The Gift of Tongues

The spiritual gifts are not given to a person for their own benefit but for the benefit of the greater crowd the the church the body of Christ so remember what Paul said in Corinthians just like a body has different parts that function in different ways there are various spiritual gifts in the church that f function in different in different ways so for a church to function as God intended it to be for a church to be healthy so you know let me stop there and say it very quickly many times we we grade the healthiness of a church based on the crowd that’s there that’s actually not what God looks at when he looks at the health of a church the health of the church is dependent on how that body of Christ is functioning with the fruit of the spirit and in spiritual gifts so for a church to be healthy to function in a healthy way as God meant it to be each one of us have has to be active in functioning with spiritual gifts that’s what we mentioned last week it’s not just the pastor that comes to bless the church to lead the church to guide the church the pastor has his role but each each one of us and that’s what Paul told the church at Corinth each one of you has spiritual gifts now the question is are you empowered in that spiritual gift that’s what we’re going to talk about today and then last week we also kind of we spoke a little bit more about the fruit of the spirit the proof of our connection to God is not in spiritual gifts or the demonstration of spiritual gifts the proof of our connection to God is in the fruit of the spirit being demonstrated in our life okay and then we studied the gift of Prophecy and the purpose of Prophecy and that purpose is edification exhortation and comfort to man and we said about the prophetic voice the prophetic voice is still active today all the spiritual gifts are active today there are churches that teach spiritual gifts are not active there are there are Bible scholars that teach these gifts are not active no the Bible clearly tells us the gifts of the Spirit are active today in the church and we spoke about prophecy specifically that prophecy requires us to test and discern and sift what we hear we have to kind of filter what we hear because there are many false prophets so for our final week study let’s dive into a very familiar passage to the Pentecostal churches to the Pentecostal Community especially is Acts chapter 2 so if you have your Bibles with you you can go ahead and open it to Acts chapter 2 we’re going to read it here in a few minutes but I want to talk about the background of it because we’re going to unpack Acts chapter 2 from starting from verse one all the way to verse 30 uh verse 2728 we’re going to pack it unpack it all but I need you to understand the background of Acts chapter 2 or the lead into to Acts chapter 2 so remember the upper room experience The Upper Room uh Holy Spirit coming down for the first time is happening 40 days after the res resurrection of Jesus and then Jesus already Jesus ascended back to heaven and remember Jesus suffered and died on the cross and then he resurrected from the dead and in that time period he showed himself to his disciples after his resurrection for a period of about 40 days and in those 40 days he was talking to his disciples about many things and he gave them a specific command and let’s read about that command remember it’s a command it’s not a suggestion he didn’t say you know if you have time you should do this he gave them a specific order and that order is in Acts chapter 1 verse three he told his disciples you are going to have to go to Jerusalem and wait what are they waiting for acts chap 1:3 Jesus commanded Ed his disciples do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift my father promised which you have heard me speak about for John was baptized with water but but John baptized with water but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit and you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my Witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria and to the ends of the Earth this same passage is mirrored in the gospels as well in Luke CH 24: 49 we see Jesus makes a very similar command to the disciples Luke 24:49 he said do not leave Jerusalem until you have been clothed with power do not leave Jerusalem do not leave the city till you are clothed with power from on high so in Acts chapter 1 Jesus is ascending to heaven and so these 11 disciples remember Judas is gone so it’s 11 disciples these 11 disciples go up to the upper room in Jerusalem to wait just like Jesus commanded and that’s what we see in the beginning of Acts chapter 2 and it wasn’t just the 11 Disciples of course they made they appointed a rep a replacement for um Judas but there were other people as well one of them was Mary the mother of Jesus Jesus’s brothers and other believers other people that followed Jesus they saw Jesus die and they saw Jesus resurrected a total of 120 people that’s in Acts 1:15 that actual number 120 people were in the upper room and so they’re all in the upper room waiting in one Accord that’s very important to understand acts chap 1 ver14 one Accord and acts chap 2 verse1 in unity two separate times it says they they met together in one Accord we talked about unity all these last few weeks how it is the holy spirit that unifies us so these Believers are coming together in unity together to pray and they’re waiting for a gift the gift is not an it do you remember what I said the very first week of this class on the Holy