, Robin and I have been praying, anticipating, sensing God's spirit. And the words. There was two words that God placed in my heart.
They were dreams and visions. Dreams and visions were what I was going to preach on today and then next Sunday and the week before. And so I started looking up all of these different verses in the Bible on dreams and visions. And I noticed that in the Old Testament that God seemed to speak more often in dreams and not as much in visions. And then in the New Testament, other than the book of Acts and, you know, the Gospels, it started changing to more.
And I started asking the Lord, is there something to it? And I just felt that God said, well, not really, that these are seeing words. And that what God is trying to communicate is how much he wants you to understand him. He wants you to hear his voice on a regular basis. He wants you to see the big picture that he has for your life and for the life of the church.
And. And so I went to this passage of Scripture in Acts, Chapter two because it's where Peter interprets an Old Testament scripture. And so that's where we're gonna be talking from today. So Acts, chapter 2, verses 14 and 15. This is what it says.
But Peter, standing up with the 11, raised his voice and said to them, men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and heed my words, for these are not drunk as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this. We've got some scriptures up here on the board. Verse 16. But this.
I've highlighted the word this for you because Peter's saying, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. And I don't know if you're familiar with. With the day of Pentecost, you know, we are a part of an assembly of God church. So probably most of you have heard the story dozens or hundreds of times. But for those of you who are not familiar with what happened on that day, the scripture just tells us that there were 120 disciples of Jesus Christ.
And these 120 were praying and they had spent 10 consecutive days praying. Now. Now you can believe what you want. I believe that they probably went and got something to eat every now and then and they might have gone home at night and gone to bed and they were living normal lives. But it was a 10 day prayer meeting.
And chapter two, verse one says this. When the day of Pentecost was fully come, in other words, God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, they were waiting for just the right time to do something fantastic, to let the world know that things were going to be different from this day forward. And so when the day of Pentecost was fully come, the scripture says that they heard this sound and they identified it as a sound that came from the outside of them all. 120 identified it as this sound that is is coming from heaven. And they call it a rushing, mighty wind.
And it filled the entire upper room that they were staying in. The Bible then says that there's another physical manifestation and that is fire. It says it appears to them. So they literally see this thing happening. And in the midst of it appearing, it says that it divides.
And a little bit of the fire went on top of one person over here, maybe it was Peter. And a little bit of the fire went over here, maybe on John, and another piece went on Mary. And what's ironic is this fire is still moving today. Some of it has landed over in this section and some of it's in this section and some of it's over here on you, and some of it's over here on you. It's a fire.
See just the way the la fire is moving with these embers floating through the air and landing over here. That's how the Holy Spirit works. You can't contain him, you can't control him. He goes where he desires to go. And so he's been all over the world for about 2,000 years, transforming and changing things.
But what I don't think we understand is that in Acts, chapter 2, verse 17, it says that when it came to pass in the last days, says God, so this event, Pentecost was a sign. It was a sign for the Jews, it was a sign for the disciples. It's a sign for you and I. Today, the day of Pentecost was significant because it says this is one of the signs of the last day. So do you understand that we are living in the last days?
Who can say amen? We're living in the last days. But I want you to be careful. The last days and the end times are not the Same thing. Did you know that?
Because the last days have been going on for 2,000 years, okay? Since even before Pentecost. The birth of Jesus is actually the beginning of the last days, but the end times are just the end piece of the last days. So we need to get our timing correct. We need to understand our eschatology when it comes to all of this.
And let me help you with this. Even in this prophecy, in Acts, chapter 2, verse 19, Peter clearly is quoting Joel and this is what he says. I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in earth beneath. So 2,800 years ago, Joel says this, okay? And so one of the signs is that the sun will be blotted out.
Do you see that? It actually says that in verse 20. The sun will be blotted out. But when was the sun blotted out for the first time? In this period when Jesus died on the cross.
