Pentecost

Boss Brethren, special thanks to the very beautiful offratory we had today and the very inspiring ensemble combined with Brethren from both Cleveland and North Canton. Thank you so very much for adding so much to this Holy Day service. And again, I'd like to welcome each and every one of you to the Festival of Pentecost today.

In the past, the church at one time had a short-lived magazine called The Incredible Human Potential. You may remember that if you've been around a long while. And today on The Day of Pentecost, I would like to talk about our incredible untapped spiritual potential in contrast to a human potential.

Because The Day of Pentecost is about God's Spirit, and it's about what God's Spirit can do through us. Let's begin by going to the book of Acts, Acts 1, beginning in verse 1, if you will turn there with me. And we will see that Luke records the final words of Jesus Christ before He ascended from this earth and went to heaven.

And how Jesus spoke about a promise that would be fulfilled, a promise that the Father gave to His children. And indeed, this promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost in 31 A.D. Again, we're in Acts 1, beginning in verse 1. Luke wrote, So Jesus Christ, by many infallible proofs after He was resurrected from the dead, He presented Himself. He wasn't shy. He didn't hold back. He presented who and what He was to His disciples.

Continuing, And again, that promise that Jesus talked about, the very eve of His death, as He walked towards the garden after the Passover, He told them about the comforter that would be given to them. He told them, Verse 5, Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. So being human, their first question was, Lord, when is prophecy going to be fulfilled?

And Jesus' response was, Don't You worry about that. Do Your job. Let the Father worry about that. Do Your job. Continuing, He says, He said, I have a job for you to do. Don't get sidetracked. Don't get distracted. Don't focus on secondary things. Do Your job. And to do Your job, He said, the Father is going to give you something, and what He's going to give you is power.

The power of the Holy Spirit. Verse 9, I would like today to focus on one word that Jesus used in the very last sentence that He spoke before His feet left the ground, and He was ascended to heaven more than 1,980 years ago. The word is part of a promise that He gave to them through the Father. And here's it is. He said, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. The word that I would like to focus on today, on this day of Pentecost, is power.

The Greek word that Luke recorded here, for the word that Christ used, is dunamis. And it means a miraculous power, an inherent power. According to Thayer's Greek English lexicon, dunamis is defined as, quote, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature. So the Holy Spirit, by the virtue of its nature, it is divine. It is the presence and power of Almighty God. It has, due to the virtue of its nature, power.

Continuing, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth. That's what the word translated here, power, means. The very term Holy Spirit denotes a force that is power-driven. The Greek word for Holy Spirit is hagios numa. Hagios meaning set apart, holy, sacred. Numa means air in motion, like a breath, an air that's moving. From this Greek word, we get the modern equivalent in English of pneumatic, meaning driven by air, something that is propelled and pushed by air. So I'd like to ask the question today on this day of Pentecost, how is the power of the Holy Spirit in motion in your life and mine?

How is the power of the Holy Spirit in motion in the Church of God today? Let's look at some examples that are very inspiring examples that we have the potential and the opportunity to emulate if only we understand the power that lies within us, the potential that we have been given because of God's Holy Spirit. Let's turn to Luke 4, beginning in verse 13, if you'll turn there with me. Luke 4, beginning in verse 13. Jesus, at this point in context, had been tempted by Satan and overcome the temptations of Satan, and He is ready to pick up on His ministry. Luke 4, verse 13, Now when the devil had ended every temptation, He departed from Him until an opportune time.

Verse 14, then Jesus returned in the power, dunamis is the Greek word, in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. It says in the translation, verse 15 of New Century Version, He began to teach in their synagogues, and everyone praised Him.

So we see that after His confrontation with Satan, that Christ went to Galilee and He continued His ministry. There was a power about Him because of the Holy Spirit, a power that had a positive influence on everyone He contacted. Because of this power, news spread about Him all throughout the region.

People were talking about the difference that this individual had. He had a positive influence on everyone that He contacted. News spread throughout all the region. Now, you and I may not have the spiritual gift of healing. You and I may not have that spiritual gift that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 12, and that's okay because we are all given different spiritual gifts according to God's will.

