“The Direct Approach” – Acts 2:22-41

Imagine this scene with me if you will. It’s the summer of 1741 in Connecticut. The first Thanksgiving was over 100 years prior but these colonies won’t be part of the United States for several more years. The Puritan church was the center of community life. There was no internet, phone or TV and so everybody just went to church. It was what people did back then. But church had become boring and stale.

Colonial life in those days was predictable, modest and well-behaved. There were lots of rules and even more rules in the churches where, in most cases, the men sat on one side and the women on the other and everyone sat politely and listened and never said a word. Now, continue to imagine with me when a guest preacher named Jonathan Edwards got up to preach and, with his manuscript in his hands covering his face, began to read in his typical monotone voice these words:

“Deuteronomy 32:35 – Their foot shall slide in due time. In this Verse is threatened the Vengeance of God on the wicked unbelieving Israelites, that were God’s visible People, and lived under Means of Grace; and that, notwithstanding all God’s wonderful Works that he had wrought towards that People, yet remained, as is expressed, ver. 28. void of Counsel, having no Understanding in them; and that, under all the Cultivations of Heaven, brought forth bitter and poisonous Fruit; as in the two Verses next preceding the Text.”

I’ll stop right there but you get the idea. Now, what do you think might have been the response of the people? Yawning, boredom, leaving early? Believe it or not, it is my understanding that Edwards was interrupted several times by members of the church crying out, “What must we do to be saved?” They were literally crying, shaking and even rolling in the aisles as he preached, begging to be saved from the literal hell Edwards told them about.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been in a service like that. Oh, I’ve heard lots of sermons like that but I’ve never seen that kind of response. What do you think the secret was? Was it because the lighting and sound was just right and made Edwards look and sound good? Was it because the praise and worship time worked everybody into a frenzy before he got up to speak? Maybe the guitar player had a great solo during “Glorious Day.” I bet that was it.

Or maybe, just maybe, this was the day the Holy Spirit decided to show up and melt some hard hearts and change some minds and sweep this church into the age of the Great Awakening which changed Britain and all the colonies. Maybe this was the day the Holy Spirit used a homely, monotone speaker to be the mouthpiece of Almighty God and pointed people to the amazing grace of God through His Son Jesus. Yep, I’m pretty sure it was that.

He didn’t change Jonathan Edwards. He didn’t make him appear to glow or put a halo over his head like Joel Osteen. He didn’t give him the voice of Billy Graham. He didn’t make the pews any softer or the screen on the wall any clearer. He used Edwards just like he was and for God’s glory in a way that we are still talking about nearly 300 years later. That’s the power of the Holy Spirit in action.

Don’t you wish the Holy Spirit would use you like that? Don’t you wish He would work in your life to bring revival to the world…or at least to your household? The problem is that you are no preacher. That’s not a gift that God has given you, right? You have some gifts but they don’t include being able to change your household, much less the world. Well, I hope that is not what you think because Paul told the church at Corinth, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (I Cor. 12:7).

That means that the Spirit of God has given each of us gifts and together we can use them for the sake of our families, our church and our world. We all have different gifts so that we can all reach different people and together we can reach everybody. Now, while you may or may not have the gift of prophecy or preaching; you may or may not have the gift of evangelism; you may or may not have the gift of teaching but we are all disciples of Jesus and therefore we should learn from Jesus and then tell others what we have learned. That’s the definition of a disciple.

As a disciple, we all have different personalities – and aren’t you glad? Wouldn’t it be boring if everybody was the same? I want us to see that there are ways to be a disciple and to make more disciples using your own personality and your own spiritual gifts to witness to the people that God puts in our lives.

For the next six weeks or so, I want us to see the different ways that God made and used different types of people and in this we will see that all of us can and will be used by God if we are just obedient to doing what He calls us to do.

Turn to Acts chapter 2 in your Bibles to the story of Peter preaching right after Pentecost. If you were here last week, you remember that at Pentecost the Holy Spirit was given to all believers for all time and when He showed up, He changed everything. You would expect Peter to stand up and say something at this point. He was real good about saying stuff. The problem was he rarely said the right thing.

All through the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Peter would blurt out something inappropriate or do something stupid or just flat fail at whatever he was trying to do. I think that’s why so many of us like old Pete because we can identify with him. He was impulsive and immature. He had good intentions but wasn’t wise enough to do what he was supposed to. Shoot, it’s like looking into a mirror for some of us!

But in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes into Peter and uses him and speaks through him in a way that is uniquely Peter and yet could only be the Holy Spirit at work. Let’s read Acts 2:22-41.

Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him: “‘I saw the Lord always before me.
    Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’

36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Peter, Peter, Peter…even with the Holy Spirit, he got it wrong. Everybody knows a good sermon has three points and a poem. Peter had three points but no poem at all. It’s sad really. Man, too bad he didn’t ask me before he spoke, huh? 😊Well, even getting it wrong, the Holy Spirit used him to bring 3,000 people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

He also used Peter in a way that used Peter’s personality. Peter was never one to mince words and even here, Peter used the direct approach to preach the Gospel to the people around him. He basically said, “Way to go you morons, you just killed the Messiah. Now here’s how I know it and what you should do now.” And it worked. It says they were cut to the heart.

Now, if you are going to use the direct approach, you have to make sure you don’t just come off as rude. It can easily be taken that way. A while back I did a funeral for a friend and I got to the funeral home way early. They were just then bringing in the body and all the flowers and stands and everything needed for the funeral. I watched and listened as the man in charge barked orders at all of the employees, especially one nice young lady who, it was obvious, was trying very hard to do everything right.

But it wasn’t enough for this little banty rooster of a boss. He strutted around in his expensive suit and was just rude to everybody. You know the kind. Once he got onto the young lady for something he admitted was not even her fault but he scolded her never the less. I guess he saw me giving him the ministerial stink eye and he said to me, “I’m sorry. I’m blunt and I’m a perfectionist. It’s just how I am.” And I sat there thinking, “No, little man, you’re just a jerk.”

So, be direct in your witness, if that’s how you are but be aware that it’s easy to come off as a jerk. You may think that God gave you the gift of telling it like it is but make sure you tell it in love. Peter absolutely did it in love and because his personality was direct and bold, that’s how he preached.

Now, a common way of being direct is you have to prove what you are saying. There’s no real room for discussion or debate. This is how it is. Take it or leave it. Peter’s first proof was proving Jesus was the Messiah by reminding them of His miracles, wonders and signs in verse 22. “Miracles, wonders and signs” are all supernatural manifestations of God’s power designed to get people’s attention and point them to Jesus.

Do we still see miracles, wonders and signs today? Absolutely. We have an example in our midst this morning. Thirteen months ago Belinda Amerman was a literal broken heap on the sidewalk and today she doesn’t even limp. That was a miracle. We wonder at the power of God through that miracle and it points like a sign to our Savior, Jesus. Every time you mention it, Belinda never fails to say, “To God be the glory.” That’s what miracles are for.

Do you remember in John 3 when Nicodemus came to Jesus at night? Nic was a Pharisee and was highly invested in being part of the ruling class and Jesus was a huge threat to that investment. But Nicodemus wasn’t blind. He could see that Jesus was performing miracles that only God could do and in verse 2 Nicodemus says, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him."

In John 11, Jesus raised Lazarus back to life and it says that some of the people that witnessed this went back to the Pharisees and told them what they saw and so it says the Pharisees plotted to kill Him. They couldn’t dispute His miracles but they still rejected Him because they loved sin. You can expect that same response today when you use the direct method.

Peter’s second proof was the prophecy of David in verses 25-31. When Peter used the name David, their ears perked up. Using the name David to people in Peter’s day was like using Ronald Reagan’s name to today’s conservative politicians. You know what I mean? “Oh…well, if Reagan said it or did it, it must be true.”

They knew David was a man after God’s own heart and he was their greatest king and they loved and respected him all those years later. So, Peter quoted Psalm 16 where David prophesied about the resurrection of the Messiah and Peter showed the people that David obviously wasn’t talking about himself. It could only be Jesus.

Here’s the deal for us today. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, the Christian faith is a foolish fantasy. However, if the resurrection of Christ did occur, it confirms His life, His message, and His work. It is the basis of our hope of life beyond the grave. Christ is alive, and the evidence is overwhelming.

There are dozens of passages like this one Peter uses that prophesied the resurrection of Jesus. It is a fact that believers and non-believers alike saw the empty tomb. All they had to do to disprove the resurrection was show the dead body of Jesus but they couldn’t. Another thing about the resurrection is that if the disciples were faking it, do you think they would all be willing to die for the hoax? Because they pretty much all did. They all lost everything including most of them lost their lives. They knew it to be true and because they did, we do too.

That’s a fact and a good point to make if you use the direct approach. Peter’s third proof was what the Holy Spirit had done in the men standing there that day. Peter is basically saying what I told you about Peter earlier. He used to be a bonehead. He used to be immature and constantly saying the wrong thing but in verse 33 Peter is obviously in awe of what the Holy Spirit has done in his own life and he says so.