Do you guys remember that? And so when it comes to last day signs, we know that the birth of Jesus, the life of Jesus and the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus were the beginning of the last days. And the coming of Pentecost or the Holy Spirit was the empowerment for the church for the last days. These are all signs and they should be rather obvious. But of course, the devil tries to cause us not to recognize them.
The devil tries to blind eyes and different things like that. So, so this is what I think God is trying to communicate to you and me. The last days refers to a new way of God communicating to us and a new way for God to operate in and through us. Okay, one. Amen.
That's not bad. We'll work our way up to Amens in this church. I mean, I did watch a bunch of sermons online and I know you, Amen, Pastor Strickland. So I'm hoping I get a few more over the course of time. But let me tell you a little story that I think might communicate where the church is today.
Okay? So Beth and her husband had been married for eight years. They had a big argument. And so Beth started giving her husband Steve the cold shoulder. And she hadn't spoken to him for three, three whole days.
So then one day, Steve goes up to Beth and says, hey, Beth, do you know where my white button down shirt is? And she responds, are you talking to me now? And Steve had this befuddled look on his face and he goes, I don't know what you mean. And she goes, well, haven't you noticed that we haven't been talking for three days? And Steve Responded, no, I just thought we were getting along.
That was the man who said amen right there.
What am I trying to get you to hear? That since the day of Pentecost, God has given us the ability to hear him all the time. Okay, that wasn't true in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, we could only hear God intermittently through priests and prophets and kings and some arbitrary people once in a while. This is what it says in Hebrews, chapter one, verses one and two.
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets. He's saying that, you know, once in a while I'd give, you know, Joseph a dream, and then he couldn't really interpret it very well anyway. He would just brag about it and his brothers would throw him in prison. So we weren't communicating clearly, but we were communicating. And then I would talk to this guy by the name of Abraham, and I would tell him to go over here, and this was the promised land.
But he wasn't fully listening to me because he went down to Egypt when I never told him to go to Egypt. He just did what he thought he was supposed to do. So still we weren't communicating clearly. Every now and then, I would choose Amos and Joel and Daniel and Isaiah and a host of other prophets. So at various times and at different places, I would communicate in these different ways.
And it was limited communication, but in these last days, say last days, do you see that there in verse 2? In these last days, I have spoken to you, to us, through his son. So what I'm communicating is that God loves to communicate. He loves to talk. He wants you to know what's on his mind more than you want to know what's on his mind.
He's got a plan. He wants a conversation. He wants a dialogue. That's the good news. But the bad news is humanity is hard of hearing.
Yeah, the truth. The truth is sin cuts off communication with God. And so way back in the Garden of Eden, our great, great, great, great, great, great. I don't know how many times great grandfather and grandmother sinned and they were given the boot out of the Garden of Eden. Now what we need to understand is the Garden of Eden represented perfect communication with God.
They walked together in the cool of the day. The scripture says they hung out, they spent time, they talked. And that was severed, that was broken. But man was still made in the image of God. His spirit.
Man died, but he still had a soulish realm. He still had his emotions. He still had his conscience. He still had his mind, his imagination. So God used dreams and visions to communicate to him in that manner.
Again, it wasn't perfect communication all the time, but over the course of time, even Old Testament men and women were enabled to hear God clearly. And it was written down as something called the Old Testament. Who can say amen? I mean, I'm so glad for the Old Testament, because the Old Testament contains the Word and it's really all about Jesus, okay? But it was hidden for a long time because in the Old Testament, the word about Jesus is concealed.
Not on purpose, okay? But when Jesus showed up and the disciples wrote the New Testament, the. The New Testament reveals what was concealed in the Old Testament. So now we can understand both Testaments clearly and coherently, because together they tell a wonderful, beautiful story of how much God loves humanity. Who can say Amen?
So Jesus is the beginning of the last days. It was just the beginning of this new plan. But Jesus didn't just tell us what to do. This is what I love about our Savior. He lived among us.
Do you understand that? John chapter one, verse 14 says that. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. In other words, he showed us how to live out our Christian lives. When Jesus walked on this planet, he did not operate in his godhood.
Do you understand? Philippians chapter two tells us about the kenosis, the pouring out of his divine prerogatives so that he would operate as a man. And so to operate as a man, what did he have to do? He had to be filled with the Holy Spirit the same way as you and I did. That's why when he was water baptized, the scripture says.
And the Spirit descended upon him like a dove. That's right. And then the Spirit immediately sent him in the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The scripture says. And the rest is the Gospels.
The rest is the disciples explaining in the Epistles and in the Book of Revelation and in the Acts what actually took place while they were hanging out with him. So we need to understand that we need to be. This is my dream for Oxford assembly of God church, that we become a true last days church in every manner of what that word means. Amen. Okay?
That's what I think God wants. But we need to understand that last days churches are supercharged by the Spirit's outpouring. In Acts, chapter two, verse 17. We're gonna read that again. It says this.
And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of my spirit on all flesh that phrase, pour out. It means to gush. How many of you have been to Disney World over here and you've gone to their water park, and while you were at the water park, you stayed dry the whole time?
Nobody, right? I mean, I get a little frustrated with my Catholic brothers and sisters, my Lutheran brothers and sisters, when I was water baptized as a Lutheran as a child. And, you know, for them, a little dab will do you.
Now you're telling everyone how old I am. All right. I didn't want anyone to know that. All right, but. And this is.
I don't want anyone to be offended, but the word baptism, baptism in the New Testament is the Greek word baptizo. And it means to be dunked. It means to be completely under the water. And that's the idea of pouring out of my spirit. You're supposed to be flooded with the Holy Spirit.
You're supposed to be drenched with the Holy Spirit. Now, another connotation of the word baptizo is the word D Y E dye. You're like, what does that have to do with anything? So back then, they had a lot of sheep, shepherds, all that kind of stuff. They would shear the sheep, and then they would either make cloth from it or the hair itself.
They would dye it. Now think about that for a second. It wasn't just on the outside, it was on the inside, too. Every molecule of that thread became whatever color the dye was. Red, blue, purple, green, whatever it was.
That's the idea of spirit baptism. Let me put it another way. There was a little girl, and she loved Sunny Delight. It was her favorite drink. And so she would drink it and drink it and drink it about a half a gallon every single day.
So much so that her skin started turning orange. So her parents were startled. They took her to the doctor and they said, doc, is there something wrong? And the doc said, well, what does your daughter eat and drink? And they said, well, she drinks a lot of Sunny Delight.
And he said, she drinks a lot of Sunny Delight, doesn't she? And he said, there's nothing wrong. He said, there's just a lot of carotene or some orange thing in Sunny Delight. And that she's drinking so much that what goes on the inside is coming to the outside. The Holy Spirit is to go on the inside, and then it's supposed to come to the outside.
That's what being baptized in the Holy Spirit is all about. You can't help but be changed and transformed when you're baptized in the Holy Spirit. When the Infinite fills the finite. Something is going to take place in the name of Jesus Christ.
So if the disciples were staggering a little bit and everyone was thinking they were drunk, there's a reason for that. You will be affected when the Holy comes into you. I guarantee you it happens every time. So hallelujah is right. So what's going to happen if we get baptized?
Well, there's a couple of things that should take place. Number one, there should be increased power. Okay? You should live a dramatically transformed, powerful life. Acts 18 says, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
It's noticeable because there's two pictures that are used in chapter two. One is that rushing, mighty wind, and the other one is that violent fire. So the rushing, mighty wind. The word rushing in the Greek language literally means to be moved by force and speed. So that tells me that a group of people who are baptized in the Holy Spirit will get things done a little bit faster.
I'm not saying you can't do stuff in your own power. You can, okay? But I can tell you one thing. If I'm in a boat out in the middle of a lake and I don't have a motor, okay, All I have is a sail and there's no wind, it's gonna tire me out. Rowing that boat all around that lake, it's gonna tire me out if I wanna get back to the dock.