So I'm not saying that we should have these capabilities that Jesus Christ Himself had. What I am saying is that notice, because He had the Holy Spirit, that power radiated from Jesus, He influenced others around Him in a positive way by dunamis. Are we influencing people in a powerful way, in a positive way, by the power of the Holy Spirit? Let's go to Luke 6 and verse 12 and see another example. It says, Now it came to pass. Again, this is Luke 6 and verse 12. It came to pass in those days that He went about the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God.

And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself, and from them He chose twelve whom He named apostles. Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew, His brother James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James, the son of Alphaeus, Simon called Dezalot, Judas, the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who also became a traitor. Verse 17, Then He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and even from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of His diseases, or healed of their diseases, verse 18, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits, and they were healed.

Verse 19, And the whole multitude sought to touch Him for power, dunamis, the Greek word, power went out from Him and healed them all. Now again, you and I may not have been given the spiritual gift of healing that Jesus Christ obviously had here, but we've been given one of the gifts mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12, and that's okay, because we've been given different spiritual gifts according to God's will.

But please notice that power radiated from Jesus Christ. He influenced those around Him in a positive way by dunamis. Are we influencing people in a positive way by the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, at home, in the workplace, in our community, in our local congregations? Are we having a dynamic positive influence on others by the dunamis of the Holy Spirit within us? Let's now go to Acts 2, back to Acts 2, beginning in verse 1, and review a scripture that highlights what this day is about.

A beautiful event that occurred in 31 A.D. as God gave His Holy Spirit to His church on the day of Pentecost. Acts 2, beginning in verse 1. Luke again continues, "...when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven." What is sound? If you look in the dictionary, sound is defined as an oscillation of pressure. That's a force. That's a power. It's because the Holy Spirit was present. So suddenly there was a sound from heaven. Verse 2, "...and as a rushing, mighty wind, it filled the whole house where they were sitting, and appeared to them divided tongues as a fire, and once sat on each of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit." They didn't have just a little bit of the Holy Spirit. They didn't have just a thimbleful of the Holy Spirit. They were reaching its full potential in their lives through this event. They were filled with the Holy Spirit.

"...and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Because that's where the power came from. Verse 5, "...and there were dwelling in Jerusalem, Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together and were confused, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language." What was present and demonstrated on the day of Pentecost in 31 A.D. The power, the dunamis of the Spirit. Now, you and I may not have the spiritual gift of speaking in foreign tongues. That is a spiritual gift, and Paul mentions that in 1 Corinthians 12. But as I said a few minutes ago, that's okay, because we've all been given different spiritual gifts according to God's will. But again, I want to notice that power, dunamis, radiated from them because they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They influenced others in a positive way by dunamis. For the people who witnessed this, their lives would never be the same. So I want to ask on this day of Pentecost, are we having a dynamic, positive influence on others by the power of the Holy Spirit?

Let's go to 2 Peter, chapter 1, beginning in verse 1. And we'll see how Peter discusses this divine nature that we have been given by God beginning in the day of Pentecost in 31 A.D.

The divine nature is beautiful because we naturally have something called human nature. And it's fleshly. It's selfish. It's miserly. It is all about me. That's what human nature is. That's what carnality is. But Peter's talking about something else. 2 Peter, chapter 1, beginning in verse 1. Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. And it's always good to remind us that we are here, that our faith and salvation is not based on the fact that we're great or superior or wonderful or our own righteousness.

It is because the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Verse 2. It's there. The potential is there. It may be untapped. It may be dormant. It may be dormant in our lives. It may not have been used. But it's there. It's been given to us. All things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature. That is a spiritual nature through the power of the Holy Spirit, having escaped to the corruption that is in the world through lust. So Peter is saying here that because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we've been given by divine power all we need to be new creatures in Christ living by the Spirit rather than by fleshly desires. And he calls this having the divine nature, again in contrast, the human nature and all of the faults and carnality that human nature itself has. So that's Peter's discussion of this subject using that Greek word. Let's take a look at some of Paul's examples. Romans 15, beginning in verse 13. If you'll turn there with me. In Romans 15, beginning in verse 13. Paul writes this in his congregation in Rome. He says, That's the Greek word dunamis of the Holy Spirit. Have we been changed by the Holy Spirit that's been given to us? Are we filled with joy and peace and trust in God? As Paul told the Roman congregation they could be. Are we abounding in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit or have we allowed the cares of this world? Have we allowed discouragement to enter our lives and to hold back our ability to demonstrate and live by the dunamis of the Holy Spirit? Verse 14, he says, Paul of course was the apostle to the Gentiles. He was writing to a church in the heart of the Roman Empire that was predominantly Gentile converts. He says, Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus and the things that pertain to God. Verse 18, he says here that he's not going to boast. He says, He says, I am not going to boast or gloat over certain things I've been able to do to bring the Gentiles the gospel and change their lives. He mentions in verse 19, So again, you and I may not have the spiritual gift of working of miracles like Paul demonstrates here that Paul also mentions in 1 Corinthians 12. And that's okay because we have been given different spiritual gifts according to God's will. But notice once again that power to change lives, power to influence radiated from Paul.

