FA Admin: Welcome to the Faith Alive Sermon Podcast. This is a replay of a past sermon from Faith Alive Church. Whether you missed it, want to hear it again, or share it with someone you know, we're glad you're here. This sermon is by Jordan D. Waggy, lead pastor at Faith Alive Church. The book of Acts records many firsts for Christ followers. Of course, the book of Acts records the birth of the church. Amen. Birth of the church, which is so exciting. It also records the growth of that church. It also records evangelism. ⁓ believers that are bold enough to share who Christ is to them. It also marks persecution and opposition, does it not? And you know, when we look at these themes throughout the book of Acts, we can really draw a correlation to it, can we not? The birth of the church, obviously, in the book of Acts, is such an amazing, amazing thing. And then we see growth in the church, and we're seeing growth today. We see evangelism throughout the nation and the world, even today. We also see persecution and opposition to this Lord. That we serve, would you agree? But the greatest theme throughout the book of Acts is without a doubt the promised power of the Holy Spirit. Somebody say amen. See, it is very fair to say that the church would not have been established if it wasn't for the promised power of the Holy Spirit. It is very fair to say that the church would not have grown if it wasn't for the power. Of the promised Holy Spirit. It is fair to say that worldwide evangelism would not exist without the promised power of the Holy Spirit, and we would not have been able to overcome opposition and persecution if it wasn't for the promised power of the Holy Spirit. So, what does this tell us? It tells us that everything that we see, everything that we hear, everything that we experience in this place hinges. On the Holy Spirit of God. See, churches have a bad habit of talking about, it's not a bad habit. The Father, the Son, and they forget about the third part of the Holy Trinity, the Godhead, which is the Holy Spirit of God. Just as crucial, just as important. In fact, it is the empowerment that we need in order to see this world come to know Jesus. Come on. You have to realize that God's church cannot operate under human ability. God's church cannot operate under your ability. God's church cannot operate under my ability. God's church can only operate under the ability of the Holy Spirit of God to enlighten us, to empower us, and to move us into the place that He wants us to go. Amen. The Holy Spirit is for the empowerment of the church, which means it is for the empowerment of you and me, because we are the church. The church is not the four walls that we come in and gather in. This is important where we are. And we are thankful and blessed that we have a place to gather because there are other places that do not have this. But you know what's amazing about God's church, God's bride? Is that it exists outside of the four walls. Is it not? When you give your life over to Jesus, this is the most beautiful thing about the Holy Spirit is that it fills you completely in that moment. When you say yes to Jesus, when you look at him and you say, Be the Lord of my life, instantaneously you are filled with God's Holy Spirit. And that power that you receive, that authority that you receive enables you to accomplish God's will for your life. How? With discernment, with love. With charisma, with boldness. And so I'm so excited. I don't know if you can tell about the book of Acts and the study of it. This is probably my favorite book in the Bible. Hands down, period. It is chock full of power, and it's laid out so perfectly. Who in here wants some more power and authority to do God's will in your life? Come on. Before we jump into it, can we pray? Is it okay to pray in church? All right, good. Thank you, Lord, for who you are. Thank you, Lord, for being here with us today. I believe, Holy Spirit of God, that you are descending upon us today. God, I pray that you would open doors, that you would close doors, that we would see you for who you are, which is powerful, which is grace giver. Which is El Shaddai, the Lord God Almighty. We believe that you are guiding our steps, guiding our speech. Lord, I pray that everything that comes from my mouth today would be yours, not my own. Holy Spirit, clothe us with power today, in the precious name of Jesus. Somebody say with me, Amen. Amen. Turn with me to the book of Acts, chapter one and verse four. I gave you plenty of time to get there. Acts chapter 1 and verse 4, it says, On one occasion, while he, which is Jesus, was eating with them who is his followers, he gave them this command. He says, Do not leave Jerusalem, but what? Wait for the gift my father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. I want you to notice that before preaching, before the church grew, before evangelism, Jesus says what to his followers? Stop, wait. See, we have a problem with this, don't we, church? We have a problem with waiting. We have a hard time sitting around and waiting. Can I tell you? That I had a really hard time, my wife and I, she's in this service, so I'm gonna pick on her a little bit. But we had a really hard time when we moved up here from ⁓ Shelby Township area, that Amazon does not deliver same day or even overnight. You're laughing, but it hurts. Now it takes three, four, five days sometimes. Well and now they can't even find our house. We had a really big problem with this. Why? Because we have this sense of immediacy, don't we? Especially in America, we need things now. We need things today. We need you to deliver that today. We need to hear from the Lord today. And when God says, stop, wait, we say, I don't want to. And he says, but I told you to. And we said, I know, but I still don't want to. And we go back and forth, back and forth. Lord, I don't want to, but I told you to, I don't want to, I told you to, I