He says the Holy Spirit has poured out what you see and here today. Don’t you know Peter was amazed that he was able to make such a convincing argument? If they had asked him the day before, he probably would have said something stupid but today he sounded like a scholar. If you have ever felt led to witness to somebody, you may have felt the same power.

Have you ever been witnessing to someone or answering their question and something comes out of your mouth and you think, “Where did that come from? I didn’t know that myself until I just said it!” Or maybe the Spirit guides you somewhere or to someone and things turn out way different than you think.

I’ve told you this before but it’s a perfect example. I used to work at a place that customized trucks and one of my co-workers was really on my heart because he told me he didn’t believe Jesus was the way to Heaven. So, I kept watching for the opportunity to witness to him and finally got my chance. He was working on something underneath the truck and I needed to do something under there as well.

So, as I was gathering up the tools I needed, I started praying. “Lord, give me the words. I’ve got him now, Lord, you just give me something profound and whatever you tell me to say, I will say.” But as I got my creeper on the floor and all my tools gathered, the only thing I heard from God was, “Say something about church.”

“Say something about church?” No, God, you don’t understand, I’m ready to witness. I’m ready to lay out the Gospel and proclaim you as King of kings and Lord of lords. Just tell me what to say.

Again, all I heard was, “Say something about church.” Now, I didn’t hear it audibly. The rafters didn’t shake and there was no smoke coming from my tool set. But I heard it plainly. “Say something about church.” And it almost made me mad. I’m not kidding. I was upset because I was ready to lead this man to Jesus but I knew I couldn’t without the Spirit’s help and all He was giving me was, “Say something about church.”

Well, fine! If that’s all I’m gonna get, then that’s all I’m gonna give. And I got under there and got situated on my back on the creeper and I said, with absolutely no energy, “Rick, we had a good day at church yesterday.” And do you know what happened? Rick put down his tools, propped himself up on his elbow and said, “Really? Tell me about it.”

So, I did and he listened. And then one thing led to another and I started telling him about Heaven and Hell and sin and grace and repentance and forgiveness and I couldn’t believe what was happening. God used me with a bad attitude to share the Gospel with a man who desperately needed it in a way that brought attention and glory to God through His Son Jesus and all I had to do was say something about church.

I’ll be honest. I did not see a great revival that day like Peter did and you might not either. But that’s not up to you. Being obedient IS up to you. Being ready, willing and able to say what you are supposed to say is up to you. I know you don’t feel qualified. You shouldn’t. You don’t have to be a good speaker. You don’t even have to be a good person. You can’t do it on your own but when you admit to God that you will say what He wants said and that your neighbor or your friend or your family member will have to jump over your dying body to get to Hell because you love them too much then God will speak through you.

D.L. Moody was a famous preacher back in the late 1800’s and he was a direct, straight-forward kind of a man. Once, when walking down a certain street in Chicago, Mr. Moody stepped up to a man, a perfect stranger to him, and said: "Sir, are you a Christian?" "You mind your own business," was the reply. Mr. Moody replied: "This is my business." The man said, "Oh, then, you must be D.L. Moody."

God can and will use the direct approach. Say whatever God wants you to say. Say it in love and let the Holy Spirit speak through you whatever He wants said and leave the results to Him. Do you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you? Do you want to? All you have to do is believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and that no man gets to the Father but through Him. (John 14:6)

Then repent of your sins and ask God to forgive those sins and He will. When you have done that He will change you and every day you will become a little more like Him. You will have the Holy Spirit inside of you and as Isaiah 30:21 says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." He will guide you and comfort you and use you to make more disciples just like you. If that does not sound like what has happened in your life, I would love to pray with you right now as the music plays.

March 10

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‘The Power of the Holy Spirit” – Acts 2:1-13

Do you ever get to the point in your life when you say, “I just can’t do this”? I heard the story of the guy who was moving from Alaska to California and about the time he got to California, one of his studded snow tires went flat. So, he limped it in to a tire repair shop and the guy got the tire off the car and began to roll it over. He stared at this studded tire and was just shaking his head, with this look of being completely overwhelmed. He finally walked over to the owner and said, “Mister, I don’t know how to tell you this but you have over a hundred nails in your tire!”

Some of you may feel like that right now. You have a hundred different things going wrong and you don’t know how to handle any of them. Now, don’t answer out loud but just think about what you do when those times come. Do you freak out? Get drunk? Get high? Get low? Roll up in the fetal position and cry?

I think all of us have those times in our lives; some more than others. When that happens, do you ever wish you had someone to just come be with you? And don’t you wish that person was really smart and really wise and could give you good advice about what to do next? Don’t you wish that person was completely trustworthy and only wanted the best for you? I think the perfect person would be someone that would just come along beside you and be there with just what you needed, just when you needed it. Don’t you?

