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[0:00] The following message was given by Walt Alexander, pastor at Trinity Grace Church in Athens, Tennessee.! For more information about Trinity Grace, please visit us at TrinityGraceAthens.com.

[0:17] ! Acts chapter 1, verses 6-9. So look down there in verse 6. Acts chapter 1, verse 6. So when they had come together, they asked Him, that's the disciples, asked our Lord, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?

[0:40] He said to them, it's not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.

[1:01] And when He had said these things, as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. This is the word of the Lord.

[1:13] Praise God. Please be seated. Please be seated. Winston Churchill once said, It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

[1:29] A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Churchill was talking about Russia, but he could have been talking about a number of mysteries. Proverbs 31, or Proverbs 30 says, Three things are too wonderful for me, for I do not understand the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a virgin.

[1:55] But one is even more wonderful and even more mysterious than all those. We could say the way of the Spirit in the lives of believers.

[2:06] The Holy Spirit is, after all, a spirit. The Father is the Father, the Son is the Son, but the Spirit is the Holy Ghost.

[2:20] John 3 says, our Lord says, The Spirit is like the wind. One child captures how we all feel about the Spirit from time to time. In the children's sermon at his church, her church, they were talking about the Spirit, and the pastor took up a piece of paper and blew it, causing the paper to float along, talking about how the Spirit is a wind and yet produces visible and obvious effects.

[2:46] And the child blurted out what we all feel. I want the Spirit to be uninvisible. I would like the Spirit to make himself uninvisible.

[2:59] And so out of the mouth of babes, God has prepared praise and instruction. And it's so common that we misstep here, because we cannot see the Spirit, we often tend to tie the Spirit's work to what we can see.

[3:16] So when it comes to the Spirit, we can sometimes think, He always gives a certain gift, like tongues. Or when it comes to the Spirit, He always brings signs and wonders and deliverance.

[3:29] He breaks every chain. After all, He couldn't be the Spirit that gives us the power to endure. Or when the Spirit comes, it always brings goosebumps and tears, hands-raised, authentic worship.

[3:44] When I first became a Christian, I thought a really good Sunday was when I cried. Now, I happen to cry most Sundays, but I was like, this is great worship. I'm crying. It's authentic. And when we do so, we put the invisible Spirit into a box.

[4:00] And we say, you're only working if you're working in this way. And so we may think, should we even talk about the Spirit? Wouldn't that be like chasing the wind?

[4:15] Trying to box up the ocean? Wouldn't it be the kiss of death? The real quench of the Spirit? I think the risk is worth the reward. We need to understand what the Bible teaches about the Spirit.

[4:28] We need biblical perspective. In a day of so much talk about the Spirit, we need to know what the Bible says. We need clarity. As I mentioned last week, we're going to move into next week.

[4:39] We will begin. So if you've been waiting, that's where we're going. Well, I don't know how many sermons on 1 Corinthians 12 through 14. We're just going to walk through, take our time. on the longest section on spiritual gifts, that is gifts empowered by the Spirit in all of Holy Scripture.

[4:56] Last week, we considered the promise of the Spirit from Jesus. This week, I want to consider the gift of the Spirit, the falling of the Spirit on the disciples. What happened? Because even though the Spirit is invisible, yet we see in the way God works out His dealings with people, the Spirit reveals Himself to do certain things among the people.

[5:15] A thorough reading in the New Testament makes clear that the Spirit is the empowering presence of God for living the Christian life. The New Testament makes clear that the Spirit is not a genie in a bottle, nor a vague aspect of our theology.

[5:29] The Spirit is God's empowering presence, an experienced and lived reality that empowers us to live a Christian life, a life we could not live on our own.

[5:41] So much so, that a life not characterized by the power of the Spirit cannot be a Christian life. J.I. Packer, in a long run-on sentence, as Paul pointed out this morning, he says, supernatural living through supernatural empowering is at the very heart of New Testament Christianity.

[6:03] So that those who, while professing faith, do not experience and show forth this empowering are suspect by New Testament standards.

[6:14] What he's saying, supernatural living through supernatural empowering, not merely signs and wonders and these types of things, but living in the power of the Spirit is at the heart of New Testament Christianity, so much so that anyone who does not have a sense of this power is probably not a Christian.

[6:32] So where we're going is the Holy Spirit is God's empowering presence for all of life, depend on His power in everything. The Holy Spirit is God's empowering presence for all of life, depend on His power for everything.