don't want to. And what do we do? We step out and we start doing things on our own. And who knows in this place that that's never a good thing. Never a good thing. Jesus tells his followers, stop, wait. Can I tell you today that waiting, hear me in this, write this down. Waiting is not inactivity, it is preparation. Waiting is not inactivity. It's not like you're just sitting around doing nothing. No, you're consulting the Lord and you're waiting for Him to speak to you. It's a prep for something. See, we have an issue with this waiting thing. We don't even like that word, do we? Wait. You ever been a part of like a crosswalk that says, wait, wait, wait. You guys know what I'm talking about? Don't you just want to like smack that thing? Like Wait, wait, no, I want to go. We have a problem with that. And we don't see it for how God sees it. See, God is preparing you to do something great. And a lot of times we get in our own way and we act before God really wants us to act. And we get into a heap of trouble, don't we? We start doing things on our own. We start opening doors that we should never open. We start opening closed doors that God has already closed. In fact, we jiggle the handle and we kick that thing open because we think it's what's best for us. But who knows in this place that it's never good for us? It's only what God wants us to do. See, when you're in that period of waiting, he is stirring something inside of you. He's moving something inside of you. He is moving your spirit to the place that he wants you to be. I want you to, every time you go to the Holy Spirit and ask him to move in your life, expect that it'll actually come true. Expect it because that's God's will for your life. He wants you to prosper. Now, it might not look like the way that you want it to look like. But it'll look like the way that God expected and intended it to be. All right. I want to encourage you to slow down. Slow down. When we rush into decisions and solutions without seeking the spirit, we get into trouble. What would it look like for you to stop, to pause, to wait, and depend on the Holy Spirit and his guidance? For your life, what would that really look like? I want to encourage you when you are making a decision, maybe it's something large in your life. Maybe it's a job change. Instead of jumping straight into it like this is what I know I have to do, maybe you need to consult the Holy Spirit in that moment and ask him if this is the right thing for you to do. Amen? ⁓ like what The disciples ask right after Jesus shares what he shares. He says, Don't leave Jerus Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father has promised. For John will baptize with John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. How do the disciples respond? Do they go, Okay, Lord? No, of course they don't, because they're you and they're me, right? They go then, scripture says then in verse ⁓ chapter ⁓ verse six and verse seven. It says, Then the disciples gathered around him, and they asked, Lord, watch this. Are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel? If you know your Bible, this is a common question that the followers of Christ had. See, they expected Jesus to come and overthrow the Roman Empire, did they not? And restore the nation of Israel. Because the nation of Israel was under oppression and persecution. See, the disciples had a different idea of what needed to happen, but God had another plan. Amen. So they said, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel? You know what's so funny about this to me is that this happened after the resurrection of Christ. After they saw what they saw. Hey, now that you're here again, are you going to do this? You ever thought about that? The disciples are still thinking that Jesus came to overthrow the Roman government, restore the nation of Israel, but they misunderstood the mission again. Somebody say again. See, there's a lesson for us here, and that is when we perceive what we perceive rather as the appropriate course of action, oftentimes contradicts God, God's intention for our lives. Let me read that to you again. What we perceive as the appropriate Course of action, what we think we need to go after can oftentimes contradict God's true intention. Let me teach you something here this morning. If you hear nothing else, hear this, write this down. Get out of the way. Get out of the way. Let God be God in your life. Stop trying to play God because you ain't God. Let God be God in your life. See, we can be the hindrance to God's plan, God's desire for our life, the hindrance to God's leading in your life. See, the Holy Spirit didn't come to advance our plans. Yes. He didn't come so that your agenda could be fulfilled. The Spirit came to align us with God's greatest design. He's called us to go and make what? Disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the come on now. The Holy Spirit of God fills us so that we have the ability to do that. See, we cannot do this on our own. Let me ask you this: Are you expecting the Holy Spirit to enter a situation that you have deemed successful? Or an essential, but in actuality contradicts God's intention for your life. Rest in the fact that he knows you better than you know yourself. I've shared it from this stage before. My mom used to tell me that. See, I know you better than you know yourself. I go, how can that be? Now I'm a parent and I get that. I know my kids better than they know themselves. God knows you better than you know yourself. His ways are higher than our ways, his thoughts above our thoughts. I love how Christ responds to that question of, hey, Lord, are you gonna now restore the nation of Israel? He says it's not for you to know the times or the dates the Father has set by his own authority, but You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. ⁓ I'm gonna read that again. It's not for you to know the time or date the Father