He influenced others around him in a positive way. Are we influencing people in a positive way by the Holy Spirit? Do people see something different in us in our lives? Do they see something that's positive, something that's purpose driven, something in us that's dynamic?

Hopefully they do, because that potential, that potential to change lives by our example through the power of God's Holy Spirit lies in each and every one of us.

Now you might be saying to yourself, it's a wonderful example of what Jesus Christ did, Mr. Thomas, but I am not nor never will be Jesus Christ. You may be saying to yourself, that's a wonderful example of the Apostle Paul, Mr. Thomas, but I am not and never will be the kind of person that the Apostle Paul was. But I want to ask this question. That's fine. Do you think that you are like one of the humble members of his congregation at Ephesus?

Let's turn to Ephesus 3 and verse 14 and see what he told this congregation. Ephesus 3 and verse 14. He starts out here, beginning in verse 14, telling them something that he prays about on his knees for this congregation, for these simple, humble believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, just like you and I.

He says, Ephesus 3 and verse 14, for this reason, You see, God is a family. We use phrases in our culture, like the human family. Where did the whole concept of family come from? It's of divine origin.

The Father and Son are a family. God's purpose is to expand his family. The whole concept of a family is of divine origin.

So the whole family in heaven and earth is named. That's how we even use that frame in our human cultures.

Verse 16. That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might.

You know what Greek word is used that is translated here, might? You got it.

Dunamis. That you might be strengthened with dunamis through his spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints.

The width, the length, the depth, and the height.

What he's saying here is that it is my prayer that you are able to comprehend the total capacity of God's love for you.

How tall, how wide, how deep is the capacity of God's love for you? Verse 19. To know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all of the fullness of God.

So what is Paul's prayer to the simple, humble people at Ephesus? That you may be filled with the fullness of God. How?

Strengthened with dunamis through his spirit, as he said just a few verses earlier.

Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power, dunamis, that works within us.

You see, brethren, we also have the opportunity to be strengthened with power. It's not of ourselves. It's not something that we can work up. It's not something that we can just instantaneously decide to do ourselves, but it is a potential that is inside of us. We are capable of doing more than we can ask or think by a special power, dunamis, that resides within you and me through the power of God's Holy Spirit. If it is dormant in us, we are capable of doing so much more.

The potential of the Holy Spirit in what it offers reminds me of the story of a man who went to buy a chainsaw.

And he walked into the store and he said, I'd like a chainsaw. I have a lot of trees I need to chop down.

And the salesman said, wonderful! He said, I've got this beautiful chainsaw. Tests have shown that this chainsaw will cut down a 50-foot tree, 12-foot diameter, in 3-foot sections in just 15 minutes. The gentleman said, that's wonderful. I'll buy it. So he takes it home and he comes back a week later.

He says, there's something wrong with this chainsaw. I spent an entire week and I only cut down one tree.

The general manager took the saw and he pulled the cord. The man said, what's that sound?

You see, the potential was there. A tool or a resource is only beneficial. Only beneficial if we use it effectively. Use it as it was intended.

Using the potential of God's Holy Spirit reminds me of something that happened in the year 2001. Martin and Kay Tott of Walford, England won a £3 million lottery fortune in a UK lottery.

£3 million they won. That's 4.6 million US dollars today. It was confirmed by the lottery commission. Yep, they had purchased the winning ticket. The computer showed the time and the place, the store, that they purchased the ticket. They had the potential and capability to change their lives forever.

They had the potential and capability to change the lives of everybody around them that they loved and connected with, to change their lives forever.

However, they lost the lottery ticket.

And in six months, the prize went unclaimed and by rules was forfeited.

For an endless potential, untapped.

Brethren, we need to realize that God's Holy Spirit is nothing like evil demonic spirits. They possess others. Evil spirits dominate others.