[6:49] So as I said, we're going to watch how the Spirit falls on the disciples, so we're not going to stay in this text, Acts 1, like we normally do and work one text through. We're going to kind of move a little bit.

[7:00] So three points. The first is the Spirit gives grace to change. The Spirit gives grace to change. Now as Jesus ascended, isn't that great? Talks about it. He just kind of ascends up to heaven, you know?

[7:11] And He ascends up to heaven. He says, you've got to wait in Jerusalem because power's going to come down. So some 10 days later, power came. He said, you receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

[7:23] Acts 2, you want to flip there already? Acts 2 tells us this day of Pentecost when the Spirit fell. Now there's a lot of smoke and fog on this day. There's a lot going on.

[7:34] There's a mighty rushing wind, which is not surprising based on our intro. There are tongues as of fire on top of people. Now written in a little bit opaque language to tell us something radical was going on.

[7:45] There are people from many different nations hearing the wonderful things of God proclaimed in their own tongue, their own language. It was a revival. It was so wild that some people said, these guys over here are drunk.

[7:58] And Peter said, it's only 9 a.m. Not 5 o'clock anywhere yet. But it's so critical that we understand what was going on because before we can understand what Pentecost means to us, we have to understand what Pentecost means in the plan and purpose of God.

[8:18] What was going on? Jesus ascends to heaven. If you look, turn with me to Acts 2, 33. Jesus ascends to heaven and inaugurates a new day in the history of God's dealing with His people.

[8:30] Look in verse 33. Actually, verse 32. So great. We're going to say that too. This God, this Jesus God raised up and of that we are His witnesses. Being therefore now exalted at the right hand of God having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

[8:50] So what He's saying to these guys, all these people gathered, 3,000 people gathered. What you're seeing right now with all the extravagances and the wind and the people that appear drunk, what you're seeing is the Spirit falling.

[9:05] Why? Because a new king is down. A new era of the history of God's dealing with His people has begun.

[9:15] Now the Spirit is given to all who receive the gospel. There's so much going on here that I could preach like five sermons but I can't. The Spirit is given to all types of people immediately.

[9:30] In the Old Testament the Spirit was given to specific people for specific tasks to rule, to prophesy, to interpret dreams. A couple minutes it was given to to help build the temple.

[9:42] Why? It was just given for specific things. But now the Spirit, what we see in this text, it's given to all types of people. male and female, young and old, slave and free, all are given the Spirit.

[9:58] Right? Moses said, would that all God's people prophesy. What he's really meaning is would that all God's people be filled with the Spirit and yet the new era.

[10:10] All people are. He's given to all nations. In the Old Testament God made his promise to one people and he called that one people to follow him.

[10:23] Generally that's what he was going. He was showing his faithfulness to one people. Sometimes plucking some people out like Rahab and Ruth and people like that. But mainly one people. But now the gospel goes out to all sorts of people.

[10:37] There's all kinds of people gathered at this gathering. So much so that Peter says if you look down there in the end of where is it?

[10:51] Verse 39 the promise of salvation is for you and for your children. That all is not surprising at all. But this next part is amazing.

[11:03] And for all who are far off. What he's saying is that once there were people and the message of salvation of God's dealings was just for that people that now after Christ just explodes to all people.

[11:23] Actually Acts 2 was an undoing of the Tower of Babel. If you remember people got together they joined with one cause to build the highest tower to show the Lord how great they were and God dispersed the people.

[11:40] Right? Dispersed them into languages so they couldn't communicate with one another without interpreter. We still deal with so much of that and yet the gospel brings together all people because they confess with one voice.

[11:53] And so it's a new day it's a new era. The spirit is given to all who receive the gospel. What happens when he comes? The spirit is God's power to want what we did not want and do what we could not do.

[12:06] The spirit immediately as we see convicts. Jesus promised if you remember last week Jesus promised that the spirit would come to convict the world of sin righteousness and judgment and that's what we immediately see happening.

[12:19] Look at verse 37 it says now when they heard what Peter said they were cut to the heart. They were cut to the heart and that they didn't that doesn't mean that they said this sounds kind of nice maybe I should go to church more often spend less time at the lake.

[12:33] That's not what that meant. What they meant they were cut to the heart suddenly to realize sorrow over their sin conviction over their sin and they said brothers what shall we do?