But if just a gentle breeze picks up all of a sudden, I have all the power I need. I won't even be tired when I get to the dock because I will be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. That's how things are supposed to work at least part of the time in the Christian church, in the Christian life, it talks about a mighty wind. This word literally means violent in the Greek language. Now, again, Floridians understand violent wind.
I mean, we've had two hurricanes hit us in the last couple of months, and it's been violent. It's done property damage. But I'm talking about that. This is a wind that is working in our benefit. This is a wind that is pushing us along positively.
So this wind literally can break. Break the back of the devil himself. This is a wind that can defeat demonic powers right and left, over and over and over again in the name of Jesus Christ. This is the wind that will literally set captives free in Jesus holy and precious name. So the Holy Spirit that worked in Jesus.
Listen. Listen. Is alive and well in you and me. Oh. Oh.
It goes further than that. Paul says that the same spirit that Raised Jesus from the dead is alive inside of you and me. So I'm telling you, there is so much power available to us that we can literally change the world in which we live. Now. Fire is another one of these words.
And we've seen the destructive nature of this fire in Southern California. But in the New Testament and in the Old Testament, fire was meant to guide people. I mean, the same way that Moses was literally transformed by a burning bush, we should be transformed the same way that pillar of fire led the children of Israel for 40 years. An entire congregation can be led by a pillar of fire the same way. I mean, when John the Baptist said, hey, I baptized you with water, but there's one mightier than me who's going to baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
He is telling us that when the Holy Spirit comes, that there is something radical that takes place on the inside of us. And I'm here to tell you, I have experience with fires. Unfortunately, they're not necessarily positive experiences. When I was four years old, I lived in Custer, South Dakota. Anybody been to Custer?
Mount Rushmore. So I lived in that area. Custer's just, you know, like, 30 minutes away from the Black Hills. And so my parents were smokers, and so I was fascinated by fire. And they would light these matches, and I thought, wow, I want to do that someday.
So, sure enough, I snuck a box of matches away one time when my dad was at work, and my mom was probably washing clothes or something like that, and I snuck out, and there was a hill that I went over because I knew at four years of age, I knew the difference between right and wrong, and I knew I was doing something wrong. And I'm over there and I start striking that match, and, oh, it was so fascinating. And I happened to drop one before the flame went out, and all the grass around me caught on fire. Thankfully, my mom noticed I was gone, and she saw. So her and another mom in the neighborhood grabbed some towels, wetted them down, beat out the fire, and then beat the boy.
So I understand fire, and I understand the power of an angry mother. And the power of the Holy Spirit is even much more than that. What I know is that God wants us to heat up the world around us with his love. God wants us to light up the world around us to make it easier for the lost to find their way home. Because the purpose, the primary purpose of this power is evangelism.
That you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the Earth. If you look at Acts, chapter 2, verse 21, this is what Peter says. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be sent. I mean, evangelism. So my question to you is, do you believe that when you communicate the gospel, people are going to get saved?
Listen, listen, this isn't my job. This is your job. I mean, you need to be communicating the gospel. When I look at the Bible, some of the early guys were Stephen and Philip. They weren't pastors.
I mean, they were leading people to Christ on a regular basis. Everyone was. People were coming to the church or coming to Christ every single day. Do we understand that? There's a story of these missionaries who went to train the National Chinese Church how to evangelize.
And so one part of their strategy is, well, you have to make a list of names of people that you're gonna preach the gospel to. And if you don't make the list, then you're not going to make the effort. So they made them make a list of 100 people, 100 different people that they were going to preach the gospel to. And so one of the missionaries went up to a young lady, 18, 19 years old, and he said, well, out of Your list of 100, how many are going to get saved? And she looked at him and she goes, all of them.
Isn't that why we made the list? All of them? She had Holy Spirit empowered boldness the same way that Peter did. Do you see the transformation that took place in Peter? I mean, here, just 50 days previous, he had given up on his God.