What would you give to have that kind of person in your life? What would you give to have that person with you at all times, in every situation, just waiting for you to ask for help? Would you give your life? I ask that because when you give your life to Jesus, you get more than a religion. You get more than a list of rules, more than a bunch of thou-shalt-nots, more than just a way to Heaven when you die. You literally get One who comes beside.

In John 14, Jesus is comforting His disciples because He is about to leave. He is about to be crucified and die and then rise again and ultimately go back to Heaven and sit at the right hand of the Father. Because He is about to leave, He tells them, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever” (John 14:16).

The Greek word translated here “Counselor” means “one who is called alongside” and has the idea of someone who encourages and exhorts. The Holy Spirit actually takes up permanent residence in the hearts of believers (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 12:13) (gotquestions.org) and His job is to be our Helper, Comforter, and Guide.

Now, I know of some people who make use of the Holy Spirit in their lives about like some people use their extended car warranties. You know what I mean? Have you ever tried to get something fixed on your car that is under warranty? You sign up and pay extra for a warranty and you find out when your car it in the shop that the warranty doesn’t cover what’s broken. Got a flat tire? Not covered. Got a cracked windshield. Not covered. Headlight out? Nope. Air filter? Nope.

Some people think the Holy Spirit probably only works like that. He’s probably only interested in the big stuff and it’s probably going to be a hassle to use Him, so why even bother? “I could get help from the Holy Spirit but I’d have to fill out a bunch of forms and it’s probably not worth it.” But, thankfully, that’s not true. He is there with just a word or even a thought, ready to guide, comfort and help.

I want us to see this morning in a passage from Acts chapter 2 that when the Holy Spirit shows up, He changes everything. Now, I have to admit that when I started studying this chapter, I had every intention of preaching on verses 22-41 where Peter stands and preaches and tells the people how the cow eats the cabbage. He gets up and speaks the Gospel in such a direct and powerful way that 3,000 people are cut to the heart and come to have a life-changing relationship with God through His Son Jesus.

But, if you know Peter, when you read that passage you know that something about him is different. This is not the same guy that just recently cut off a guy’s ear. This is not Peter the loudmouth. This is not Pete the dufus that says the wrong thing and does the wrong thing. This guy has changed and he preaches truth with power! So, what changed? I’m telling you. The Holy Spirit changes everything.

So, let’s back up just a little and start with Acts 2 and verse 1 and let’s read through verse 13.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

Just before Jesus left His disciples bodily to go back to Heaven, He told them a couple of things that I guarantee you they didn’t understand. In the last few sentences in the book of Luke, Jesus says, “Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in my name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Let me read that again and this time listen like you are a disciple. “Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in my name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

I just see them squinting at Him, trying to listen and understand what He could possibly have meant. One of them looks at the other one. “Did you get that last part? I don’t know. Something about preaching to all nations and we’re getting new clothes or something. I dunno. He lost me.”

They could not have comprehended what was going to happen because they couldn’t comprehend being able to do that. Who is going to preach to all the nations? It’s sure not us. We can’t speak all those different languages, for one. But if we could, none of us are preachers. And what power are we going to get?

But at least they got the part about staying in the city right because it says they were all together in Jerusalem and when that power came on them, it changed everything. Don’t you know they said, “Oh, now I get it!” They started praising God and people that spoke all different languages understood them. It was a miracle.

In one mighty act, Sovereign God ended one era and started another. He changed everything with the sending of the Holy Spirit. Previously we see the Holy Spirit at work all the way back to creation but He would come for a while and then be gone. With Pentecost, all believers receive the Holy Spirit forever. Some people call that the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I’m not wild about that term because some people take it wrong but let me explain something about it.

The word “baptism” has a literal meaning and a figurative meaning for us. It literally means to be submersed. That’s what we do in the baptistry here. We put you under the water. Figuratively it means to be identified with or associated with. When we get the baptism of the Holy Spirit; when we receive the Holy Spirit at our conversion (and all of us do), we are identified with God the Father and His Spirit and Jesus. We are new creations becoming more and more like Him by His power.

But all through scripture, the disciples are described as being filled with the Holy Spirit which was an extra power or an extra manifestation of God in their lives for the purpose of witnessing and spreading the Gospel. As you go through the book of Acts, you see it over and over.