[12:47] What do we do? If you're a parent you know that no amount of encouragement instruction or pleading can produce conviction. That's why when your child comes and convicted of something you're ready to do back flips because it's amazing for any sinner to be convicted and to want to deal right.

[13:11] We're dead in sin and can't understand our minds are set on self the spirit convicts the spirit regenerates I think that's what we immediately see look in verse 38 of chapter 2 he says repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin and you will receive the gift of the spirit that gift language is repeated four times in the book of Acts pointing out what happens at conversion conversion is the breaking in of the spirit to bring new life causing all who respond to the gospel to be born again the spirit is Ezekiel 37 it's the wind that comes in and makes the dry bones live again it's the spirit that removes verse 36 Ezekiel 36 that takes out the heart of stone and puts in the heart of flesh it's here we see the essence of New Testament Christianity Christianity is not maintenance but miracle it's not rules it's not ten things you must do to get to heaven it's grace it's not performance it's gift it's not religion it's gospel it's not flesh it's spirit the spirit does not want to change what you do from 11 to 12 one day a week the spirit wants to change everything it's amazing spirit sanctifies now it's worth noting that in the book of

[14:44] Acts the word pneuma spirit occurs 70 times and 39 times and includes the adjective holy spirit I think that's really important we're talking about the spirit there should be a proper proportionality to our teaching the spirit comes to make us holy the spirit comes to sanctify us in one sense all who come to Christ all who are converted are sanctified in the Old Testament they would sanctify or make holy people or things to do certain things they would make holy priests they had all these things about the garments they would wear and the anointing they would receive they would make holy instruments to serve and the offering of sacrifice well the spirit does the same thing it comes to dwell in you it makes you holy it sets you apart for God in the New Testament it calls you a saint what does that mean you've been delivered from the domain it's a spatial concept whereas justification talks about a legal concept how can we be right before

[15:56] God well through faith in Jesus Christ this language of holiness is a spatial concept what does it mean we've been taken out of the tents of the wicked and placed into God's house set apart for him made holy we have a new master there's a new master once we were not able to not sin now we're able to turn from sin by the power of the spirit and 1st corinthians 6 if you remember says it so beautifully but you were washed washed not merely talking about baptism but what baptism points to you were washed you were sanctified you were justified in the name of Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of God you were changed and you were set free to change C.S.

[16:56] Lewis captures so well as he does I think we like quote him every Sunday so I apologize but well I don't actually I don't apologize so you should be acquainted with him but he begins one book quite well and almost unmistakably that kind of alludes to what God does in us by the spirit in the voyage of the dawn trader he begins there once was a boy named Eustace scrub and he almost deserved it you ever met somebody who's got a name that just fits too good and in page after page he describes Eustace and you're like this is the worst kid in the history of kiddom he is the type of kid that needs a punch in the nose he's disrespectful arrogant selfish condescending a truly horrible kid now I don't want to spoil the book and so you gotta go home and read it and see how it happens but he encounters

[17:59] Aslan he encounters grace God intervenes in Eustace's life and Aslan really I guess Aslan is a character but it's a picture of what happened he rescues him he changes him he makes him new but he doesn't completely change Lewis captures it in his inimitable way he says it would be nice and fairly true to say that from that time forth after Aslan met him for the first time Eustace was a different boy to be strictly accurate he began to be a different boy he had relapses there were still days where he could be very tiresome but most of those I shall not notice I say that share that story because it captures what the spirit does it changes us and yet continues to change us the spirit that raised

[19:04] Jesus from the dead gives us new life we live by the power of the spirit the spirit causes us to be able to do what we could not do in and of our own strength the spirit beautifies our life gives fruit to us makes us more like Christ causes us to bear the fruit that can only be born by the fruit of the spirit you think about that the fruit of the flesh!

[19:37] the spirit gives birth to new life to fruit and all these wonderful things several times in the book of Acts it uses this phrase full of the spirit when it's talking about Stephen or the seven who went on to become the first deacons it's striking when it says they're full of the spirit it's not really a reference to their proficient in signs and wonders it's a statement of maturity why because what does the spirit come to do come to make us holy so often the most powerful work of the spirit in local church is not in signs and wonders it's in the lady suffering from chronic pain that continues to rejoice in all circumstances it's in the man who does not live the life he could live because he gives so much of his money away quietly that's for the showing up putting others first the spirit gives grace to change secondly the spirit gives gifts to build up the spirit gives gifts to build up

[20:43] I want you keep acts to open the spirit gives grace to change and the gifts to build up when the spirit comes these people begin to live very differently they begin to live for the good of others Acts 2 verse!