They control the hearts and minds of tormented people. But in contrast, God's Spirit helps. It comforts. It prods. It gives us recall. It helps us to recall things. It strengthens us. It encourages us. However, it's up to us to make the concerted effort to tap into the powerful resource that is given as a gift by God.

As I said on the Day of Pentecost last year, a gift unopened and unused is useless. And indeed, the Holy Spirit is a gift.

Second Timothy, Chapter 1, Verse 3.

Do you ever have valleys in your life? Life is composed of peaks and valleys. We've all experienced them.

During the peaks, everything's going great. We may feel close to God. We may feel like we're blessed. We feel a sense of peace and contentment. Life is sweet. Life is good.

But then we also have the valleys of life. We may feel like we're far away from God. Maybe something is bugging us, eating at us. We don't seem like we're being blessed. It doesn't feel like it. We're struggling with issues.

And there came a time in the ministry of Timothy where he was going through a valley of life. And his mentor, Paul, could sense that about Timothy.

We don't know all the details, but it appears that Timothy was just tired of persecution. He was almost ashamed of Paul. He was tired of the journey, much like Mr. Deamer talked about today in his fine sermonette.

And Timothy appears to have been discouraged, and something was happening. And perhaps it is something that was happening that Timothy has happened to us.

And Paul wanted to address it to the young Timothy. Second Timothy, Chapter 1, beginning in Verse 3.

He said, I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing, I remember you in my prayers day and night.

So he prayed a lot for this young man Timothy, because he was concerned about him. He was worried about him.

Verse 4, Greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy. He knew that he was struggling.

Verse 5, he says, When I called a remembrance, the genuine faith that is in you, which first dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, I am persuaded is in you also.

Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God, which is in you, through the laying on of my hands.

He said, When I laid my hands on you, Timothy, you were given the gift of God. It's become dormant in your life. It's there. The potential, all the possibility is there.

But, Timothy, it's a dying ember. You're not on fire like you need to be.

I remind you to stir up the gift of God, which is in you, through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us the spirit of fear.

He said, We are not given the spirit of timidity, the spirit of holding back, the spirit of just introversion and keeping to ourselves.

We haven't been given that spirit, but of power.

Dunamis is the Greek word. And of love and of a sound mind.

Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me as his prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the dunamis of God.

Verse 9, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

So again, we see here that Timothy was struggling with one of the valleys in his life. And we all, if you've lived long enough, you experience a number of valleys in life.

Paul could sense the discouragement that Timothy had, and he wanted to encourage him to shake off his spiritual lethargy and stir up the spirit of God within him.

I want you to also notice that God has given us the spirit of love and of a sound mind. Love is the very first fruit of the spirit mentioned by Paul in Galatians 5. The fruits of the spirit are, number one, is love. And Paul emphasizes that we are not given the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

I'd like to mention a few things that can turn the potential of the Holy Spirit from being a fire to being a dying ember.

To continue in any addiction in life is not a spirit of love. No matter what that addiction is, whether it is a drug, whether it is a substance, whether it is pornography, whatever that addiction is, it is not a spirit of love.

It is the product of an unsound mind. To harbor hate and anger towards others who have hurt you is not a spirit of love. It is the product of an unsound mind.

To hurt our personal relationship with the Father through a lack of prayer daily, which will eventually lead to spiritual suicide, is not a product of the spirit of love. It is the product of an unsound mind.

To neglect our responsibilities as a parent, or a child, or an employee, or a disciple, or a neighbor is not a spirit of love. It is the product of an unsound mind.

So we have to be in conformity with God's way of life. If we want to reach the potential, the capacity, the fullness of the dunamis of God's Spirit that dwells in each and every one of us.

1 Thessalonians 1 and 5 Paul went to this congregation. It's a very interesting story. He founded this congregation, and much like Mr. Miller, Paul did not accept any compensation. He said he labored day and night so that he would not be a burden to any of them.

That was his word, a burden to any of them. So by example, he wanted this congregation to see that he worked with his hands, and then aside from working with his hands, he also was their pastor and he loved them. That's one example that he set for them. But he had to leave more quickly than he desired after he founded the congregation. And he went to Corinth and he was worried about whatever happened to those brethren who became part of the church at Thessalonica. So he sent Timothy there. And Timothy visited them. And Timothy came back and said to him, The congregation is still sound. The brethren are still faithful. And Paul was excited about that, and he wrote this letter, 1 Thessalonians, beginning chapter 1 and verse 5. He said, That's Deuteronomy.