Spirit the holy spirit is not an it this holy spirit is a Who this person of the holy spirit is who they’re waiting for so Jesus told them in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit see many times we hear the word baptize and we think of what water baptism but there’s a big difference between water baptism and baptism in the Holy Spirit John chapter 1 verse 26 27 and 33 we’re going to read that here in a second John chapter 1 2627 and 23 this passage is John the Baptist speaking and he says I baptize with water but among you stands one you do not know he is the one that comes after me he’s talking about Jesus the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie I myself did did not know him but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me the man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize you with the holy spirit so what John the Baptist is saying here I’m baptizing you with water baptism but that is nothing compared to Jesus and what he will be doing when he baptizes you with the Holy Spirit so it’s very important to understand that it is Jesus that baptizes with the Holy Spirit a pastor does not baptize you with the Holy Spirit a prophet does not baptize you with the Holy Spirit a convention speaker does not baptize you with the Holy Spirit it is Jesus that baptizes you with the Holy Spirit along the same lines Bap uh Holy Spirit baptism is much different from water baptism but holy spirit baptism is very different from being born again see being born again is the work of the Holy Spirit the holy spirit is what convicted your heart to accept Jesus into your life the holy spirit is what regenerates you it helps you to be reborn and makes you you spiritually alive in Christ this is happening at Salvation that’s Titus 3:5 we’re not going to read it the holy spirit is at work in your life the minute you accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior but being baptized in the Holy Spirit is a different experience see when you are baptized in the Holy Spirit it is the work of the Holy Spirit to come on a human and to empower them to equip them with the power needed necessary to complete their mission and purpose on this Earth You and I all have a mission and a purpose and we’re going to talk about that mission because that mission is really the same many of us think oh I have a calling in life and you talk about your career you talk about whatever life you want that’s your purpose in life but actually the mission of the church the mission of every individual believer is the same whether God calls you that through being a nurse through a doctor an engineer whatever a pastor whoever however Avenue God places you in your mission and purpose is the same so baptism in the Holy Spirit is what P empowers you to carry out your mission sometimes the Bible refers to baptism in the Holy Spirit as being filled in the spirit that’s a very synonymous term see in the Old Testament people were filled with the Holy Spirit baptized in the Holy Spirit but it was a very temporary process right it’s not some the Holy Spirit did not stay with them see if you look at the Old Testament people like Moses people like David people like the judges uh you know anneal Gideon Samson you read verses then the spirit of the Lord Came Upon Samson then the spirit of the Lord Came Upon Gideon because they had a specific task to do and at that moment the Holy Spirit would come down upon them but it is different for the New Testament Church see in the New Testament every single one of us has been given the command to be baptized AP ized in the Holy Spirit it is a command to all of us Old Testament just the priest just the king just the judge just the leader but in the New Testament each one of us as the body of Christ has been given that specific command we have to be empowered by the spirit and the reason is you have to fulfill your mission on this Earth and what is that mission Jesus told the disciples clearly what that mission was Acts 1:8 the purpose of being empowered by the spirit is that so you could be my witnesses to the uttermost ends of the Earth so when we come back to Acts chapter 2 for those of you who just joined us we’re on Acts chapter 2 and we’re going to go through the entirety of of Acts chapter 2 but I need you to we were going through the background of it first there’s 120 Believers in the upper room by the way this is the same upper room where Jesus held the Lord’s Supper The Last Supper and now they’re back in the upper room because Jesus told them to wait wait wait for the gift of the promise don’t start anything until you have this power and I want you to understand something about these follow followers these are already Believers these are not strangers they already believe in Jesus Christ they knew Jesus died and resurrected these these men and women walked with Jesus talked with Jesus saw jesus’ Miracles but now they were shifting from Simply following Jesus to proc claiming Jesus it’s a big difference you can be a follower of Jesus but that doesn’t mean you Proclaim Jesus see being empowered with the holy spirit means we’re ready to take the next step from being just a follower of Jesus a believer of Jesus to now proclaiming Jesus because that’s the purpose of being empowered be my witnesses to the ends of the Earth and these Believers had no idea they had no idea what they needed to do but all they knew was I have to wait I have to wait in Jerusalem till the promise is sent by the father so they came together in the upper room Acts