[21:01] And praising God not having favor with all people and the Lord added to their number day by day those are being saved pretty amazing some of the most moving verses of Christian fellowship all who believe we're together all things in common selling possessions for all the benefit it's so dreamy that we could miss the wonder of what's going on this is a whole bunch of people that don't belong together

[22:05] Acts 2 if you look in verse 8 he says verse 9 he lists out all these people that are there Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia Judea Cappadocia Pontus Asia Phrygia Pamphylia Egypt and parts of Libya belong to Cyrene and visitors of Rome Cretans Arabians and yet all of them are suddenly together it's meant to make you know it's idyllic almost I don't think it mainly means we should all sell our possessions and live in a commune I think the point is this is unity that only the spirit can produce the spirit brings people together joined together in one body by one spirit what they could not do on their own is what

[23:12] Jesus promised when the spirit would come he said I am in the father and you're in me and I'll be in you and you'll all be one Justin Martyr captures it beautifully in the second century when he says and we have for you those who once rejoiced in fornication now delight in continents alone those who made use of magic arts as capturing the wonder of the gospel have dedicated themselves to the good and unbegotten God we who once took pleasure in the means of increasing our wealth and property now bring what we have into a common fun if you think about how amazing it is just take an offering to address the needs in this community that's amazing and share it with anyone in need we who hated and killed one another and would not associate with people of different tribes because of their different customs!

[24:11] Now after the manifestation of Christ live together and pray for our enemies and try to persuade those who unjustly hate us so that they living according to the fair commands of Christ may share with us the good hope of receiving the same things that we will from God the master of all that is the spirit at work the spirit uniting people changing people I remember being stunned when I first became a Christian I lived in Knoxville for two years going to University of Tennessee and was converted August 2001 went back to UT and coming into a local church for the first time being like what in the world is this now I had been to church quite a few times in my life but the unity and the joy in one another several months ago my mom found an email that I wrote her in November 2001

[25:11] I'm going to flash it up I don't know that you can read it yeah maybe you can if you got binoculars I said mom and dad I just wanted to say I love y'all so much I misspelled y'all so sorry about that I've been refined I'm from South Carolina you know yeah most of us can't spell there right Tristan knows I just wanted to say that I love y'all so so very much and am again reminded of the unflinching love y'all gave me love that taught me the love of God I talk about a friend I met named Ryan also last night I went to care groups that's community groups which is an outreach of the church college students it's about 20 couples or so and they have us into their homes for prayer and discussion praise and what not it was awesome well I hope things are going swell down there dad if you saw it correctly wake one today we also won pretty big go fall so that hasn't changed but what blew me away it's just like ordinary meetings of people saying hey I need some help

[26:39] I got this appointment coming up and yet for me it's amazing you know the New Testament talks so much about unity and if you've been in our series of first Corinthians you've noticed we've talked a lot about unity why because it's emphasizing something only the spirit can create you know the unity we try to create in cliques or special clubs or fraternities they're just elite groups with requirements not everyone is welcome church is not like that or maybe they're alliances we're good at creating those the enemy of my enemy is my friend and so you have LGBTQ plus things that should not exist together because they should be enemies of one another by what they believe and yet they're an alliance and so we can form alliances and yet what God does by the spirit is unreal in uniting people so how do we know that the spirit is at work in a group of people are they rejoicing in Christ are they loving one another do they sacrifice for one another do they generously give to help one another are they patient with one another do they refuse the temptation to gossip and slander in so many ways

[27:52] God gathers us together by the unity of the spirit so that we can watch this sanctification process work out over time and so that we can all learn and grow and so it may be the unity of Christ that drew you here this morning sometimes you're drawn to the people of God before you're drawn to the God of the people you may be struck by how the church cares for one another loves one another watches after one another I want to call you to come all the way in one of the most amazing promises in New Testament is 1 John 1 7 if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us of all sin I believe when you go to church you can either do one of two things you can either be impressive or you can be known only a fool chooses the former only a fool stays with being impressive keeping their