Paul said, That's the kind of example that I set for you.

Verse 6, What a contrast there, humanly speaking. Affliction? What happens usually with human beings with affliction? Sadness? Complaining? Anger? Maybe bitterness? But no, they went through much affliction, but they responded with joy because they felt it was a privilege for the sake of Jesus Christ to be persecuted for His name.

Let's pick it up here now in verse 7.

The Lord has sounded forth not only in Macedonia, in Achaia, but in every place. Your faith towards God has gone out so that we do not need to say anything, for they themselves declare concerning us what matter of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus.

So, Paul says to this humble congregation, notice the power that they had. They let their dynamic example of faithfulness, of joy while going through affliction.

They let that example, they let that message go everywhere and in every place. The joy and change in their lives was an inspiration to others throughout Asia Minor. Paul didn't need to say a word. Their example did the talking.

You know, brethren, I've said for many years that I personally would rather see a sermon, see a sermon than hear a sermon any day.

And they had a profound example to the other congregations around them. Notice that power radiated from this small Gentile congregation. They influenced others around them in a positive way by the dunamis, the power of the Holy Spirit.

Are we influencing people in a positive way by the power of the Holy Spirit? 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 14.

In concluding this book, Paul is mentioning things on his mind rapidly, just short little parcels of words, of sentences, of phrases that's coming to his mind. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 14.

He says, Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly.

Verse 16, he says, Join us always.

Verse 17, Pray without ceasing, meaning have a prayerful attitude throughout the day. Touch base and connect with the Father various times throughout the day.

Verse 18, And everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. You are not entitled.

Be thankful for everything that you have. And then he says, in verse 19, Do not quench.

The Spirit.

The translation God's Word says in verse 19, Do not, or don't put out the Spirit's fire.

Don't put out the Spirit's fire. I'd like to read a few sentences from the Believer's Study Bible as they talk about this verse.

It says, The phrase, Do not quench the Spirit, may be rendered. Stop quenching the Spirit, suggesting the cessation of an action which is in progress. This verse addresses the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in one's private life as well as the assembly of believers. In other words, as well as the Church. Continuing.

I can step back from this quote here.

Get out of the way.

Through our carnality, through our selfishness, through our weaknesses. Get out of the way.

And allow the potential and the capacity of God's Holy Spirit to work in each and every one of us. Because if we are dealing with some of those things that I mentioned earlier, then indeed we are putting out the Spirit's fire. Whether it's an addiction, whether it's a foul stinking attitude, whether it's a sin that's been going on far too long in our lives, whatever it may be, it is putting out the Spirit's fire.

Going back to the quote here, quote, So, brethren, as we ponder this day of Pentecost, New Year 2013, I want to close this sermon. We're coming up upon the last few minutes of it, last five minutes or so. I'd like to close with a question. Are we on fire with the power of God's Holy Spirit?

Or is it a dying ember in our lives?

What if you feel it is a dying ember?

What can we do to stir up the gift of God in us as Paul encouraged the young evangelist Timothy to do? Well, the first thing that we can do is to get back to the basics of our first love of the truth. It all starts with relationships. In the Cleveland congregation, we've begun a marriage series called Ten Great Dates.

The first date that we went on was the rekindle when we first met. You sit down and you're dating, When's the first time I saw you? Where were we? What was I thinking about? What was our first home? What's the whole purpose of that? It's to develop, once again, that relationship. A healthy relationship develops and requires an investment in time together.

That's true whether it's a relationship with a human being or a relationship with our Father. You have to invest the time. And so let's get back to the basics of our first love of the truth. Get back to a regular routine of daily Bible study, of daily prayer, and don't leave out meditation. I'm going to tell you something in my life what I discovered about meditation.

I've always felt that prayer is me talking to God. Bible study is God talking back to me. Meditation is God's Holy Spirit, prompting, prodding, revealing, recalling things to me. In my life, through meditation, I have often seen things only through that process that I did that were wrong or selfish or not good.