He had given up on his Lord. He had given up on his Savior. He had run the other direction. And it was a little girl who sent him running. Or I shouldn't say sent him running, because I call him Chicken Peter.
And so he probably went like this.
50 days later, everything changed. Now all of a sudden, he stands up boldly in the midst of thousands. Understand, 3,000 got saved that day. So I don't know how many thousands were there. But as he was speaking, people started gathering from all around the temple area, and more and more came.
And so our job is to embolden. Our job is to evangelize. Our job is to introduce the world literally to the kingdom of God by bringing his light, by acting like salt, by defeating the devil and making ourselves available for whatever God asks of us. I wish I was there. I wish I saw this.
This transformation in these men and in these women, because 60 days previous, okay, Jesus comes up to them, and in John, chapter 16, verse 7. This is what he says. It is to your advantage that I go away.
Did you know that it was more advantageous? I mean, I'd love to meet Jesus. I'd love to shake his hand. I'd love to sit across the table from him. But do you understand that Christmas is all about God with us, right?
Emmanuel, Easter, that we're gonna celebrate in just a couple of months. It's all about God for us. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God. Jesus died on the cross for us.
But Pentecost is about God in us. And what we have is more advantageous than what the disciples had before Pentecost. The Holy Spirit living on the inside of you is the most powerful power in the entire universe. And so there will be an increase in power, but there is also an increase in the sensitivity that outside people have to God. Did you know it's easier to evangelize today than it was in the Old Testament?
Did you know people became Jews because they loved the Jewish example back 3,000 years ago? But not very often. It didn't happen hardly at all. But today, Hindus, Muslims, all faiths are finding out that Jesus Christ really is who he says he is? And the reason is, for the last 2000 years, the Holy Spirit has been living in people just like you and me and spreading this gospel fire all around the world.
And cultures around the world have been transforming. I mean, we look around and we go, oh, man, it's so bad out there. Let me tell you, the harvest field is ripe. It's ready. There are people who love to do community service.
You might say, well, what's the big deal? The big deal is community service was not a concept 2000 years ago. Community service is all because the church started serving their neighbor and everyone started thinking, hey, this is a pretty good idea. Let's everybody do community service. Did you know there wouldn't be any hospitals if it wasn't for Jesus Christ?
It was Christians who took care of the sick. It was Christians who eventually built hospitals. It's Christians who believed that everyone should read and write and started schools for everybody. It's Christians who believed in women's rights and that all the races were equal and the same. It was all Christians who did all of that.
Nobody else ever started it. Now everyone is believing it. But it's all because of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and because men and women are filled with the Spirit of Jesus and walk around and tell everybody about it. John 16:8 says, and when he, the Holy Spirit, comes, he will convict the world of sin. That's what I was just talking about.
And of righteousness, what's right and wrong, and of judgment. Number three, an increased understanding of the Word. If you want to know what the Word means, you will know what the Word means. If the Holy Spirit, the author of the Word, is living inside of you, you can know what it means. This was the whole thing that transformed Martin Luther his ministry and got him basically kicked out of the Catholic Church because he said, the priest doesn't need to be the only one with the Bible.
Everyone should have the Bible in their own language, in their own hands. It literally revolutionized what took place. Other previous pastors had been killed for saying the exact same thing. But John 16:13 says, however, when he, the spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into all truth. What is the truth?
Jesus says, your word is truth. It's the Bible. That's what the truth is. And so the Holy Spirit is the author. The Holy Spirit led Peter to the connection between what Joel wrote 800 years before and what he saw happening at Pentecost.
And the key was, Peter had already hidden the Word of God in his heart. So I've got to ask you, how well do you know the Word? How many verses have you committed to memory? I know people say they can't memorize the Word. It's not true.
