Acts 1:8
Come, Holy Spirit
As we near our revival services, we must ask ourselves, "What is
revival?" Some might say, "Revival is souls getting saved," but I
don’t think so. Someone else might say, "Revival is God’s people
getting stirred," but I don’t think so. I think these are good
things to happen and things that are a part of revival, but I don’t
think they are revival because these things can happen even without
revival.
What is revival? I believe revival is us receiving a fresh outpouring
of the Holy Ghost’s presence. Most of you have heard me say it, but
just a few years ago I changed a prayer that I have prayed all of my
Christian life. Since my earliest days as a Christian, I prayed for
the power of God; but just a few years ago, I realized that, for me,
was the wrong prayer. What I should have been praying for all of
those years was to have the Holy Ghost’s presence. Why? Because if we
get the Holy Ghost’s presence, we not only get the Holy Ghost’s
presence, but also His power, His purposes, His providence, and His
protection—just to name a few. And to be honest, I do not believe
that we get ever get the Holy Spirit’s power if we do not first get
the Holy Spirit’s presence.
Notice the text. According to Jesus, which was to come first: the
power or the presence of the Holy Ghost. According to Jesus, the
presence.
As we seek the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, let us consider several
thoughts:
I. Prepare for God
A. The disciples were saved.
1. Although not specifically mentioned in our text, salvation
is where every "Christian" grace begins.
a. One cannot have the Spirit of God until he first has
the Son of God.
b. I believe this explains why so few people have the
Spirit of God.
2. Someone might ask, "Preacher, why preach to us about
salvation? After all, we are the ones sitting in church
today."
a. Yes, there are people sitting in church today who
think they are Christians just as there were people
who sat in bars and houses of fornication last night
who thought they were Christians.
b. But it’s not where we sit or what we think that makes
us a Christian.
c. It is are we trusting in Jesus’ death as the payment
for our sins and are we surrendering our will to His?
3. My earnest recommendation is that you examine your
salvation this morning.
a. There should have been a point in your life where
three things happened.
(1) You understood that you were a sinner in need of
a Savior.
(2) You understood that Jesus, God’s Son, was and is
your only hope of salvation.
(3) Your life was transformed by your complete and
continuous surrender to Jesus.
b. If you cannot pinpoint such a time in your life, you
need to consider again what you call salvation. I
would be happy to do that with you.
4. The first step in our preparation is to be certain we are
saved.
B. The disciples obeyed.
Acts 1:4 And, being assembled together with
them, commanded them that they should not depart
from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the
Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye
shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many
days hence.
1. \\#1:4-5\\ Jesus commanded them.
2. Then they obeyed.
a. \\#12\\ They returned to Jerusalem.
b. \\#13\\ They went into the Upper Room.
c. \\#14\\ "These all continued…."
d. Granted, the command Jesus gave to them was not all
that difficult, but then we have all tripped over
disobedience of smaller commands than this.
(1) Our problem with obedience is not usually the
difficulty of the command.
(2) Our problem with obedience lies in our submission
to it.
3. There was some cost to accrew.
a. There were fifty days from Passover to Pentecost.
(1) Jesus arose on the third. \\#Matt 16:21\\
(2) Jesus stayed and taught the disciples after His
resurrection for forty days \\#Acts 1:3\\.
(3) So Jesus ascended on or around the 43rd day after
Passover.
(4) That leaves 7 days in which the disciples stayed
in Jerusalem, primarily praying together.
b. If I go somewhere for 7 days, it cost me something..
4. There was some hardships to endure.
5. There was some risks to take.
a. These disciples stayed in Jerusalem under a threat of
persecution solely because Jesus told them to do so.
b. While the Jews vengeance seemed to be somewhat
satisfied with the death of Jesus, one could not
know when that would change—especially with the
reoccurring rumors that Jesus was alive.
c. But the disciples steadfastly and stubbornly stayed.
d. It is not wrong to be stubborn about a right thing,
but it is wrong to stubborn about a wrong thing.
6. They were obeying WITHOUT the presence of the Holy Ghost.
a. There was nothing supernatural taking place yet.
b. These men were obeying to RECEIVE the outpouring of
Holy Ghost.
c. So this is earthly, carnal, human staying, paying, and
praying as they obeyed Jesus.
d. Lesson:
(1) Often before the supernatural can take place,
some purely natural things must take place—like
obedience.