[28:57] Sunday face forward so I invite you come and be known humble yourself for God and the miracle is once you humble yourself for God suddenly you're right with one another all throughout if we could keep going the book of Acts warns us not to tear apart what God is doing not to play fast and loose with the church this unity that God establishes is something we fight to preserve and so Ananias and Sapphira are your negative examples for what happens when the unity is tampered with and so it urges us to maintain the unity of the spirit and I think that's where the spiritual gifts flow out of so I'm not going to address these because we'll be addressing those for several weeks but the spiritual gifts flow out of not this desire for experience but for building up this body building it up in unity and in every way thirdly the spirit gives power to witness so the spirit gives grace to change gifts to build up power for witness power to witness Jesus promised the disciples you will see power and you will be my witnesses in Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth the end of the known world to them and when the spirit comes the first extraordinary evidence of his power is boldness to witness if you remember we talked a little bit about this last week

[30:13] Jesus or Peter denies Jesus on the night he was betrayed three times you know remember that before the rooster crows he denies him but on the day of Pentecost he stands with the eleven and preaches to three thousand people somebody in our community group pointed out one of the most provoking evidences of the resurrection is a transformation in these disciples these guys were anything but impressive and yet Acts says or someone says in the book of Acts they are the men who turn the world upside down why because Jesus is alive and he fills with the spirit and gives power to weak men to do what they could not do so much so that Peter says several chapters later even he denied he denied Christ for these chief priests and scribes several chapters later he says we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard and so the spirit gives boldness turn in Acts 4 if you would sorry you should bring a

[31:14] Bible if you're having trouble today bring it next week because we love the Bible we want to work through it want to get our eyes on it and so they pray one of my favorite examples of boldness to disciples is in Acts 4 Peter and John are released from the religious leaders but they're released with a threat don't you ever preach this again or else you're going to have hell to pay they go to their friends and they pray to God look in verse Acts 4 24 they said they pray sovereign Lord who made the heaven and the earth and the sea is everything that is in them verse 27 truly in this city there are there were gathered together there are gathered together against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed with the spirit by the way both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel to do whatever your hand and plan predestined to take place now that's an extraordinary prayer there are people gathered against you in this place and yet you are not boxed in they are only going to be able to do what your hand your plan predestined to take place because you are the sovereign almighty God so that's the preamble the invocation then they ask their prayer now Lord look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness

[32:51] I find that amazing so they say we know you rule over all and everybody does whatever your hand and plan have predestined to take place but they don't say free us from any fear of judgment or any fear of punishment any possibility they don't say make them stop take them out keep me safe they say help me to be bold in the midst of the fear of punishment why?

[33:21] because the only thing to fear is fear itself and so verse 31 it says when they prayed the place in which they were gathered together was shaken they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to preach the word with boldness it's amazing one of the consistent examples of spirit and power boldness to me in evangelism is Charles Spurgeon the great preacher the silver tongue preacher in the 18th century he lived when he was young he lived for a season with his grandfather his grandfather was a pastor and he lived there read a bunch of his books and he heard about a man in the church living with grandpa because maybe you overhear conversations in the home and prayers in the home about a man that was ungodly in the church and it was troubling the grandfather and little Spurgeon six, eight years old or something like that went in to the bar and confronted this man this man came back to the grandfather and said

[34:30] I was a sitting I quote I was a sitting in the public just having my pipe and a mug of beer when that child comes in to think an old man like me should be took to task well he points his finger at me and says what are you doing here Elijah if you know that from 1 Kings 19 sitting here with the ungodly and you a member of the church breaking your pastor's heart I'm ashamed of you I wouldn't break my pastor's heart if I were you and then he walks away the man continues I did feel angry but I knew it was all true and I was guilty so I put down my pipe and did not touch my beer hurried away to a lonely spot and cast myself down before the Lord confessing my sin and begging his forgiveness and I do know and believe the Lord in his mercy pardon me and now

[35:33] I come to ask you grandfather to forgive me I will never grieve you anymore my dear pastor I love that story I want that boldness the boldness is not like a personality thing it's just being convinced of the truth of what you're proclaiming and yet there's nothing there's perhaps nothing that confronts our need for the spirit's help more than evangelism we crave control and evangelism unpredictable I remember preaching the gospel and some guy kind of stumbling out I said hey let's get together and hang out sometime he goes that's weird you know it's like well I didn't mean it like that you know I just meant hang out and let me tell you a little bit more about Christ and so you you take a risk it's unpredictable we crave we crave approval and evangelism connects us with something very offensive something that tells people their life's not right and yet it's not us saying it it's the gospel that says it we crave ease and evangelism can be difficult we crave comfort and evangelism disrupts we crave convenience and evangelism is inconvenient evangelism never arrives into your life in the slot that you have for it it arrives when you don't have a slot we crave anonymity and evangelism demands personal interaction demands for us to put ourselves out there and yet we need that boldness to witness and the power of the spirit to be dependent the spirit gives all throughout the book of