chapter 2 and they waited and they prayed so let’s read now Acts chapter 2 verses 1-4 we’re going to go through it and we’re going to read it section by section and I we’ll we’ll kind of we’ll study those sections together so it makes better sense now when the day of Pentecost had come they were all in one Accord they were all in unity together in one place suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a mighty rushing wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting then appeared to them divided tongues as of fire like fire and one sat upon each of them one divided tongue sat upon each person in the room it it is what they are seeing and then they all were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance so let’s talk about this first verses 1-4 that’s a lot right there when you read that what is standing out to you what are three things are three things that most people when they read this passage stands out to them number one the rushing wind first of all sounds like a rushing wind not an actual wind there was no wind in the room but it sounded like a wind number two tongues like fire not actual fire tongues that appeared like fire number three speaking in other tongues but my question to you is those things happened but what actually happened in the upper room what was the purpose the bigger picture those are little details right what is the actual purpose of the upper room let me illustrate it to you this way you all know about September 11th September 11th 2001 there was an event in this country’s history but an event in the world history many of you were alive during that time if you weren’t alive you definitely have seen pictures and videos and clips and everything of what happened on that day so imagine I ask you what is September 11th and some of you will say well I saw planes I saw people running in the street I saw saw emergency vehicles going back and forth I saw smoke I saw fire I saw buildings falling down but is that what actually happened what is the bigger picture of September 11th it was the day that war was declared on this country you see if you get caught up in little details you miss the bigger picture what happened happened on the day of Pentecost there was a sound like a wind yes there was tongues that looked like fire yes there was other tongues but that’s not the big picture of the day of Pentecost see what happened on the day of Pentecost is for the first time in history the history of mankind the Holy Spirit-filled church came into existence for the first time in history followers of Jesus received power to spread the gospel to every end of the globe why is that why is that a big deal why is that the big purpose why is that relevant for you to understand because what happened in the upper room is why you and I are sitting here we are the ends of the Earth we didn’t live in Jerusalem none of you are from Jerusalem we are at the ends of the Earth Upper Room happened so we could be part of the church number two The Upper Room happened to make disciples for Jesus that was the Great Commission so we as a church have to understand in order to fulfill the Great Commission we have to be empowered you cannot fulfill the Great Commission without receiving power but here’s the problem many Believers reduce the day of Pentecost many Believers reduce empowerment of the Holy Spirit to an emotional experience they’re so focused on the little details remember I told you those little details what happen happened in the upper room they’re so focused on the little details they forget the bigger purpose of why the Holy Spirit was sent too often our worship services are judged by how much people are crying or shaking or feeling Goosebumps or feeling emotional see you cannot limit baptism in the Holy Spirit to emotions yes when the holy spirit moves emotions are a response but emotion is not the goal but we have not only made empowerment or baptism of the Holy Spirit about emotions we’ve limited our understanding of the Holy Spirit to just tongues I’m speaking to a Pentecostal Church you and I have limited our understanding of Holy Spirit to just tongues we he he tongues and we’re like holy spirit we’ve studied the Holy Spirit five weeks this is our fifth week I hope through five weeks you have understood that the holy spirit is more than just tongues listen to me carefully the holy spirit is not tongues if you’re understanding that the holy spirit is just tongues you’ve missed the entire picture of who the holy spirit is see the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts like speaking other tongues but speaking in tongues is not the gift that Jesus was talking about when he saido not leave Jerusalem Jesus was talking about the gift of all gifts that you have to receive and that gift is the empowerment of the Holy Spirit see Jesus didn’t promise us to fill us with the holy spirit so we can feel powerful see the purpose of the holy spirit is not to feel powerful the purpose of the holy spirit is not to feel emotion see if you look at acts the disciples didn’t leave the upper room with power clothed and and said oh I feel I have a great feeling this is a great Rush what a great High I feel Goosebumps that’s not what the disciples said the disciples left the upper room we’re going to talk about it the disciples left the upper room empowered clothed with power to turn the world upside down that’s actually a word turn the world upside down that’s from Acts chapter 17 the other people in the world look at the Believers and said these men