The Church's Birthday Gift: The Holy Spirit

Every year people have a special day in our lives that we celebrate. Some people embrace these special days while other disowns them! Yes I am talking about birthdays! This past Sunday, we celebrated a very special birthday! This past Sunday, we celebrated the Church’s birthday. Sunday is known as Pentecost Sunday, which is the formation of the church. Not a lot of people know or understand what Pentecost Sunday really is, and to be quite honest I did not know or understand the importance of Pentecost Sunday.

According to Warren Wiersbe, there are three major annual feasts in the Jewish custom that are outlined in Lev. 23. They are the Passover feast, the Feast of First-fruits and Pentecost feast as known as the Feast of Weeks. Wiersbe states that these three feasts outline the works of Jesus Christ. When I read this was amazed to see how they correlated to one another! The following are the feasts and how they relate to the work of Jesus Christ!

1. Passover: This pictures the death of the Lamb of God. 1 Cor. 5:7 “Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast. Which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.”
2. The Feast of First-Fruits: Was when they brought an offer of their first fruits from their harvest, which pictures His Resurrection from the dead. 1 Cor. 15:20 “But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.”
3. Pentecost Feast was held fifty days after Passover. And it pictures the formation of the church. This was when they celebrated the giving of the Law. Today, Christians celebrate this as the giving of the Holy Spirit. Remember Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Law!

So what we have here is the giving of the Holy Spirit fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ! This was the birth of the modern day church. When the Lord Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to His church, it would forever change God’s people!

It is interesting that the Church was not formed until after the Jesus Christ gave the gift of the Holy Spirit. We find Jesus giving this gift in Acts 2.

Before we take a look this gift, I must state something that is very important. The Holy Spirit is a part of the God Head. He is just as much God as God the Father and Jesus Christ.

So let us look at the Holy Spirit and see what He brings to the Church.

The giving of the Holy Spirit is what gives the church power. However, before we look at the Holy Spirits Ministries, I want to look at the promise of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ promised the Holy Spirit and also shared what the purpose of the Holy Spirit. Luke 24:49 says “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from Heaven.” And again in Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power from the Holy Spirit Come upon you.”

The reason why Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit is because we are not able to do things on our own. He had to give us His power.

There is a story in Zechariah chapter four about a man named Zerubbabel. He was responsible for rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. However, The Lord said to Zechariah verse 6, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force, nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” (NLT) This shows that it is by the Spirits that things get accomplished.

The only thing that is accomplished that has lasting value is when it comes from the power of the Holy Spirit. For over 2000 years, the church has lasted due to the fact of the Holy Spirit living within the believer.

This is the promise and the reason why the Lord sent his children the Holy Spirit.
Over the next 4 weeks, we will look at the Ministry of the Holy Spirit, which is to give God’s children the power to accomplish the will of the Father which was started in the ministry of Jesus Christ which is “To seek and to save that which is lost.” Luke 19:10T

The four ways that the Holy Spirit gives us power and changes our lives are:
1. Power of the supernatural
2. Power to proclaim the Word of God
3. Power to convict: the believer and the non-believer
4. Power to live the changed life!

I hope that you come to have a better understanding of the Holy Spirit and how He can change your life once you are “In His Grip.”

To Listen to this message: The Church's Birthday Gift.

A Changed Heart!

Romans 12:17-21 says; “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” This is a powerful passage that some people have a hard time living out. However, on Sunday morning I had the opportunity to watch someone live out this passage of scripture!

Sunday morning I was making the announcements before the worship service started when an elderly man, who I will call John, spoke up and asked if he could ask a question. My mind raced with what this gentleman wanted to ask. I had just announced that there would be a business meeting that night and that there would be another business meeting in two weeks. I figured he would ask something related to church business, in which I would have to inform him that unless it was an urgent need, it would need to wait till that night’s business meeting.