[37:01] Acts gives witness power to witness it also gives open doors we could call they call I mean a lot of people call the fifth book of the bible the acts of the apostles but really it's the acts of the holy spirit through the apostles the spirit is the mastermind organizing and guiding and directing and advancing the gospel to the witness of these very ordinary men and so the spirit the believers are scattered by persecution Acts 8 why because the spirit is open doors to proclaim in Samaria they're hated friends in Samaria people from Ethiopia Africa Paul is struck blind on his way to persecute more Christians why because the spirit's raising up an apostle to the Gentiles Peter has a weird dream and doesn't appear to know what it means but the spirit is opening a door for him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles to break in so the same thing that happened to them might happen to the Gentiles the spirit tells the church of

[38:03] Antioch to send out Paul and Barnabas so that the mission of the Gentiles would continue so the spirit opens more doors but the spirit also closes doors I find it so striking when Paul is going to the region of Phrygia and Galatia he's forbidden to speak a word wait I thought this is the spirit gave power to witness yet to Paul it said shut up another place going to Bithynia he's forbidden to speak there but there was another open door what's the point of all this the advance of the gospel is not through human innovation and strategies through the work of the spirit the spirit gives power to witness spirit convicts the world of sin righteousness and judgment what does all that mean for us it means the spirit has led you to right here right now to give you power to witness to Christ we sometimes imagine that we would be great evangelists if we lived in a different city I mean great evangelists as I was on the mission field and yet

[39:06] I believe with Rosaria Butterfield that God gets no address wrong God has you here not to be an evangelist there but to be an evangelist here we talk about pursuing the work of the spirit we begin right here Lord where have you placed me who have you called me to witness to who have you sent me with the gospel to proclaim a lot of evangelism going on in this church is happening in the home with these kids being raised up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord and that's true that's wonderfully true you should be encouraged and yet God means for us to have these evangelism eyes these witnessing eyes everywhere we go asking God Lord be faithful open doors give me an opportunity to talk to this person you pray to

[40:11] God it'll happen I mean pray to God to see somebody that you need to see in a small town it's more likely anyway but pray to God God will arrange it God will give these appointments you have an opportunity to witness pray for the Spirit's help that's what the Spirit's doing in the world I mean you know Spirit yes we would like him to make himself uninvisible at times and yet these things we can be wonderfully 100% confident he's doing he's the Holy Spirit he's trying to change this is the will of God for you your sanctification that's what he's up to he's conforming you to the image of Jesus Christ something you could never do he's giving gifts to build up that's yeah he wants you to be built up into a body he has a wonderfully outward but still inward work in the midst of the body he wants you to be all about that that's where the Spirit's going for the party to build up to help the Spirit wonderfully has an outward focus too pointing us out into the world with a message to proclaim the message of the gospel that's the message I offer to you you know if you are not right with

[41:22] God today can be the day of salvation you can come to Christ through the power of the Spirit the man that the people killed God rose and I'm one of his witnesses he's caused me to be born again his message is 100% true and I offer you the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ the good news that God sent forth him to bear all the punishment we deserve so that we might be right with God not because of the strength of our faith or the confidence of our faith but because our faith is tied to Jesus Christ and he is the mediator between us and God and stands in our defense Father in heaven we cast ourselves completely on you Lord we pray that you would come by your spirit and continue your work in our midst pray that you conform us to the image of your son you would give us grace to build up and strengthen one another and give us power to witness

[42:27] God we thank you for this city that you placed us in but may the city you placed us in not be incidental to the way we live our lives oh God open doors wherever they are supermarket and gyms schools teams old family relationships give us eyes to see the harvest God we pray send us out God fill us with your spirit we can go in the power of the spirit and in the confidence of the spirit we praise you in Jesus name you've been listening to a message given by Walt Alexander pastor at Trinity Grace Church in Athens Tennessee for more information about Trinity Grace please visit us online at trinitygraceathens.com!