are turning the world upside down that is the power of the Holy Spirit see Jesus baptizes with the holy spirit so we can actually be powerful so we can walk in authority over sin over fear over Darkness see what remember what T second Timothy Paul wrote to Timothy God has given us a spear a a power a spirit of power of love and of sound mind God gave us the power of the holy spirit so we can take Christ Proclaim Christ to a very chaotic world with courage and with boldness let’s keep reading my time is so limited when I prepare notes for Bible study they’re usually very long and then I have to cut cut cut cut down 50 pages down to 10 pages to what I’m preparing for you to listen and there’s a lot we can talk about in all these verses but we have to move on for the sake of time Acts chapter 2 veres 5- 11 now they were staying in Jerusalem so this is the next part the the Holy Spirit came down they are filled with the spirit they are empowered so now there are there is a city around them they were staying in Jerusalem the upper room is in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under Heaven is in Jerusalem at this time remember it’s the Festival of Pentecost it’s the day of Pentecost so Jews from all over that side of the world and there’s by the way there’s Jews in every country if you don’t know that already the Jewish population is nearly in every country even in India there’s Jewish colonies everywhere there are Indian Jews they are all over the world so all the Jews are gathered here for the day of Pentecost listen they heard this sound all these Jews heard it they came together in bewilderment because each one heard their language being spoken utterly amazed they said aren’t all these who are speaking galileans how is it that each of us hears them in our native language and then verse 9 nine 10 up nine and 10 15 different nationalities I’m not going to read it all 15 different nationalities of Jews their language is heard on the day of Pentecost and then verse 11 these people said hey we we hear them declare the wonders of God in our language in our tongue verse 12 amazed and perplexed they said what does this mean mean see before I before I move on I need you to understand understand this the speaking of other tongues on the day of Pentecost was a known language okay it was a known language verse six each one heard their own language the first time the Holy Spirit came on this Earth and filled the church it was not an unknown language it was not a Heavenly tongue many times that is interpreted in correctly and there’s this misconception that they were speaking a Heavenly language but on the day of Pentecost it was not a language that was Unknown People heard it and said this is our language that we are hearing and so a crowd is gathering because they understood what was being said these people experienced two things number one they were amazed number two they were perplexed they were confused what were they amazed about we hear them declaring that’s the verse we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongue they’re declaring God in our own language meaning they were so struck by what they heard they wanted to know more they were struck in their heart it was a fruitful experience for them what does fruitful mean it means the language that was spoken the tongue that was spoken benefited them it penetrated into their heart and it was pointing toward God it was pointing toward Jesus see let’s talk about tongues for a second because I think especially as a Pentecostal church we have to have a good understanding of tongues it cannot be simply hearsay we cannot assume what tongues are we as a church believe in all the spiritual gifts but especially as a Pentecostal Church tongues are a big component of that so let’s understand what tongues are first see the point of tongues spiritual gifts like tongues let me clarify that too when we say tongue we’re talking about language it’s not a language that you learn you speak in a mother tongue most of you speak Malayalam or Hindi or maybe your native tongue is English we’re not talking about that we’re talking about the spiritual gift of tongues which is a spiritual gift listen to what Paul says about tongues 1 Corinthians Chapter 14 verse 6 1 Corinthians 146 brothers and sisters if I come and speak to you in tongues what good it is what good is it to you unless I bring some Revelation or prophecy or knowledge or word of instruction see remember what we said last week about spiritual gifts the point of a spiritual gift is to edify the church but the problem in the Corinthian Church is that people were starting to speak in unknown tongues publicly and it was causing chaos in the church no one was understanding what was going on and it was not benefiting or fruitful to anyone so what does Paul tell the Corinthian Church 1 Corinthians chapter 14:3 for this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say see the spiritual gifts of tongues are declaring the wonders of God if you’ve heard someone speaking in tongues you don’t understand what they’re saying but they’re declaring the wonders of God that’s the content of tongues but what benefit is it to you if you don’t understand what they’re saying there needs to be someone to interpret those tongues and remember interpretation of tongues is its own spiritual gift if you remember that list we read from 1 Corinthians chapter 12 there is tongues and there is interpretation of tongues so what makes makes tongues the spiritual gift of tongues fruitful to the body