However, to my great surprise, John wanted to know how he could help someone. Here is what he said: “What do you for someone who you have known a long time and I haven’t had much use for them, I thought he was worthless and then they come down with something like cancer? What can I do for him? I feel sorry for him.” After a few minutes of him sharing more about the situation, he told the church that the man is his ex-son-n-law. Here is a man who probably for years would consider his ex-son-n-law as an enemy. It was obvious that John did not care for him at all! John could have done nothing to reach out to his ex son-n-law, but he wanted to reach out to him.

So what allowed John to want to reach out to his ex-son-n-law? The answer is quite simple really. The answer is a changed life in Jesus Christ. If I am not mistaken, John decided to follow Jesus Christ just a few years ago. John allowed Jesus Christ to work in his heart and his attitude towards his ex-son-n-law was change. He did wanted to do what is honorable in the sight of all, but more importantly he wanted to do what was right in the sight of God! He wanted to help; he wanted to reach out with the love of Jesus Christ! This is ministry in the purest form! John was showing compassion when normally compassion might not have been granted. Ephesians 4:30 & 31 says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” When a heart is changed, then the behavior changes and we see that in John! Praise the name of Jesus!

When we allow ourselves to be “In His Grip” our lives are change radically! I admire John’s willingness to be used by Jesus Christ. John did not say if his ex-son-n-law is a believer in Christ, if he isn’t, then I hope this will open up the door for the sharing of Jesus Christ. I pray more of us become more like John by allowing our hearts to be In His Grip! To sum it all up, “Now that is being “In His Grip!”

My Life Changing Trip to India!

On June 8, 2009 I left on an overseas trip that would forever change my life. I had the opportunity to go on an evangelist crusade to Hindupur, India for ten days with my pastor at that time, Jeremy Horton. It has almost been a year since this trip, however, I often think back at all the awesome things God did while I was there. Oh my heart longs to go back someday and I pray that the Lord opens another opportunity to minister there again. So I just thought I would share some of the details of the trip along with some videos and pictures from the trip. I pray that you are blessed and your heart is touched by the power of Jesus Christ.

The following is from my post on a family blog:

The trip was completely amazing to say the least! When I returned home and people asked me how was the trip, all I could say was that it was life changing. I watched Jesus not only change the hearts and lives of the Indian people, but in reflection I see how my own heart was changed. My life was changed in ways that I would have never expected or imagined. I would have to write a book to tell everything that happened, so I will keep this as short as possible with some highlights that mean a lot to me!

The Lord moved in ways that really showed His power but most of all His love! I saw people who where broken in every way imaginable. They were broken emotionally, physically, and spiritually! Their only hope was in Christ Jesus. As we preached and prayed, people would come out of nowhere and call upon the name of Jesus either for salvation or healing! What an amazing site to see!

One night as I was preaching under a light pole, I had no idea that there where people out on the edges in the dark. They were standing behind a building and sitting in “yard” next to where this meeting was being held. See this “church” had no building, but the people met anyway. They sat out in the dark on the ground for roughly 2 hours before we even arrived and worshiped Christ. Then after another 45 minutes of preaching there was an alter call and I was completely humbled. Twelve of those people who where out on the edges, standing behind buildings and in the “yards” came forward and received Christ! Wanda nomalue! That is Praise God in Telegu, which is one of the only phrases I was able to say haha! I have seen the power of God move people before at revivals and at youth camp, but this was different! It was different in that fact that most of these people had never heard the name of Jesus before, and they came down and gave their lives to Him! They stopped believing in the 3000+ gods, yes you heard me right 3000+ gods, and started believing that Jesus is the Son of the Living God! They began to forsake all they had believed. These gods could not fill the void in their hearts, you know, that void that so many people try to fill with everything under the sun. OK… I am starting to Preach Christ! I will save that for another day!

