The First Jesus Movement - (#2 of 2)

Greg Laurie: We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit to do what God has called us to do.
Guest (Male): Our task is enormous, intimidating, and exciting. And Pastor Greg Laurie points out how the Lord is making an extraordinary resource available to us.
Greg Laurie: There is explosive dynamite power from the Holy Spirit that can be given to you and me right now. A power to witness. A power to change the world.
Song: This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace how sweet the sound. Oh can you hear what the angels are singing? This is the day the day when life begins.
Guest (Male): The home renovation business is a $600 billion dollar industry. Reviving an old home takes some skill and a lot of hard work. Well, God has a blueprint for reviving our culture and He's looking for our involvement in the project. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie continues his opening message in a new series called The Upside Down Life. It's a look at the part we're called to play in bringing a spiritual renovation to the world in which we live.
Song: This is the day the day when life begins.
Greg Laurie: Why don't you grab your Bibles and turn to the book of Acts, Acts chapter one. Okay, the title of my message is The First Jesus Movement. Now, the book of Acts was authored by Dr. Luke. This is the second book that he wrote that was underwritten by a godly man named Theophilus. And Theophilus also underwrote Luke writing the Gospel of Luke. The name Theophilus, by the way, means "lover of God." So, if you want to know more about Jesus and you want to love the Lord, this is a good book to study. One other thing I would point out about the book of Acts, it's an unfinished book. It has never officially ended. Now, I'm not suggesting we add to the scripture, I'm just saying we should not put a period where God has put a comma. The church is marching on. The work of the Holy Spirit through the church is continuing on, and we're effectively writing new chapters to it today as we serve the Lord in our time. So, let's look now at a few verses from the book of Acts, chapter one. I'm going to read verses one to four and share some points with you. And I'm reading from the New Living Translation.
Greg Laurie: "In my first book I told you, Theophilus," Luke writes, "about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day He was taken up to heaven, after giving His chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. During the 40 days after He suffered and died, He appeared to the apostles from time to time, and He proved to them in many ways He was actually alive, and He talked to them about the Kingdom of God."
Greg Laurie: Okay, we'll stop there. Here's point number one, if you're taking notes: before you can change the world, you yourself must first be changed. Before you can change the world, you must first be changed. Look at verse three, during the 40 days after He suffered and died, He appeared to the apostles. They had their lives changed when they saw Jesus risen from the dead. See, they never thought they would see Jesus again when they looked at His beaten, traumatized body hanging on the cross of Calvary. But Jesus rose again. And He appeared many times over a 40-day period. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, who came to anoint His dead body at the tomb. He appeared after that to Simon Peter. Then He appeared in the upper room to the disciples, and specifically to Thomas, who said, "I won't believe until I can put my hand in the wounds in His side." He appeared to two disciples walking on the Emmaus Road. He appeared to Simon Peter again at the Sea of Galilee, telling him to feed God's sheep. And He appeared over 500 people at one time. This transformed them. Jesus was basically popping up everywhere. And they knew He was alive, and they knew He had risen. You see, before they could change the world, Jesus needed to change them. First John 1:1 says, John writing, "We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen." We saw Him with our own eyes and we touched Him with our own hands. He is the Word of Life. Listen to this. If you want people to follow Jesus, you must be a good example as a follower of Jesus. Let's find point number two, here it is: the church had a job to do, and so do we. The church had a job to do, and so do we. Let's go to Acts chapter 1 verse 7.