Because I took the time to meditate. I took the time to get off the merry-go-round, get out of the rat race, and take some time in a peaceful environment and think about who and what I am, who and what I claim to be. And the Spirit of God has prompted and sometimes encouraged and sometimes corrected me when I needed it because I have taken the time to meditate and think things through. Sometimes we get so busy in our lives and we may do a great job with prayer and Bible study, but meditation is what puts it together and helps our minds to systematically think things through cause and effect. It's a very powerful principle.

Another thing I would encourage you to do is to read 1 Corinthians 12 because Paul dogmatically states that each and every one of us have been given at least one spiritual gift. That's what he says in verses 7 and 8.

Do you know yours? Are you using your spiritual gift to serve the church or is it still a gift that's unopened? I'd encourage you to study the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5 and start incorporating each one, one at a time. Start with love in your life. Make a conscious effort to demonstrate one at a time these principles in your life.

All of the fruits of the Holy Spirit and focus on each one and say, for the next week, for the next two weeks, for the next 30 days, I am going to stress and focus on this fruit, demonstrating it in my life so that it becomes natural to me. So the divine nature becomes natural and replaces the human nature.

I had an interesting thing happen at the general conference of elders. I was giving a workshop on nurturing spiritual gifts. And at one point of the workshop, an elder's wife, a pastor's wife, stood up who remained nameless. And she's probably 70-ish years old. She's been in the church since her 20s. She graduated from Bricketwood College. She's in her 70s.

And we were just in a discussion of spiritual gifts. And she said, you know, and this was a confession in front of a room full of people. She said, I have come to see. She says that I'm not a very kind person. I've gone through my whole life and I've come to understand that I am not kind to people at all.

She said, and I've had to begin focusing at the age of 70-ish, I've had to begin to focus on the fact and accept the fact that I am not a kind person and I need to develop the fruit of the spirit of kindness in my life. And I've been working on that very, very hard.

So she could do that in her 70s and she could notice a lack that she had in her life, a minister's wife, and a change she needed to make in her life. No matter what our age is, so can we. We can make those changes. We can understand through meditation and through drawing close to God things that we need to work on and change in our lives.

Another thing I would encourage someone to do who wanted to stir up this Holy Spirit is make seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness the first priority in life. Now, I know we've heard that in... Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Mr. Thomas. No, I really mean it. Seeking the kingdom of God first, the highest priority, first and foremost in our lives. Let's go to James 4 and verse 4. James 4 and verse 4.

James reminds us that we cannot be a friend of the world and also a friend with God. To have accepted that gift of God, His Holy Spirit, and to continue to keep one foot in the world, His spiritual adultery, it's being unfaithful to God with all that He's given to us considering the fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross and He shed His blood and He became the ultimate Passover Lamb so that we could be new creatures in Christ to keep one foot in the world is spiritual adultery.

It is unfaithfulness to our calling, unfaithfulness to our potential. James chapter 4 and verse 4, He says, Adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?

Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

That's why I gave that list a little earlier about addictions and about wrong attitudes because when we have those attitudes, those are attitudes of the world. Those are not attitudes of a godly person. Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of God makes himself an enemy of God.

Verse 5, Or do you think that the Spirit says in vain, The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously? Translation from the New Century version is this. Do you not think the Scripture says nothing or means nothing that says, The Spirit of God was made to live in us, wants us for Himself alone?

Now, we know the gender translation isn't right there. He wants us for itself alone. But the main point I want to bring out is God doesn't want to share our life. God wants us to make Him His kingdom, His moral law, His values, number one in our life. God has given us a power that intensely desires our loyalty and our love and our faithfulness towards the Father. If we are friends of the world, if we have one foot in the world, if we are leading a double life, a church life, and then some other life, if we are addicted to sin, we quench the Spirit. And it cannot be fully demonstrated in our lives. It cannot reach its potential.

We cannot be all that God wants us to be. So, in conclusion, I challenge you on this day of Pentecost to remember what happened in 31 A.D. and for each and every one of us to stir up the gift of God that is within us. Start tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit to do great things.

More than we are able ourselves, more than we can even think that potential lies within us. Great things have always been done by ordinary people who simply realize they can do extraordinary things. And indeed, we have God's Spirit. We, too, with the dunamis of the Holy Spirit, can do extraordinary things, can influence those around us, can influence our communities by demonstrating the power of God's Holy Spirit in our daily lives. Let us accept that challenge. Let us reach the potential that God has put within each and every one of us through His Holy Spirit. Have a wonderful day of Pentecost.