has set by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. See, the Holy Spirit enables us to do the work of the Lord if you want more boldness in your life, if you want to witness in a greater way, if you want authority, if you want power, invite the Holy Spirit of God to give you fresh revelation once again, so you can move under power and authority because his power, his authority is greater than our own. Amen. Get excited about this church. This is what his will is for our lives. This is not just for some believers, this is for all believers. This is the authority that he's given us when we say yes to Jesus. This is what he clothes us in. Here's the turning point in scripture: the power, the dunamis, which is the Greek word for power, gives us the ability, the strength, the supernatural enablement. It will clothe you to do the work of the Lord. It's not your personality. It is not by your own fruition, your own fruit, your own talent, your own charisma. It's about God's power working through you. You think that I stand up on this stage and this is me talking? Come on now. It's not your personality. The Christian life, I want you to hear this, is not difficult without the spirit. It is impossible without the spirit. I'm gonna say that again. The Christian life is not difficult without the spirit. It is impossible without the spirit. It's impossible without the Holy Spirit working in you and through you. See, the Spirit empowers you so that you can be bold. So that you can have wisdom, so that you can have discernment, so that you can see miracles take place, so that you can have endurance to walk out this life. Who in here wants some more boldness to share who Christ is in their life? Man, we all need to be raising our hands, don't we? Lord, give us more boldness to share who you are to us. Give me more wisdom. Which way to turn, what door to open, what door to close. Can I tell you today when we talk about miracles? Miracles weren't just for 2,000 plus years ago. See, the same God that raised Lazarus from the dead is the same God that we are serving here today, and He is here with us this morning. Can I tell you that? Miracles weren't just for biblical times, they are for today. Same God. Somebody say, same God. Say it again, same God. Who wants some more endurance in their Christian walk? Come on now. Wouldn't it be interesting if the spiritual reflex that we have would always be to point to God and say, I don't understand this, but you do. And I give you my life. I submit it to you. Your higher your ways are higher than my ways. Thoughts are higher than my thoughts. I don't get it, but I get you. And I love you. So whatever it is, I'm on board. Wouldn't it be amazing if that was our ref reflex instead of, I don't like this? I don't like where we're going. I don't like this path. So I'm gonna deviate a little bit. Man, that's true. That's honest, isn't it? We need some more endurance. I'm gonna say it again. Get out of your own way. Are there areas in your life that you are trying to see to or succeed in by your own power? Because the power is not just for the empowerment of the church, it's for your witness. Yes? The Lord has called us, I'm gonna say it again, to go and make disciples of all nations. I like what Jesus says next. He says, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem. There it is. And in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Church, hear me. This power, this authority is just too good to keep to ourselves. It's just too good to keep to ourselves. See, the Holy Spirit doesn't just make us feel something, he sends us to say something. Man, is this encouraging anybody? Because it's encouraging me. Lord, give me more power so that I can share who you are to me with a world that desperately needs you. Give me more boldness Give me more wisdom Give me me the me the empowerment to see a world come to know you. He gives us the ability to witness under the power of the Holy Spirit. Where? In Jerusalem? In Judea? In Samaria? Into where? The ends of the earth. You know what I love about scripture? What I love about Jesus is that he's so intentional about what he says. When he talks about Jerusalem, that's your hometown. That might be West Branch, that might be Gladwin, that might be Houghton Lake, that might be Tawa City, whatever it is. But it's your hometown. Wouldn't it be amazing if each and every one of us had a burden for our hometown to know Jesus in the same way that we do? Wouldn't that be something? If we said enough's enough. Enough's enough. I can't handle this on my own. So, Holy Spirit, clothe me in power so I can see my hometown fall in love with Jesus. Wouldn't that be something? In Jerusalem, in Judea, which is where? This country, this nation that we love in. Can I tell you something today? This is not a political statement. Okay? I know you're all nervous right now about what I'm gonna say. It's not a political statement, it's a Jesus statement. I'm so thankful that we have a president that read from the Bible for the first time in a long time. I don't care, I don't, I don't care what side of the line you're on. This is not this is not a political thing. This is a Jesus thing. Anytime somebody with that type of influence is reading from the empowered word of God, his word, his voice, and his heart is going forward. Somebody say amen to what God is doing. Come on. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. I respect that. I don't care. I don't care if you're a supporter or not. It's not about that. It's about Jesus. And I'm a Jesus fan. I'm a Jesus fan. Anybody encouraged in this place? Come on. In Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria? You got to realize that the Jews and the Samaritans did not get along. Which means and tells us what? That we need to be praying for our who? Our enemies. Whoa. PJ, you had me on the first two, I get that, but our enemies? I don't like that. I'm not going to do that. Well, don't do it for me. Do it for the Lord. So. I'm just reading what he told us to do. Some people have asked me that before, like, how did you come into full time ministry? And I just said, Well, the Lord told me what to do and I just did it. Don't overcomplicate it. Follow what Jesus tells you to do when everything tends to work out. Come on. In Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the world in the earth. This is not just for some believers. This is for all people. If we don't bring it to him, who will? If we had that type of burden. ⁓ man. God is good. All the time? You walked into that. I'll take it. I'll get back to you, all right. Thank you, thank you. The spirit pushes the church outward, yes? Across comfort zones, across cultures, across borders. Like I said, Christ and the Holy Spirit is for all people to the ends of the earth. Can I tell you that the world needs Jesus? The world needs Jesus. in a greater way. So let me pose this question to you. Are you trying to do God's work under your own power? Are you truly trying to do God's work under your own power? Because can I tell you today? Can I teach you something to stop striving to do things on your own? Stop depending, stop asking for the Spirit. Start asking for the Spirit to fill you again. Pray for fresh revelation in your life. Ask Him to fill you anew. We need power, we need authority. We need the Holy Spirit in all that we do. Somebody say amen. Somebody say amen. I'm gonna do something a little bit different, Trent or whoever can come at this time. I never know who's gonna show up behind me. Trent, alright. Thanks, Trent. Can I have everybody stand in this place? We're gonna stand in the presence of God. Is that all right? It's all right to stand in the presence of God at church, right? Praise God. Is it all right if we just wait on the Lord just real quick? This is gonna be super awkward for some of you. That's all right. Let's seek the Lord. For real. For real. Is that good? Can we do that? Get out of our own way. Stop trying to do stuff on our own. Let's let the Holy Spirit of God do what He does. We bow our heads, close our eyes in here. I shared it a little bit earlier but When you give your life over to Jesus, you are filled with the Holy Spirit. So can we make sure that we're all in this in this place serving Jesus? There might be somebody in here that maybe this is the first time they've been at Faith Alive Church. Thank you for being here. Welcome. We love you. We're thankful for you. And maybe you don't know Jesus, but I want to give you an opportunity to know him. Maybe you're in this place and you feel that you're distant from him and you need to get right. So with every head bowed, every eye closed, this is a private moment between you and the Lord. If you're in this house and you want to know Jesus, maybe for the first time, or first time in a long time, just shoot your hand up. Say yes, yes. Yes. Thank you, Lord. Yes. Thank you, Jesus. Yes. Yes. Thank you, Lord. Stir hearts in this place, Lord. Stir hearts in this place, Lord. Praise God. Several in this house. Several in this house. We're about to pray the most important prayer you could ever pray. Y'all ready? A pastor that I served under used to say it like this. Say it like a preacher. All right. When you say this, make sure this comes from your heart. All right? Say, dear Jesus. Come on, say it like a preacher. Dear Jesus, I love you. I ask that you would forgive me of my sin. Make me new in you. I believe. That you came to this earth and you died for me. But I believe that you rose again three days later, and that you are here with me today. I ask that you would be the Lord of my life from today until the end of my days. Jesus, give me endurance to follow you. Give me boldness to share who you are. I love you, Jesus. It's in your name that I pray. Amen. Come on, somebody celebrate Jesus in the place. For those that said yes to Jesus, we're so excited for you. Pastor Jim and Rich Casanova are gonna be up here to answer any questions that you might have. All right. You can scan that QR code that's probably behind me there. It'll take you to a five-step process on what we believe at this church and how most importantly you can follow Jesus in the most appropriate way. This is an important thing. Make sure you scan that. Now Let's bow our heads one more time. Let's close our eyes one more time. And let's lift our hands in this place. I don't command you, but I encourage you. This is but a submission posture that says, Lord Jesus, take me. And we're gonna pray for the Holy Spirit of God to descend in this house. We're gonna pray for the Holy Spirit to enable us to speak to a world that desperately needs him. Y'all ready? I said, y'all ready? Holy Spirit of God, fall fresh at Faith Alive Church. Holy Spirit of God, lead us in this place. Guide us in this place. Open doors in this place. Father, I pray right now for those that are hurting and broken. I pray right now that they would have revelation of your love and your peace and your mercy. I believe right now, Holy Spirit, that you are guiding us in a new way, a new direction, giving us new passion, giving us new desire. Why? Because we want to share to Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Empower us now with your love, with your authority. I pray that we would see miracles. For that son or daughter that you've been praying for that would receive Jesus, we're gonna believe that they have an encounter even right now. For that one in your family that has been struggling with cancer. We're gonna believe right now under the inspiration and the power of the Holy Spirit that is eradicated by his power. Thanks for listening to the Faith Alive podcast. If this message encouraged you, be sure to share it with someone who needs it. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss a message. We'll see you next time.