Another thing that the Lord did was He showed me how He hears and answers prayer. It is amazing how He answers them sometimes. I think He does so for many reasons. Sometimes it is just to say I hear you and I love you. Here is a story that happened to Jeremy on our first night in India: These are Jeremy’s own words. “…the first night I experienced the power of God like I have never seen before. When a mother brought me her 10 year old son, I prayed for his need. After I prayed for him, he spoke in his Indian language (Telegu) to Bro. Israel (our Indian pastoral supervisor / translator), and Bro. Israel looked at me and said, ‘Bro. Jeremy, this young man is amazed that you can speak Telegu language. He is telling me that he heard your entire prayer in Telegu.’” However, there is something behind that story that I didn’t share with Jeremy till after that happened. See, before the trip I was thinking about all that might happen while we were in India. I have heard of God doing things on mission trips and I thought how cool it would be if something awesome happened on our trip. I specifically remember thinking, “It would be cool if something like out of Acts chapter 2 would happen, if one of us prayed and they heard us in their language!” Well I believe that God allowed that to happen to say to me, “Jacob, here you go, just because I love you.”

Then there was the night that God literally held back the rains! It was at the outdoor Gospel meeting at Kenwood Baptist church and the worship service had already begun. Jeremy and I were in the church sitting behind the pulpit in prayer and going over what we wanted to say. I looked out the front doors to see the tent swaying and it was getting very dark. As I looked out the window and saw the black clouds rolling in, I knew there was a storm coming. Well… Jeremy and I started praying that it would not rain. We began to pray James 5:16b-17; “The effective, fervent prayer of the righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.” As we were sitting there, a boy named Joseph heard us praying and walked up to us and said, “Jesus is going to hold back the rain.” Now let me tell you something… this was not him asking if Jesus was, or just saying it in passing… He said it with belief and within minutes the wind died down and there was peace. It did not rain at all during the meeting, but it started raining about an hour after everything was over! Can you say, “Answered prayer?” I can! I believe it was because of Joseph’s faith in Christ that God answered that prayer! I learned a lot from that 13 year old boy! Praise the Lord!

The Lord blessed Jeremy and I by allowing us to both dedicate and name three children during one of the services. Jeremy was approach first to dedicate and name a six month old boy in which he name Samuel. Then I had the honor of naming an 8 month old girl. I could not believe it! The first name that came to my mind was Sarah! I was like Jeremy and did not know what to name her, and he suggested Mary, but Sarah stuck in my mind. No sooner than you could turn around, Bro. Israel came back and said Sarah had a 3 year old sister that was without a name and wanted us to name her too. So Jeremy and I looked at each other and we both knew immediately that her name would be Mary. It was such an honor and blessing to take part of something as special as dedicating and naming a child!

Sarah the baby in pink and Mary is the one in red

The last thing I would like to share is about the children at the orphanage. I think God moved in my life the most through these precious children of God! Don’t get me wrong, I praise God for the 35 people who received Christ as their Savior and for the pastors that we ministered to and encouraged (even though I think I was more encouraged by them than they were by me). However, there was something very special about these children. I saw the true servant’s heart in each one of them. For example, one day we just spent the day with the kids playing games and such. We were out in the field getting hot and sweaty and all of a sudden a couple of kids ran and got us our chairs and made us sit down and rest. Then they brought us water to drink and umbrellas to block the sun. The kids insisted that they hold the umbrellas for us. It was things like this that really touched my heart. They were doing it out of Love for us! Now that is true love! Jeremy and I both wished we could have brought every single one of them home with us. We cried like big babies the last day we were there.

I could go on and on about the many things that happened in India, however it would take forever to type. All I know is that our Lord Jesus is great and showed His power and love in ways that only He can! He is completely amazing! I hope that the Lord blesses you greatly and abundantly!

In His Grip,
Jacob

Below are the videos, enjoy!

This video is some live footage from India

This video is of the children in the orphanage and of the services in the different churches.

This sits on my desk at work. It is a piece of the foundation from the Kenwood Baptist Church in Hindupur, India.

