Normal or Supernatural – 10

 Normal or Supernatural – 10

Subject: I Remembered the Word of the Lord

by Rick Welborne

Acts 11:11-18 (NKJV)
¹¹  At that very moment, three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent to me from Caesarea.
¹²  Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man's house.
¹³  And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, 'Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter,
¹⁴  who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.'
¹⁵  And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning.
¹⁶  Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, 'John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'
¹⁷  If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?"
¹⁸  When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life."

--Last week we talked about how salvation came to Cornelius (to Gentiles) and how, as Peter preached God’s Word to them, Holy Spirit fell upon them. Oh, how I would like to see that here.

--This is not my sermon but I guess it is a sermon within a sermon. What makes Cornelius different than us? We say we want Holy Spirit to fall on us and he actually experienced Him falling.

A. Cornelius was a God-fearing man. Where is our fear of the Lord?

B. Cornelius was a devout man. He did not put on a pretense. He was sincere.

C. Cornelius was a generous man to the poor. He sincerely cared for those less fortunate than himself.

D. Cornelius prayed to God always. He was hungry for a deeper relationship with God. He wanted more.

--I truly believe this explains why we do not have the same experience that he did. Think about this, he was not even born again and had all these wonderful traits. Lord, help us!

Matthew 5:6 (NKJV)                                                                                                                                  ⁶  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 

--I love how the Word of God does not try to sugar-coat when people of God are way off base. In Acts 11 the District finds out that Peter has gone to be with Gentiles.

--They were not glad Cornelius and his house had been saved and baptized with Holy Spirit power, they were concerned that Peter had spent time with the uncircumcised and ate with them. 

--Don’t we do the same? I remember David Houck, missionary to the forest, shared how he went in a bar to leave food for a needy family. The owner asked him how his ministry was doing.

--He shared how they needed $50,000 dollars to continue. The owner writes him a check. I heard a couple of people talking who should have known better, “What was he doing in a bar?”

--I’ll tell you what he was doing, he was reaching people for the Kingdom that neither you nor most of the church would have had the courage to touch with the love of God. 

--So many times we cannot be effective in reaching the world because we are too afraid that the “Do Nothing Disciples” may say something about it. Shake it off. Pastor Juan mixes it up with everyone.

--Another sermon within a sermon that we can learn from this story is how Peter handled the opposition from the District leadership. Actually those in authority over him.

A. He did not get angry but he chose to explain the course God took him through.

B. He shared the process God used to deal with his prejudice against the Jews. He struggled with this too.

C. He took six brothers with him when he went to Cornelius house. Accountability and wisdom.

D. He chose to let God do the work and let His Name be glorified.

--Today, as we consider going from normal to supernatural, we will have to consider what Peter recognized:

Acts 11:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶  Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, 'John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'

--One of the passions of your pastor’s heart is that whatever we do, whatever we believe, what ministries we have, that we are biblical in all we do. We must remember the Word of the Lord!

1. To go from normal to supernatural we must remember the Word of the Lord. 

--Peter’s struggle with preaching to Gentiles and seeing them saved and baptized with Holy Spirit power was done away with when he remembered the Word of the Lord. 

--When I first became a Christian, many people began to (with good intentions) try to indoctrinate me with what the Assemblies of God believed. I was saved at First Assembly of God in Bastrop, Louisiana.

--I tried to be as kind as I could be but told them to give me some time to study God’s Word on my own so I believed what was in the Bible because I had read it myself. They still tried.

--My desire to read and study God’s Word was one of the ways I knew I had truly been transformed. I would work the 3-11 shift at the Paper Mill, come home, clean up, eat, and then, study till the sun came up.

2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV)
¹⁵  Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.

--I knew if I was going to come out completely from the pig pen of life before Jesus that I would have to be diligent to study, memorize, and know God’s Word. I wanted to be a whole man.

2 Timothy 3:15-17 (NKJV)
¹⁵  and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
¹⁶  All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
¹⁷  that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

--We almost mock a religion that we all know that tells their people not to study God’s Word. We will teach you, they say. We encourage you to read it and so many simply neglect God’s Word. Why so many babies.

--God wants us to be complete or whole because we will be ready to do whatever God calls us to do. I stayed with the AOG because their beliefs line up with the Word especially Holy Spirit baptism.

--Peter struggled with the mission God had sent him on until he remembered the Word of God. This Word:

Acts 1:4-8 (NKJV)
⁴  And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me;
⁵  for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
⁶  Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
⁷  And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
⁸  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

--When we have God’s Word in our hearts and we find ourselves in situations that are way beyond us and our ability, Holy Spirit will help us remember God’s Word. Bring back to our memory. 

--Years ago I was witnessing to the beast of the Bastrop Paper Mill. I felt I was not getting anywhere until I remembered the Word of the Lord. Just one Scripture.

--Larry broke down and began to cry so loud people in the mill could hear him all over. Mills are loud. Larry asked Jesus into his heart and he was transformed. Years later he was still serving God. One verse did that.

--Studying, memorizing, and remembering His Word will help take you from normal to supernatural.

2. Peter remembered the Promise of the Father, Holy Spirit.

Acts 11:15-18 (NKJV)
¹⁵  And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning.
¹⁶  Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, 'John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'
¹⁷  If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?"
¹⁸  When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life."

--Some of you think I over-emphasize Holy Spirit and I don’t think the church gives Him the honor due to Him. He is God, the Holy Spirit.

--Peter was saying here that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, the door has been opened to the Gentiles, just like it was to the Jews. How did he know that?

--He better know it because he knew the District would give a tough time about uncircumcised Gentiles being welcomed into the Kingdom of God, and why was he eating with them anyway?

--Peter knew the door had been opened to the Gentiles because, “God gave them the same gift (Holy Spirit) as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?" 

--Believing in Holy Spirit and His power was never intended to be something divisive between churches where you have to choose whether you are pro or con Holy Spirit.

--The doctrine of Holy Spirit has always been intended to be the unifying doctrine that lets churches know they are on the same team instead of competing with each other. 

--There was a reason the District (the disciples and believers in Jerusalem) were silent according to v.18. It was because they had come to believe God was exclusive instead of inclusive. Because they were wrong.

--Lest I be misunderstood, let me clarify. As being inclusive, I definitely do not mean anything goes. I spoke with a pastor from Dallas Texas about a man attending our church who was obstinate. Wanted to be a member.

--He shared how seven years previous they made the decision anyone could become a member no matter what. He said, the man you are dealing with came during that time with all his baggage. Not willing to change.

--He said, at first, our church grew by leaps and bounds, but then, the poo hit the fan. He continued, we have been trying to clean up the mess ever since. Now we are being much more cautious. 

--My point is this…Holy Spirit has been so neglected by the church that great men of God are writing books like “Forgotten God” and “The God We Never Knew”. Peter said Holy Spirit connects us not divides us. 

Ephesians 4:1-4 (NKJV)
¹  I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
²  with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
³  endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
⁴  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 

3. The District glorified God because Peter remembered.

--Think about this…you and I are here today because Peter remembered the Word of God and because there was the witness of Holy Spirit to the Jew and to the Gentile. 

--God has had the answer to racism for a long time. The problem is not with Him but with His church. If the churches of America went after a Holy Spirit revival, things would change.

--We need the full gospel. We need the gospel that doesn’t leave out Holy Spirit and His power. The gospel can change the Jew, the Gentile, the black, the white, the brown…all people of all nations.

Romans 1:14-16 (NKJV)
¹⁴  I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.
¹⁵  So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
¹⁶  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 

--This is revival!