of Christ it is when it is interpreted that we can learn more about God Paul explains it even more because remember Paul as an apostle in the church he wants every member of his church to grow in the faith to the full maturity so whenever Paul gives these instructions he’s not not telling he’s not he’s rebuking the church but he’s also saying Hey listen the the reason is I want you to grow in the faith and so Paul says 1 Corinthians chapter 14 veres 7-2 if you have your Bibles 1 Corinthians chapter 14 7-2 we’re going to sit here for a minute I don’t have much time but we’re going to unpack these verses verse by verse so you understand what’s going on here verse seven this this chapter is devoted to prophecy tongues and order in the church verse 7 even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds such as the pipe or the harp how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes see let me illustrate it to you this way imagine the worship team when they come up here for songs to Alas into worship um they put the words of the song that they choose up here let’s imagine imagine it’s amazing grace they put Amazing Grace up on the screen but then when they go play piano they play the tune of Jesus loves me this I know imagine that imagine the confusion that would happen because in your head you know the tune of Amazing Grace because that’s the words that are on the screen but the tune that’s being played is another song completely Paul gives another example again another Musical examp example read verse 8 if the trumpet does not sound a clear call who will get ready for battle so back in the day when there’s war there’s a person at the front who plays the trumpet and that gives the signal to the soldiers that they need to get ready to charge into battle so Paul said if everyone knows that the trumpet sound is this but then the person the trumpeter plays another note another tune how will the soldier know that they need to go into battle the tune is different verse 9 so it is with you so now he brings it back to the church there are all types of languages in the world none of them is without meaning if I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying I am a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker is a foreigner to me imagine I came up here and I spoke to you through the holy spirit in the Russian language and I’m speaking very profound deep knowledgeable things from the word of God about God but it’s in Russian how does that benefit you I’m speaking to the heir that’s what Paul said without an interpreter speaking in tongues is like speaking into the air and no matter how deep no matter how meaningful I speak with big passion energy and Zeal if you don’t know that language it’s unfruitful to you but it becomes fruitful it becomes beneficial to you when there’s an interpreter when I speak and that’s this is what Paul says when I speak in an unknown tongue I only edify myself but unless I interpret it or have someone interpret it I’m wasting everyone’s time here how Paul even said how can someone say Amen to what you said if they don’t understand what you’re saying you may have a wonderful prayer in tongues that’s wonderful you are talking to God but I can’t say Amen to that because I don’t have a clue what you’re saying verse 12 since you are eager for the gifts of the Spirit excel in those that build up the church the the church at Corinth was eager for the gifts of the Spirit that’s a wonderful F thing but like I told you last week spiritual gifts are not meant for your personal benefit spiritual gifts are are given by the Holy Spirit as the Holy Spirit Wills to build up the church ver 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verse5 the one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues unless someone interprets so that the church may be edified the gift of tongues is a gift of the spirit it is if it is an unknown tongue and there’s no interpreter you are speaking to God and it is a mystery to everyone else who’s listening and it is not beneficial to anyone who else who’s listening so Paul is said try to excel try to grow in gifts that build up the church so if you’re going to talk in tongues let there be an interpreter so let’s get back to our passage 15 different groups are represented here on the day of Pentecost they heard their language being spoken we said number one they were amazed but number two they were perplexed per perplexed just means confused they were confused why were they confused see the disciples in the upper room these 120 most of them were galileans gal Galilee is a northern half of Israel the people of Galilee were generally understood to be uneducated what our modern day term would be like saying country folk they were from the country they didn’t have much education the people in Jerusalem were educated they went studied the law under the under the scribes under the Pharisees they were very educated people so these people in jerus are thinking wait this is confusing these galileans have no formal Seminary training they have no knowledge of other languages they don’t travel they’re not people that travel how are they speaking in the language that I grew up in so far from Greece you can read that list of languages it’s a miracle it was miraculous and that is only by the work and possible by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit see the Holy Spirit power goes beyond any ability that you have or you don’t have see when we talk about empowerment of the Holy Spirit I’m going to tell you