Greg Laurie: And we see Jesus saying, "The Father alone has the authority to set the times and the dates, and they're not for you to know, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you'll be witnesses telling people about me everywhere, in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Greg Laurie: They had a job to do, and so do we. We're still called to tell people about Jesus everywhere. It starts with a question. In Acts chapter 1 verse 6, the apostles came and said, "Lord, has the time come for you to now free Israel and restore Your kingdom?" Now, here's the problem: they couldn't get over this notion they had as to why Jesus came. They thought He was coming to establish His kingdom then and there. Then He was crucified. Then He rose again from the dead. So, they're back on point again. "Okay, Lord, when are you going to establish Your kingdom?" And Jesus effectively says, "Guys, will you get off of that?" He says to them specifically in verse 7, "The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, they're not for you to know." Guys, stop focusing on when I am returning, focus instead on what you should be doing as you are waiting. And the same thing is happening today. People ask all the time, "When is Jesus coming back? Why is Jesus not come back again?" Well, He will come back according to His perfect timing. And He's already said, "No one knows the day or the hour, only the Father in heaven." So, don't focus on when He is coming, focus on what you are to do until He returns. Their job and our job is very clear. Verse 8, "You are my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere." It's inescapable. It's the Great Commission. It's still here before us to fulfill. And I think a lot of times when we study Bible prophecy, we get sidetracked and we miss the main point. Bible prophecy is not given to enlarge our brains, it's given to expand our hearts. It should move us to want to reach more people with the gospel so they too can be ready for the Lord's return. Jesus is not late. He'll come at the appointed hour. But here's what He wants us to do, according to 2 Peter 3:9, which says, "The Lord isn't slow about His promise, as some people think. He's patient for your sake. He doesn't want anyone to perish or be destroyed. He wants everyone to repent." You know, back in 1970, when the Jesus movement was happening, we're all praying, "Lord, come back. Lord, return." Aren't you glad He didn't answer our prayer? How many of you have become a Christian since 1970, raise your hand. That's quite a few of you. So, thank God He didn't answer that prayer. He's waiting for more to believe. It seems to me, there may be one person walking on this earth that will be the last person to believe before the rapture of the church. Can you imagine if you knew who that person was? Like this, this dude. If this guy gets saved, we go to heaven. Would you be tempted to put pressure on that guy or that girl? Then you just say, "All right, why don't you ask Christ into your life right now?" And you lead him in a prayer and, "Boom, you're in heaven!" Well, God knows when that will happen. But here's what they were to do, and here's what we are to do. Verse 8, "You will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere, in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." This is sort of the battle plan for world evangelism. It starts in Jerusalem, then it goes to Judea, then to Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Now, for them, Jerusalem was home base. For them, Judea would be the wider area of Israel. Samaria was outside of their country and the ends of the earth was what was left over. So, in the same way, when we think about reaching people with the gospel, we start with our Jerusalem. And what is your Jerusalem? What is my Jerusalem? It's your home base. It's your family. And guess what? The hardest people to reach with the gospel are your family. Right? Because you come home one day and say, "I've become a Christian and I'm following Jesus right now." They're all thinking, "Oh, no." Right? And then you tell them they need the Lord, and they're saying, "We knew you when you were a little kid, why should we listen to you?" This is why Jesus said, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country." Jesus Himself did not have His own family totally accept Him and believe in Him till after His death and resurrection. On more than one occasion, they came to take Him home because they thought He had lost His mind, you see? So, the hardest people to reach are your family. It took me well over 30 years to see my own mother come to Christ. And so, that may be your situation right now, but start with your Jerusalem. Then you go to your Judea. That's the wider area. Maybe that's your workplace. Maybe that's your sphere of influence, people you meet out there. You go out there and you leave your comfort zone. But then you go to Samaria. So, for a Jew to say Samaria was for them to go to their enemies. See, the Samaritans had nothing to do with the Jews and vice versa. Remember the woman at the well said to Jesus, "Why would you, a Jew, talk to me, a Samaritan? Don't you know that Jews and Samaritans want nothing to do with each other?" And Jesus said, "If you knew who it was who was speaking to you, you would ask Him, and He would give you living water." The point is, you leave your comfort zone, you go to people you would not normally go to. I think of our own ministry. We started initially here in Riverside. That's our Jerusalem. Our Judea is the Inland Empire. Our Samaria, well, that's going out to California and the rest of the nation. And the uttermost parts of the earth are just the whole planet that we've been able to go to. On any given day at Harvest at Home, we have thousands of people viewing from around the world from places ranging from the United States, every state represented, to Australia, Canada, South Africa, Kenya, the Philippines, Ireland, India, Singapore, the list goes on. So, you start at home base and you move beyond that.
Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Did you know that we put our services that we do on Sundays online? It's called Harvest at Home. And you can be a part of our extended congregation no matter where you are, and people watch from literally all around the world. So, if you want to watch Harvest at Home or view it later if you like, just download the Harvest Plus app and then join us for Harvest at Home.
Guest (Male): Well, today, Pastor Greg is helping us see what we need to know to join the Lord in impacting our culture for Christ.
Greg Laurie: One final point: we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit to do what God has called us to do. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit to do what God has called us to do. Look at verse eight, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere." Stop and think about this. These were not intellectuals. These were not even theologians. These were ordinary people. We might call them blue-collar workers today. Fishermen, a tax collector, some others thrown in. How could these guys change the world? Thomas doubted Jesus was alive. Simon Peter denied Jesus outright. If someone as strong as Simon Peter could be demoralized by the words of a servant girl in the high priest courtyard, how could any of them go anywhere preaching? Jesus answers that question. Verse 8, "You receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you'll be my witnesses." The way they would do this is with a power they did not already have. A power beyond anything that ever experienced before. A power to change the world. A power to witness. A power to share their faith. A power to turn their world upside down. And guess what? This same power that was given to them to change their world is given to you right now to change our world. It's here now. Nothing's changed. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter said, "This promise," and he was speaking of the promise of the power of the Spirit, "is to you, it's to your children, and it's even to the Gentiles and all who have been called by the Lord our God." And what is the promise? The promise of the power of the Spirit. Now the word power is noteworthy. It's from the Greek word "dunamis." A story is told of Alfred Nobel, who invented an explosive element that he didn't have a name for. And so, he went to a friend of his who spoke Greek. Nobel said, "What is the Greek word for explosion?" His friend said, "It's dunamis." Alfred Nobel said, "I'm going to call what I've created dynamite." And so really what the Bible is saying is there is explosive dynamite power from the Holy Spirit that can be given to you. To you and me right now. We just need to receive it. And I think the problem with this is we overly mystify the work of the Spirit. We think it has to always be an emotional experience. It may be it will be, and it may be it won't be. You know, when you fill your car with gas, do you have an emotional experience? Maybe you do when you see what the price is. What?! Because if you're driving an SUV or a big truck, 100 bucks on gas? Yeah, so you don't necessarily have an emotional experience when you fill your vehicle, but you fill your vehicle. And the Bible tells us that God wants to empower us with His Spirit. He wants to fill us, and He wants to do it again and He wants to do it again and again. In fact, every day you should get up in the morning and say, "Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit. I need this power today to do what You have called me to do." And these first-century believers received that power. We have a man in our church who teaches Bible studies and leads worship in an assisted living home here in town. His name is Steve. And he was teaching the older folks how the early church was so bold in sharing the gospel, and he pointed out how they relied on the Holy Spirit to do it. And one of the women who was listening to him is 82 years old, so she took it to heart. And they got together the next Sunday, and she said, "I want to give a praise report." He said, "What happened?" She says, "Well, I've been praying every day that the Lord would fill me with the Holy Spirit and open up an opportunity for me to share the gospel." She said that she was able to share the gospel with an 85-year-old gentleman who accepted Christ. I love that story, don't you? You're never too old to share the gospel. You're never too young to share the gospel. This power is available to all of us as we serve the Lord. So, we need to take advantage of these opportunities. But here's what I would like to close with. This power is here for us right now. And as we start this new series in the book of Acts, I want to pray that God would fill us with this power, and we would experience this real-time in our life. So, we're going to pray it right now. And we're going to receive this power. You may feel something. You may feel nothing. This has nothing to do with feelings. This is an act of faith where a promise is given. Here's what the Bible says. If you, as parents, give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? That's all you have to do, just ask Him. "Lord, would you give this to me?" And the Lord's response is, "Oh, yes." Do you like to give gifts to people? You know, when I buy a gift for someone, I can't wait to give it to them. It's hard for me to wait till Christmas Day or their birthday or whatever it is. I want them to have it now. The Father in heaven is anxious and eager to give you this power in your life. He wants to do it. Do you want the gift? You know, when you're a kid and Christmas is approaching, or your birthday is approaching, you're anxious to open your gifts, right? So, you want the gift. The Father wants to give you the gift. This sounds to me like a good combination. And this sounds to me like a moment right now where we can receive what the Lord has for us. So, I'm going to do something that I do often with folks accepting Christ. But this is for all of us who are believers already. I'm going to ask you to pray a prayer after me, out loud. Mean this prayer. God will hear this prayer. In this prayer, we're going to ask the Lord to give us the power of the Spirit. Now look, when you're a Christian, the Spirit is inside of you already. When you're a Christian, the Bible says you're sealed with the Holy Spirit, a promise. So, this is not receiving the Holy Spirit. This is receiving, listen, the power of the Holy Spirit. We're talking about a very specific promise in Acts 1:8. "You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you to be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth." So, this is a specific prayer of receiving the power of the Spirit. Why don't we all stand as we pray this prayer? So, I'll pray, and you pray after me if you want this power in your life. Just pray these words:
Greg Laurie: Lord Jesus,
Congregation: Lord Jesus,
Greg Laurie: You've called me to be a witness.
Congregation: You've called me to be a witness.
Greg Laurie: You've called me to reach the world with the gospel.
Congregation: You've called me to reach the world with the gospel.
Greg Laurie: But I have not always done that as I should.
Congregation: But I have not always done that as I should.
Greg Laurie: But I want to start doing it like never before.
Congregation: But I want to start doing it like never before.
Greg Laurie: But I need help.
Congregation: But I need help.
Greg Laurie: You've promised the power of the Spirit to me.
Congregation: You've promised the power of the Spirit to me.
Greg Laurie: Now I receive that power.
Congregation: Now I receive that power.
Greg Laurie: Fill me with Your Holy Spirit.
Congregation: Fill me with Your Holy Spirit.
Greg Laurie: Give me a new boldness.
Congregation: Give me a new boldness.
Greg Laurie: Give me a new courage.
Congregation: Give me a new courage.
Greg Laurie: I receive it from You now.
Congregation: I receive it from You now.
Greg Laurie: In Jesus' name I pray.
Congregation: In Jesus' name I pray.
Greg Laurie: Now you just receive that power in your life. Let God's Holy Spirit permeate every crevice of your being and give you that boldness that He wants you to have.
Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie with an important prayer asking the Lord to empower us for the responsibilities ahead. Glad you've joined us today here on A New Beginning for the launch of our new series in the book of Acts. Pastor Greg, let's speak to the person listening who's on the other side of this discussion. They've never shared the gospel because they're really not sure what the gospel is. They'd like to be closer to God, but they just don't know where to start.
Greg Laurie: Well, they just need to hear more. They need to hear what the essential gospel message is. And I've got a great resource for you. We've set up a webpage that's called `knowgod.org` (K-N-O-W-G-O-D.org). You go there. I have a video presentation of how you accept Christ, lead you in a prayer, and then it links to other spiritual resources that will help you grow spiritually. So, just go to `knowgod.org`. Do it right now.
Guest (Male): All right. You know, Pastor Greg, we hear from people all the time who tell us how these daily studies have impacted their lives. So many have found the Lord and been encouraged through this teaching.
Greg Laurie: That's right.
Guest (Male): And we hope our listeners might pray about making an investment so these studies can continue.
Greg Laurie: Yeah, it's really true, Dave. You know, and even a little bit helps. You know, people need to hear the gospel so badly. They need to hear the teaching of the Word of God. It changes everything because it changes us. And I'm so passionate about it, and I'm called to do it, and I'm thankful for it. But I can't do it alone. So, I'm going to ask folks that are listening that if you think more people need to hear the gospel. If you believe more people need to hear the teaching of the Word of God, then prayerfully consider investing in Harvest Ministries and maybe even become a Harvest Partner, which means you're someone who stands with us every month in your faithful giving. And that opens up a lot of new opportunities for us. So, thanks for that.
Guest (Male): Yeah, that's right. And we really are thankful for your partnership. You can reach us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or just go online to `harvest.org`. Well, next time, Pastor Greg leads us into the action-packed second chapter of Acts. As our study series continues, a series called The Upside Down Life. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Laurie.
Song: This is the day the day when life begins.