Non-Negotiables: The Holy Spirit
Genesis 11:1-9 (ESV)
11 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
As we approach this story in Genesis, one of the things that sticks out to me, is the power of a united culture
Look at how God speaks about a people who are united:
6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
They had purposed to exalt themselves, but what if that same unity was pointed toward building the kingdom of God?
If we spoke the same language
If we had the same vision
THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE!
When you consider the power of unity, it is no surprise that our culture is under attack
We live in one of the most divisive times in history
Black vs white
Dem vs Rep
Pro vs Anti
Vaccine vs not
What if we had a church where the all races, all political parties, and all socio-economic groups could build the kingdom together!?
THIS IS THE POWER OF UNITY!
Psalm 166
Psalm 133:1–3 (ESV):
1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
The Lord COMMANDS A BLESSING among those unified in His name!
But that isn't how this story ends!
The next morning they come to the jobsite speaking different languages
Because of their differences, they left the whole project and went their separate ways
God, in infinite wisdom and love acted PROACTIVELY rather than REACTIVELY (As in Noah's case) in judgement to the sin that was coming.
At that point God - because of sin - had created boundaries to separate people
It is the ultimate “Go to your room”
So, what in the world does that have to do with the Holy Spirit?
To understand, we have to go to the day that we are celebrating right now: PENTECOST
So: What is Pentecost - 50 days after Passover:
In Jewish culture, Passover was/is an annual one-day harvest festival seven weeks, or 50 days, after Passover This festival included extensive sacrifices. At Pentecost, also known as the Feast of Weeks, Israelite farmers would start their journeys toward Jerusalem to present their firstfruit offerings
So this holiday was a point when people from all over would make a trip back to the temple in Jerusalem.
Acts 2:5 says that there were people from all over the world together in Jerusalem that day.
Don't miss this: -
Babel: All people with common culture and language - that God brought disunity and dispersion as a remedy for sin
Out of that - we have cultures and languages dispersed
HERE we have all of those cultures and languages gathered back together in one place!
This is what the Bible says:
ACTS 2:1-11 (ESV)
2 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
That day, the church was born - and when the Spirit came - the first act of the Spirit was to bring unity to the same people who had never known anything but disunity!
The first act of the Spirit was to break down barriers!
The day of Pentecost was the antithesis of the dispersion of Babel!
Here's what we believe -
We believe that the Spirit has been sent to empower believers to live a life that breaks down the barriers that sin has built and bring unity to the believers!
The Spirit unifies me with God
The Spirit unifies me with people
Don't miss the fact that the Spirit is still falling and still filling!
God, fill us again - We want more!
So, for us -
I want to give you three things as it relates to living a life that is full of the Spirit:
A Spirit-Filled life is AVAILABLE for Born-again, IMPERFECT believers
It is for believers: "You will receive power" & "You will be a witness"
The Spirit was not a reward to a group of people who had proven themselves worthy, He was an empowerment for a group who were feeble.
A Spirit-Filled life is CAPABLE of Breaking down barriers and overcoming sin
Romans 8:26-28 (ESV)
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
A Spirit-Filled life is CONTINUAL - He will fill you fresh and new every single day
Some people think that the Spirit falling on the day of Pentecost was a one-and-done thing
Here's what the Word says:
Acts 2:4 - 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 4:31 - 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
Acts 10:45-46 - 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God.
Acts 13:52 - 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 19:1-6 - 1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.
This phenomenon happened over and over in the new testament church!
So, my response is: If it was that common throughout the NT church, I want it to be that common in our church!
Heres the non-theological, non-religious answer to what we believe about the Holy Spirit at Hub City Church:
We. Want. More.
We want the gifts of the Spirit that we see in 1 Corinthians 12 in full operation!
We want the liberty and peace that He brings!
We want an atmosphere that is saturated with the presence of the Spirit!
We believe that the Holy Spirit wants to work in the lives of believers to do things that are beyond our own power.