In Acts 7, Stephen was described as being filled with the Holy Spirit as he preached and was able to ask God to not hold their sin against them as they stoned him. That is not natural. That is supernatural.In Acts 8, Philip was filled with the Spirit and the Spirit told him to go witness to the Ethiopian eunuch. After he laid out the Gospel of Jesus to the guy, the man believed and was baptized and then God snatched Philip away from there and put him in another region of the country. That is not natural. That is supernatural.In chapter 10, Peter (a Jew) is filled with the Spirit and leads a Gentile named Cornelius and his whole household to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. That is not natural. That is supernatural.

In chapter 16, one of my favorite stories is about Paul and Silas who were…anybody want to guess?…filled with the Spirit were arrested and put in jail and beaten with their feet put in stocks and it says in verse 25 that about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and all the other prisoners were listening. How do you do that? I guarantee you that Paul and Silas did not do that on their own. That was not their natural reaction. That was the supernatural filling of the Holy Spirit that allowed them to do that and in the end the jailer and his whole household were saved because of it.

And then…there’s you. If the book of Acts had a chapter written about you, what would it say? Then _________ (fill in your name), filled with the Holy Spirit, got up and drank some coffee, went to work, came home and watched TV, then went to bed. Is that what you want said? Would that be pretty accurate?Would it be accurate to say that you have never made another disciple, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to do what Jesus commanded? That is literally the one, main thing that Jesus instructed us all to be doing while He was gone. It is the Great Commission; the Great Commandment. As you go to work, make disciples. As you go to the store, make disciples. As you go to the gym, the cleaners, the ball game, wherever you go, be intentional about it.

So, we know that we always have the Spirit of God living inside of us but there are times when we are filled with the Spirit. If that is the case, then how do we get filled? What do we have to do to be filled with the Spirit?

Let’s say this cup is you. See what a pretty cup it is? It is washed whiter than snow. It has been sanctified, justified, glorified and everything but petrified. It is a beautiful child of God and its home is in glory. The problem is that it is living here on this nasty old earth right now and just being here has gotten it dirty. Do you ever feel that way?

It seems like everywhere you turn there is somebody or something trying to draw you away from God’s presence. The lure of this world is strong and pretty soon you realize you have sin in your life. In fact, your life is full of sin just like this cup is full of air. How do you get rid of all the sin that is in your life?Well, you might try pouring a little bit of water into the cup. That’s about how much Jesus most of us want in our lives, just a little bit. The problem is, we still have sin and we are not filled with the Spirit and we don’t have supernatural power to witness. In fact, we barely have enough power to get out of bed. So, we try a little more Jesus, a little more God, a little more Spirit. Surely that’s enough, right?

Do you know what God wants for our lives? God wants to fill us up to overflowing. D.L Moody said, "I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God's law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled."

We have to empty ourselves of sin, especially the sin of pride which is the thought of, “Oh, I can do this. I don’t need God’s help. I got this.” I’ve told you this before but do you know how every great revival has ever started? I’m not talking about the planned, week or two week-long revival services with special musicians and ministers showing up. I’m talking about organic, grass-roots, waves of salvations that come over whole states or even countries.

The way those kinds of revivals always start is not with a professional minister. It always starts with one lay person who is sick of his sin and repents and gets filled with the Spirit and starts to pray. That’s all the Holy Spirit needs is one person and He can start to move. When that one person says, “Lord, I want less of me and more of you. I want to say what you want me to say, go where you want me to go and do what you want me to do and if it means I lose friends or make my family mad or get fired from my job, so be it. Lord, I want it to be hard for my friends and my family and my community to go to Hell. Would you please fill me and use me however you see fit?”

Do you think that person will have their prayer answered? Absolutely. God can work with that person. So, here’s the options that you have, as I see it. Assuming that you have accepted Jesus to be your Savior, you could just sit back and enjoy your fire insurance, go to church when it’s convenient and pray for help when you need it really bad. You can keep on struggling with your home life and your work life. Your relationships will be a mess. Your peace will be non-existent and hopefully you’ll die soon. How’s that working out for you so far?

Or you can be filled with the Spirit and while you will still have problems, you can have peace and joy in the middle of those problems and you will have supernatural power to tell other people how God has changed your life.When the Holy Spirit fills up your life, everything about your life will change. It’s always been that way. He changes everything. Will you allow Him to do that in your life right now? Ask God to forgive you of your sins, to fill you and use you like only He can. Do that right now.

If you don’t have a relationship with God through His Son Jesus then today is the day of salvation. Again, ask God to forgive you of your sins, repent or turn away from those sins and accept that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and no man gets to the Father except through Him. He died on the cross to pay the price for your sins that you couldn’t pay and all you have to do is believe and allow Him to come in and change you. Do that right now.