again the empowerment of the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with your education it has nothing to do with your skill your talent any character that you have when the Holy Spirit empowers you he gives you a Supernatural Ministry then there were some people next verse Acts chapter 2: 13 some however made fun of them they mocked them these men are F full of new wine some translations say these men have had too much wine see what what happens when someone gets drunk no one needs to answer that I’ll answer it they are under the control the influence of alcohol see some people drink alcohol to forget about their past they drink alcohol to forget about tomorrow they want to numb their reality of pain they’re going through some difficulty so alcohol numbs it up here where you don’t feel that pain they feel more Carefree see when you see someone who’s intoxicated they’re usually very loosened up sometimes they’re very cheerful they’re very happy they may sing they may laugh they may cry see alcohol takes your mind to another place it takes your reality to another place alcohol makes you act like someone else so why do you think the people in Jerusalem looked at the disciples full of the Holy Spirit and said I think they’ve had too much to drink see when the Holy Spirit came down on them filled them and empowered them their outward personality changed remember these disciples were scared they were hiding they they were very timid they were shy all of a sudden they’re coming out with a new boldness these disciples that were once quiet and reserved are now all of a sudden speaking boldly and excitedly and sharing the gospel in the streets of Jerusalem in other tongues something had changed about these disciples and some people said oh it’s got to be alcohol they maybe they had too much to drink and Paul says this again in Ephesians Ephesians 5:8 do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery but be filled with the spirit instead Paul is saying holy spirit gives you a better reality than alcohol another way of saying being filled with the Holy Spirit is being under the influence of the Holy Spirit don’t be controlled by another substance if you’re going to be under the influence of anything let it be the holy spirit let the Holy Spirit fill you let the Holy Spirit be the one that controls your behavior your actions your character when we are filled with the Holy Spirit we are at God’s disposal God what more do you want of me instead of us asking if we want more of God we’re asking God how much more do you want of me see people people drink for a momentary Buzz they drink alcohol for that momentary pleasure see when you are filled with the holy spirit it’s not just for a moment it’s your way of life you don’t come to church for a holy holy spirit Buzz outside of this church you need to be continued to be powered by the Holy Spirit fast forwarding through Peter gets up Peter responds to that they said are you drunk and Peter Peter gives a response verse 14 I’m not going to read the whole thing my time is already up Peter gives a response and I want you to notice in your own time when you study the word of God notice Peter’s transformation The Peter before the Holy Spirit and the Peter after the Holy Spirit the Peter before the Holy Spirit was impulsive he was weak he was scared of everything Jesus said come out walk on the water he instinctively jumps into the water but then he starts to sink because he was so afraid Jesus is getting arrested Peter takes his sword out cuts off the servant’s ear impulsively because he’s afraid Jesus is standing in the court and Peter denies Jesus three times and also one of those times was to a servant girl a servant girl Jes Peter could not admit who Jesus was and his connection to Jesus even in front of a servant that’s how scared he was but there’s a different Peter after the day of Pentecost this fearful Peter now stood in front of the Jewish Council this fearful Peter this timid Peter stood in front of a crowd of people and said we are not drunk and he gave them the salvation of Jesus Christ 3,000 people were added to the church that day that’s the transformation that is the power of the Holy Spirit the Peter who once denied Jesus now says to everyone when the Jewish leaders were accusing him Peter looked and said to them we will only only obey Christ we will only obey God not man in Acts chapter 4 verse 29 they we see another part the disciples came together again and then the room that they were in was shaken they were all filled with the Holy Spirit this is the upper room part two I’m not going to read all the verses that it says the Holy Spirit came down on them and then they started to preach the word even more boldly I want I’m reading that verse to tell you the empowerment of the holy spirit is a continual thing it’s a continual process it’s not a one-time event I hear sometimes people say you know I was filled with the Holy Spirit In 1976 okay that’s nice what about now are you still filled with the spirit now see you all have phones right we all have a phone we have to charge our phone for our phone to work but imagine you said you know I charged it last Sunday and you didn’t charge it since then is your phone going to be working today one week later probably not you have to charge your phone every day for your phone to work sometimes depending and if you have a busy day where you’re on the phone more you need to charge it more often you have to pray for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit every day to face the new challenges of every day you cannot rely on the Holy Spirit 20 years ago you said okay you were filled back then that’s wonderful but to face challenges today you need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit every single day Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2:4 my message and my preaching was not with wise and persuasive words but with the demonstration of the spirit’s power see some of you have friends you have family that is nominal you all know what nominal means you have family that’s still in the Orthodox background you have family and friends that are atheists you cannot convince them for Christ with your persuasive words you cannot convince them to Christ with words of wisdom you need the power of the Holy Spirit to bring them to Christ that’s what Paul said I cannot come to you with words of wisdom my words were a demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit dear church we need an infilling of the Holy Spirit day to day this does not apply just to pastors or preachers or seminary students the power of Jesus Christ the power of the holy spirit is for every member of the church you cannot live the Christian Life with just the converting power of the Holy Spirit yes the Holy Spirit helped you find Jesus convicted you of sin convicted you of just of of of a coming judgment you cannot survive with that you need the actual empowering work of the holy spirit in your life and let me tell you let me let me close with these lines there’s no formula for receiving the power of the Holy Spirit some some preachers make some complex formula you have to sit like this you have to clap like this you have to raise your there’s no formula like that in the Bible but there’s one thing you have to to do to be empowered by the Holy Spirit Luke 11:13 if you then although you are evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him it’s as simple as asking ask God to fill you when you get up in the morning God fill me with your Holy Spirit when you go out on a new Venture God fill me with your holy spirit before you start your school day God fill me with your holy spirit before you start your day at work God Empower me with your Holy Spirit over the last few weeks we’ve been studying who the holy spirit is we’ve been studying the ministry of the Holy Spirit what it means to have communion with the Holy Spirit both in the church and outside the church I really hope hope this Bible study was a blessing to you and you were able to learn about who the holy spirit is I can tell you I learned so much you know I grew up in the Pentecostal Church um I I you know my father is a pastor I heard all the messages I can hear but I learned so much more when I myself looked into the word of God to study it and I encourage each one of you don’t let your study on the word of God stop because we’re stopping here take the Bible and look into it continue to study it I want to thank Pastor Manu also for giving me the opportunity the time to do this Bible study um next Sunday our Sunday school is going to be starting individual classes Sunday school starts at 10:30 and it goes to 11:15 parents please bring your children on time our teachers study and and prep material they in the middle of their busy weeks they are prepping materal material to teach your children so remember the time is very limited 45 minutes maximum time they have please bring your children by 10:30 so teachers can teach let us stand this morning together as a church every every and I’m going to speak to every parent in the room the children that you see up here in the front you can see where your child is you have been given this child to give an account for them see April April is coming up here in a few days April is tax month you all know what tax month means where you go to the government and now you have to give an account of every cent you made this past year every dollar that you made you have to give an account you go to the bank to pay your mortgage for your car for your house because you need to give an account to the bank but your children you will have to give an account in front of God God’s not interested in your personal possessions he’s not interested in how much money you made how much wealth you accumulated on this Earth but he will ask you where are the children I gave you the Bible tells us we need to bring up our children in the discipline and in the instruction of the Lord that what that means is and what what he told in Deuteronomy to Moses teach them teach your children talk to them when they’re sitting in the house talk to them when they’re walking when you’re lying down when you’re Rising every minute of the day talk to them about who God is talk to them about the Holy Spirit you see we need a generation that is empowered by the Holy Spirit I was telling my pastor yesterday if we are a church without the Holy Spirit we are just a social club the Holy Spirit and the spiritual gifts and the fruit of the spirit have to be operating in the church parents the pastor has authority over the church but you as parents have authority over your children every day you need to place your hand on them and pray for them there’s an authority that you have because no one else is going to pray for your children like you do children no one is going to pray for you like your parents do we’re going to take a minute to pray for our children our upcoming Sunday school year is starting we want our teachers our Sunday school teachers to be filled with wisdom and knowledge