In the up coming blogs!

In the furture, I will have more to say in writing than I have the past few post. That way you don't have to just listen to get the messages. I hope that you have been blessed by the Lord Jesus Christ!

All Dressed Up and Somewhere to Go Pt. 2

The Second part of the All Dressed Up and Somewhere to Go sermon. Paul finishes up by stating what holds everything together and that is Love! Then he goes from character to our conduct. Now we see how our character has changed once we allow Christ to change our lives, it is time to change our conduct. When our character changes, we must allow ourselves to be used by the Lord Jesus Christ to reach out to a lost and dying world.

To Listen: All Dressed Up Pt2.

WM - The Grocery and Clothing Department - Walmart

The last part of the four part series on realizing that Jesus is the one who provides all of our needs. In this message, the realization that Jesus is the one who give us food and He is the one that clothes us. But then it goes deeper than that. When we seek Him with everything we have, that is when Jesus reaches out and does something amazing in our lives, He reaches down and meets all each and all of our needs by His Glorious Riches!

To Listen: The Grocery and Clothing Department

WM - The Pharmacy

Part three in the series Wal Mart isn’t the Only One Stop Shop: The Pharmacy. Sunday was Mother’s day and I began to think how I was going to relate this series to mothers. Then I realized that most moms spend a lot of time at Wal Mart! With children getting sick or when they scrap their knees, one of the places that mothers go to is the Wal Mart's pharmacy. After going to the doctor’s office, moms go get their prescription filled at the pharmacy. There is a story found in Matt 15 about a mother seeking healing for her daughter who is demon possessed. This mother went to Jesus Christ! She knew WHO Jesus was, that He the Great Physician. Second she was relentless in seeking her daughters healing. Thirdly, she had great faith. Everyone knows someone who is physically, emotion, or mentally sick. We must realize who we should go to first! We must go to Jesus Christ! Jesus is still in the healing business!

To listen to this message: The Pharmacy

WM - The Automotive Department

Wal Mart Isn’t the Only One Stop Shop: The Automotive Department
It seems like everyone travels from one point to another at some point in their life. And when you prepare for a trip there are certain things you must to do in order to get your car or truck ready for the journey. There are some people like do their own maintenance on their cars. So they will buy their oil and oil filters so that they can change the oil in their cars. They need to change the wiper blades so they will run down to Wal Mart to buy these things. Recently my family and I went to New York on vacation. One of the things we bought beside the things above was a GPS so that we would not get lost. If you don’t have the right directions, you never get where you are going. How are you getting from one place to another in life? Who is guiding your life? You? A family member? Or God? God is the ultimate GPS. His Word says in Jer. 29:11; “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (NIV) When we let God guide in our lives, we can’t go wrong. Proverb 3:6 says: “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (NKJV) Notice it says acknowledge Him! That means you recognize Him for WHO He is! He is God! He is the creator. He has laid out a plan for your life that beats anything that you can come up with! His plans are perfect. However, we have a choice to make! We can either find satisfaction in following God’s plan for our lives, or we can live a life of destruction due to disobedience to God. I have talked to countless people over the years that never ask God what He wants them to do, then ask themselves, “How did I get here?” Well I can tell you how they got there! They didn’t ask God! They didn’t seek Him or His plan for their lives! How do you know where to go to College? Ask God! How do you know who you are supposed to marry? Ask God! Where are you going to live? Ask God! What is your purpose in life? Ask God? Get the point? I hope so! Just as you go to the Automotive Department to get the things you need for a trip, you need to go to God and ask Him what He wants you to do in life. Stop making wrong turns based on your desires! Start looking for the plan for your life that will give you a hope and a future!


To Listen to this message: The Automotive Department


Sunday evening service was on how we should live our lives! The way we act reflects who we are in Christ Jesus!

To Listen to Sunday nights message: All Dressed Up and Somewhere to Go!