You probably know your address, right? I'm just saying, if you know your address, if you know your telephone number, even though that's getting harder and harder for people because of cell phones, if you know basic facts, you can memorize at least 50 key verses for your life that you use when the devil attacks, that you use when you need them. This man Peter probably had hundreds, if not thousands of verses from the Old Testament memorized. All Jewish boys went to school until they were about fifth or sixth grade. The good students went on for a few more years, and the really good students went on and became priests themselves.
All right, so the requirement in elementary school was to memorize Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, numbers, and Deuteronomy. Ew. I mean, Leviticus. Who wants to memorize Leviticus? Okay, I think I'm just gonna ask you to memorize 50 verses.
50 new ones starting today. We can all do it in Jesus name. Paul called the word the sword of the Spirit. Why? Because the Word without the Spirit kills, and the Spirit without the word devolves into emotionalism.
But the Word and the Spirit combined. Empower, enlighten and prepare hearts for revival. So what else is needed? Number three. And finally, the last days require a visionary church.
God wants us on the same page. So all of us, the Universal Church, has the same mission, going to all the world, preach the gospel, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. And lo, I'll be with you always unto the ends of the earth. So that's the mission of every church. We can articulate it differently, but that's our jobs.
We're to go into the world, evangelize and make disciples. That's our job as the church. But every local church has a local vision and mission. Every local church has the unique way in which they accomplish that. And so ironically, the scripture tells us right here that the way God chooses to do that is through dreams, visions and prophecies.
Okay? Dreams, visions and prophecies under the guidance of the Word of God. So dreams, listen to this. JRR Tolkien, if you're a Hobbit fan, said this, a single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities. Eleanor Roosevelt said this.
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. So let me differentiate here. Right now, a God given dream is different from a selfish dream. And we're gonna talk about that probably next week. Okay?
But I'm not saying whatever dream you wanna do is alright with God. I've told you. I think I said it Nov. 17. When we ask our children what do they want to be when they grow up, we're telling them to come up with the wrong dream.
We need to ask them, what does God want you to be when you grow up? Otherwise culture will influence them to chase after money, power, position, things that don't matter. But I'm not saying that the church doesn't need some of those things. We need money to build a building and stuff like that. But we need unique visions from God.
We need unique dreams from God. Walt Disney put it this way. He was known as a visionary. Soon after Disney World was completed, someone said, isn't it too bad that Walt Disney didn't live to see this because he was already dead. And another person said he did see this.
That's why it's here. That's the power of dreams and visions. God made us this way. God made us with the capacity to see a situation and how to make it better. God knows how to take what is broken and and heal it what is crooked and make it straight what is dark and make it light.
And he wants to do the same thing for us as individuals and as a church. But we must be united the same way that those 120 were united in the upper room. So this is what the scripture says. Acts, chapter 2, verse 17 and 18. And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions. Your old men shall dream dreams. And on my menservants and on my maidservants, I will pour out my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy. This is what I want you to see.
It includes both men and women. It includes the young and the old. Any young people in the house? Let me hear you if you're young.
Wow. We got about 30 in the whole sanctuary. How many old people are in the house? Okay, good. Because did you know you're dreamers.
You don't stop dreaming when you turn 60, 70, 80, or even 90. God still has a dream that he plants in your heart that you can accomplish in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. And you, one of those dreams probably is to mentor some of the younger ones in here so that they can become what God wants them to become. Who can say Amen? I know God is telling someone right now that you're going to be playing the drums pretty soon.
I didn't see anyone up there today. You know what that tells me? That someone's not doing what God's telling them to do. I'm just being real honest. Okay?
I heard yesterday at the men's breakfast that we're in needs of some chaplains at the hospital. That tells me that there are Christians that are not listening to the voice of God right now. So I am praying that this week you have a dream. I am asking you in the middle of the night that God wakes you up and says, you're the chaplain. You're the drummer.
You're going to help pastor. And this way and that way, whatever it is, we're going to start having dreams and visions in the name of Jesus Christ.
It says here the menservants and the maidservants. Do you understand how against Roman culture this is? A majority of the people were slaves back then. Very few people were citizens. Very few people had rights.