to teach our children we need to pray for our children that they’re growing up in the fear of the Lord that they are people empowered by the spirit these five weeks i’ I’ve talked to you about the empowerment and who the holy spirit is and you see the necessity that we need for it for our life you cannot move forward in this life without the holy spirit this morning when we were coming to church and I’m sure this was the case for most of you you got on the highway and you realized the roads were blocked I know that’s probably why most of you were late this morning many of the roads were blocked the common roads that we use were blocked so when I get out in the morning even if it’s going to work uh coming here on Sunday the first thing I do is I plug my phone into the car turn on my navigation even after being here now this my third year in Arizona after three years I still plug in my navigation um because if I rely on my understanding of the roads I’m going to hit a roadblock right for all of you who came on the road this morning you came in the morning and said you know what I’m going to church I’m going to make it on time and then you hit the roadblock you hit a block a construction on the road but what happened there was no roadblock yesterday there was no roadblock last Sunday but this Sunday there was a roadblock and if you did not have your GPS on you didn’t have your navigation on you sat in that roadblock or you’re going in circles this is the power of the Holy Spirit if you are not plugged into the Holy Spirit you’re going to keep going in circles you cannot say with your understanding oh I know this road it’s a road familiar to me see even this morning when I plugged the GPS into the car the GPS was taking me all these side roads side roads avoiding what I was familiar with and my understanding was saying you know what forget the GPS let me just take what I know but the GPS knew if I took all these roads according to what the GPS was telling me I could get to my destination in time see when you are plugged into the Holy Spirit when you have the continual empowerment of the Holy Spirit that’s how the GPS is as well you will face roadblocks in life you will face challenges in life challenges that your parents never had to face don’t think that you are now magically because your parents are Christians you just follow just like they did you’re going to face more problems in your life than your parents did parents this is why I need you to pray for your children you have to put your hands on your children and pray for them otherwise you’ll cry about it later on if you don’t pray for your children when they get to the next roadblock in life they’re going to be stuck they’re not going to move forward you have to equip your children to be empowered by the spirit my pastor is going to pray for our children he’s going to pray for our teachers that they they are filled with wisdom and knowledge for this year please Pastor going to pray put your hands on your children hallelujah hallelujah praise in God for this very blessed class on the Holy Spirit who he is how we can wound him how we can uh hurt him how we can extinguish him how we can uh rejoice in the Holy Spirit hallelujah hallelujah how to be empowered in the Holy Spirit how to walk in the Holy Spirit Hallelujah if you do not put it into practice this is none of this is going to work in our favor but the words we heard today on this previous weeks let it be in our hearts hallelujah hallelujah Alisa go to your grandma praise the Lord hallelujah praise the Lord gracious father we bless our children we bless our children let them be a blessing hallelujah hallelujah as the next generation is in preparation Hallelujah to take over this mantle from us and to move forward gracious father we pray together that they will be very powerful oh Hallelujah in the Holy Spirit they will do more than what their fathers and mothers have done hallelujah you will walk with them and you will uphold them and you will guide them Lord hallelujah let them be anointed in the Holy Spirit oh Hallelujah and every day let that anointing be renewed in their lives Hallelujah every path of fire the parents walked Hallelujah in the Holy Spirit Hallelujah they will equip them Hallelujah to overcome any struggle in their lives any problem in their lives and to involve in the mission of the Lord hallelujah gracious Lord hallelujah we bless your name we bless our children let them be a blessing Hallelujah after our time let them Shine for your name and let you shine through their mouth through their words through their acts hallelujah hallelujah we also commit all the teachers Hallelujah into your Mighty arms gracious father this coming year let it be a blessing enable them to equip our children each and every child each and every parent each and every teacher and everyone who leads them gracious father Hallelujah we bless them and may the power of the Holy Spirit rest upon them and equip them to uphold what you want them to do gracious Lord and to fulfill the ministry we also thank you for brother George who has been taking this class gracious Lord I pray that you again Hallelujah like the seven who were called to serve on the table in the later days hallelujah many of them Hallelujah became Hallelujah great our missionaries for the Lord hallelujah equipped for the Lord and change this world upside down gracious father we pray for a powerful anointing upon Him gracious Lord we once again bless this congregation all in Jesus most precious name we pray amen