(2) For the revival to come, the Holy Ghost must
come.
(3) For the Holy Ghost to come, God’s people are
going to have to display some old-fashioned,
stubborn obedience to God.
(4) What God commands may not be popular, easy, or
convenient, but it will always be right.
C. The disciples unified.
Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully
come, they were all with one accord in one place.
1. I do not believe we understand what unity means to God.
a. God is not just seeking oneness among the believers.
b. God is seeking oneness among the believers with Jesus
Christ.
2. It does us no good to be one and be wrong.
a. There is and always has been a misinterpreted view
held by religion.
b. That view is that all of the followers of Jesus should
be united.
(1) That is called ecumenicalism.
(2) The problem with that view is that not everyone
who claims to be a follower of Christ is
actually a follower of Christ.
c. Unity is oneness together but it is also oneness with
Christ.
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus:
1 John 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought
himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
d. There is no doubt in my mind that just as one can
split too many hairs so they can split too few hairs.
e. The group in the Upper Room found the perfect balance.
f. May God help us to find it as well.
II. Petition to God
A. Two thoughts upfront:
1. No one can make the Holy Ghost come. The Holy Ghost comes
because He desires to come. I do believe, however, that
we can increase the hope of His coming by inviting Him
to come and by making Him feel welcomed.
2. It seems to me that if we want to be found of the Holy
Ghost, we should be what He is looking for.
B. How?
1. Prayer - The Holy Spirit is looking for people who pray.
a. Much of the week spent in the Upper Room was devoted
to prayer.
Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in
prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary
the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Acts 1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord,
which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether
of these two thou hast chosen,
b. Yet, this was not simply a ploy on the part of the
disciples to gain the Holy Ghost. He was a way of
life for them.
Acts 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the
apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in
breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together
into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the
ninth hour.
Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place
was shaken where they were assembled together;
and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,
and they spake the word of God with boldness.
Acts 6:4 But we will give ourselves continually
to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
(1) And on it goes.
(2) The word "pray" is used, one form or another, 35
times in the book of Acts.
(3) Prayer was the Christians lifestyle, their habit.
It was what they did.
c. What is prayer?
(1) Let me make this very complicated. In fact, I
am going to make it as complicated as prayer
can be made.
(a) Prayer is talking to God.
(b) Prayer is listening for God
i. Through the Word
ii. Through your spirit
iii. Through circumstances
iv. Through counsel
(2) I believe that is as hard as you can make prayer.
(3) Anything else and what you are calling prayer
ceases to be prayer.
d. When you pray, you are shooting off a flare that gains
God’s attention and invites Him to come.
e. If you want Him to stay, you will have to do some
other things, but prayer calls to God and God has
promised He will hear and answer the prayers of the
saved.
2. Service
Ezekiel 22:30 And I sought for a man among them,
that should make up the hedge, and stand in the
gap before me for the land, that I should not
destroy it: but I found none.
a. According to Ezekiel, God is looking for someone who
will serve Him, someone who will stand where He needs
them and puts them.
(1) However, that is not all God is looking for.
(2) By reading the context of that job description,
we learn that God is looking for a courageous
servant, one that will stand against those who
go against Him.
b. How do I get that?
(1) \\#Eze 22:24\\ The land, although already in the
process of being judged, was still a sinful
land.
(2) In fact, \\#Eze 22:25-31\\ says there was a
four-way conspiracy against Him.
(a) It involved the prophets, the priests, the
rulers, and the people.
(b) That was pretty much everyone.
(c) These were all conspiring together against
God.
(d) What does it mean to "conspire" together?
(e) To conspire means to form an alliance to
overthrow a power or ruler.
(3) As God was describing that condition, God said
that He was looking for a man to stand in the
gap, a person who will not only stand alone for
God, but who would stand against everyone else
for God.
3. Humility
a. Throughout the Bible we are taught that God is
attracted to the humble.
b. Again, if we want to find the Holy Ghost, the best way
is to become what the Holy Ghost is looking for.
c. God is looking for the humble.
Psalms 138:6 Though the LORD be high, yet hath
he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he
knoweth afar off.
James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the
Lord, and he shall lift you up.
If we do all of these things, I am not certain the Holy Ghost will
come, but if we do need Him and all we can do is to invite Him.
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