And Peter's saying that even the slaves are going to have dreams and visions that God has a plan for them. The haves, the have nots. Paul later says that the Jews and the Gentiles, all ethnic divisions will be done Away with. In the name of Jesus Christ. So let me tell you a story.
I'm a sports fanatic, so I'm gonna tell you a sports story as we close. Thirty years ago, Michael Jordan had one of his best nights ever. And after the game, they won. And they were interviewing Stacy King, who had been a bench warmer, but he got in the game that night and they were saying, stacy, is this gonna be a memorable game for you? And Stacy said, oh, yeah.
He said, this is gonna be the night that I remember that Michael Jordan and I together scored 71 points. And the announcer said, well, how many points did you. Did you score? And he said, Well, I scored two and Michael Jordan had 69. You know what?
All I'm asking you to do is get off the bench. There are no bench warmers in the body of Christ. Would you bow your heads with me, please?
Just a simple response after the service, Robin and I are going to be at the front. And if you need prayer and if, you know some of the other pastors and their spouses are here, I'd like to ask you to come down and allow the congregation to respond by coming forward. But I want to start by asking, do you want to be filled or refilled with the Holy Spirit of God? And if that's you, would you just shake your hand at me and say, pastor, that's me. I need that energy, I need that empowerment.
I need some of that boldness. I need to know that you are with me every step of the way. Sure, you can put your hands down. Heavenly Father, there's many of us. Pentecost was a one time event.
I understand that. But then in chapter four, it says they were filled with the Holy Spirit again. And then in chapter 8, people were filled again. And in chapter 10, people were filled again. And in chapter 19, people were filled again.
And it happened over and over and over and over again. And some of the same people repeatedly filled. Because in our humanity, sometimes we start operating in the flesh just a little bit too much. It's not because we purpose to. It's because we're not used to living spiritual lives.
So I pray, Father God, that you would remind us of what it means to walk in the spirit. Remind us, Father God, of what it means to be fruit bearers and allow the spirit to grow in us. The love, the joy, the peace, the faithfulness that you want every one of us to share on a regular basis. It's not about us eating the fruit so much as it is about us sharing the fruit about giving it to a lost and dying world who has no access to you unless we bring them to you. So, Father God, fill us with your Holy Spirit.
If there are any here who've never accepted Jesus as the Lord and Savior, I pray that's the first step. And in a crowd this large, I know there's a couple of people who are wrestling right now thinking, wow, that was a great message. But what does that have to do with me? Well, I can tell you that your sensitivity is being activated by the Holy Spirit right now. And the Holy Spirit is drawing you and asking you just to join the family.
And what's so cool is Oxford is a big part of that family. And you can join us on a regular basis, be a part of this church by simply asking Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sins. And he'll wash them away by making Jesus your Lord and Savior. And he will come in and live with you. And then you can be filled with the Holy Spirit to such overflowing that your entire life is completely transformed.
So fill us, Father God, save us. Refill us, Father God and I pray that this week that literally we will be waking up in the middle of the night hootin and hollering because you literally communicated to us in a. In a physical dream. But more than that, that as we spend time in your word, that we will begin to daydream about the possibilities of what can be done in the power of the Holy Spirit. I pray that even if we're physically handicapped to some degree, that we will understand that no matter what our condition, either God will heal us or God will enable us in some way to pursue, participate mightily in this last end times revival that is about to come upon us.
So I'm asking you to prepare us, Father God. I'm asking you to empower us, to embolden us and prepare this harvest field in this area. Father God, I know that the villages is ripe. I know that Wildwood is ripe. I know that Oxford and Ocala and Somerville and Lady Lake, Father God, and all of these areas around us, Father God, are ready for Jesus.
So may we be the messengers. May we go to our Jerusalem. May we go to our Judea. May we go to our Samaria. May we go to the uttermost parts of the earth.
In honor of you, I pray this today. I believe this today in Jesus holy and praise precious name and together everybody says amen.
