Acts - Part 6
October 1st, 2023
I have LOVED our last couple of weeks with Dwell in the Park! The fun & games… the worship & Word out there in the sunset, the view of the mountains…
And during BOTH weeks we were in the park we had this amazing discussion on the idea of a NEW NORMAL Christian life that the Holy Spirit gives us.
The ASSUMPTION that many of us may have had in previous readings through the book of Acts is that the Holy Spirit was for SUPERNATURAL POWER & that’s true… the Spirit DID perform mighty, supernatural acts in the early church. But our KEY VERSE in Acts 1:8 when Jesus told all of these early believers “...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you & you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, & the uttermost parts of the earth”, He didn’t specify that the HS would ONLY be for special Super Apostles and he didn’t say “you will DO some supernatural things occasionally…” but “you will BE…” signifying that the baptism of the Holy Spirit isn’t just about the power to do a few superhuman things… but the power to create a NEW NORMAL in the Christian Life.
And we’ve continually asked the question… What would you do for the kingdom of God if you were given the unlimited power to do it?
And I’d add… what if THAT became the new normal?
When the PEOPLE of God become filled with the SPIRIT of God they now have the power to DO the Christian life.
Just to reiterate what this Spirit filled NEW NORMAL changed in the disciples & early church…
● It gave Peter & the disciples BOLDNESS to speak beyond their human ability… clearly & concisely starting on the day of Pentecost (“aren’t these men Galileans…”
● It did spark new opportunity for THEM to walk in miracles the way that Jesus did. “Silver & gold have I none…”
● New administrative gifts, new ability for shared ministry, renewed measure of proper Social Justice without leaving the ministry of the Word.
● The Spirit taught them how to HEAR from God on their own “The angel of the Lord SPOKE to Philip, ‘get up & go south…[to the Ethiopian eunuch]...” to Peter in a vision “[it’s time for the Gospel to go to the Gentiles]...do not call unclean what God has made clean…” … they learned the idea of “I obey right away!”
● They lived in favor & peace with their neighbors, encouragement, & the fear of God
● Steven, Barnabas, Paul & others learned what it meant to be “called” of the Lord for ministry…
● What it meant to be sent out for missions work…
● Their lives were so transformed by the Gospel & the power of the Holy Spirit at Antioch, that the WORLD, the Romans took notice of them & called the “Little Christ’s Ones”.
THIS IS A NEW NORMAL… I want MY life to exemplify all of these traits… I WANT A NEW NORMAL for MY life that the World takes note. Acts 4:13 - When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
Then the LAST thing we looked at last week was that in Acts 16, the Holy Sprit was not only telling them WHAT to do, WHERE to go as he had before…but also FORBIDDING them to go to certain places…FORBIDDING them to do certain things…
This is the culmination of the SPIRIT FILLED NEW NORMAL: learning how to BE the witnesses that Jesus predicted we would be… Sometimes that means learning what to do & how to act… sometimes it means discerning properly WHAT NOT to do & where NOT to go.
The first half of the Book of Acts (ch 1-15) is focused on the Holy Spirit’s infilling on the Day of Pentecost, the early days of the church & how the Holy Spirit’s power affected Peter, John, Phillip and many others as the new church began. Chapter 9 is where Saul, this guy who HATED the church & genuinely worked night & day to see followers of Christ imprisoned & killed, was struck on the way to Damascus, blinded & miraculously transformed by
the Gospel to become the Apostle Paul… one of the first great Missionaries of the new Church. He pioneered many churches in Gentile cities & ended up writing half of the New Testament through his letters back to these churches.
The last half of the Book of Acts (ch 16-28) discusses mostly Paul’s ministry, the trips he took, the persecution he endured, the continuing persecution of the church by the Jewish elders & more.
There is not as much said specifically about “the Spirit said…” or “led by the Spirit…they did such & such…”. And Some churches, denominations or teachers will claim that this is because the Holy Spirit STOPPED working through the church & the new Christians…they say He CAME to jumpstart the church age…then went back to heaven to see what would happen. This is called “cessationism”... It’s the idea that the gifts of the Spirit as described in the first half of Acts, ceased with the Apostles & no longer function, like we no longer need them…
But I believe that it’s evident throughout the rest of Acts that the movement of the Spirit continued even till now and what I’d propose to you is that the WITNESS of the Church through Acts even to today is EVIDENCE OF THE SPIRIT FILLED NEW NORMAL!
I believe that the WORK of the Spirit in the new church just became THE NORMAL way of doing things… ‘of course the Holy Spirit did it… how else would it have gotten done?!?’
We’re not going to go too deep into the debate of Cessationism vs Continuationism but I want you to know what they are ///
What we DO want to talk about tonight is MORE of the New Normal… We could talk about the Gifts & miracles & supernatural things… but I want to keep going with what it’s like to just live “normal” but this is the NEW NORMAL, powered by the Spirit.
ILLUSTRATION: Remember the Oxi Clean guy? His pitch said, “It works like MAGIC! Remove stains! Brighten Colors! Whiten Whites! Laundry with the added power of OXYGEN!” … if you believe the infomercial, it takes your NORMAL laundry and makes SUPER because it adds the power of OXYGEN…
What if the life in the Spirit is just like Oxi Clean… NORMAL but now it’s powered by the SPIRIT… it’s a SPIRIT FILLED NEW NORMAL. Let’s jump into parts of scripture NOT necessarily in Acts but still talking about this Spirit filled new normal.
We could probably read ALL of Romans 8 but we’ll read a FEW scriptures here & keep going…
Romans 8:9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. [NEW NORMAL–life in the Spirit]. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. 13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
Don’t get bogged down… this is just amazing encouragement that LIFE in the Spirit is NEW, not bogged down by ‘stains & sins’ from the old life…but now, powered by the spirit, your life is one that has been raised with Christ… given ADOPTION…you can cry out ABBA FATHER as a Child of God.
Romans 8:26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Not only are your sins cleansed & you’re given adoption… but the HOLY SPIRIT interceeds for you!... you don’t even know how to pray for yourself… let the Holy Spirit that lives in you intercede for you to the Father… this is the new normal spirit filled life.
Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
This is the new normal in the Spirit:
● Live by the Spirit (and put to death the deeds of the flesh Rom 8:13)
● Be Led by the Spirit (these are the sons of God: Rom 8:14)
● Pray by the Spirit (and thus pray according to the will of God Rom 8:27)
● Walk by the Spirit (and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh)