The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit - Part 2 — Chip Brogden

Headline of this article is rising number of muslims reporting dreams about jesus. See what i'm trying to get across to you is that what we think is so impossible what is so difficult which i've been talking about the harvest and that we've we've got to go out and get the harvest.

We can't wait for the harvest to come in. We do have a responsibility and a stewardship to go out to be faithful good and faithful servants. But i want you to know that god is bigger than us. He's bigger than our abilities he's bigger than our ministries and he can do in two seconds what it has taken the church 2 000 years to accomplish.

God's Sovereignty in Reaching the Nations

And with man it's impossible but with god nothing is impossible and all things are possible to him that believes. And so here we have a a an article rising number of muslims reporting dreams about jesus.

There has been an explosion of testimonies on the web in the past two years about people encountering jesus in dreams and subsequently becoming followers of jesus in muslim countries where you'll be beheaded for leaving the muslim faith or for trying to convert or evangelize other people and get them to leave.

And yet we see god revealing christ to people in a sovereign way without the benefit of preachers without the benefit of the internet without the benefit of evangelists. A saudi man in his dream said he dreamed that he was going to hell and that jesus appeared to him and said son i am the way the truth and the life give your life to me and follow me.

And that's what he did. And he had he had to try to find a christian to explain to him more about this jesus. A thai teenager in thailand says that she saw jesus as she walked in a field in her dream saw a man wearing a white robe that began to shine and she was filled with joy and love when she saw the man and she immediately she immediately knew that it was jesus who would appear to her.

Dreams and Visions of Jesus Among Muslims and Hindus

Article goes on to say it's not just muslims who are having these dreams about jesus. Hindus are also dreaming about jesus and they're becoming followers of jesus. One former terrorist promised god that he would die for him and he says jesus appeared to him and spoke to him and said i'm calling you not to die for me but to live for me.

And although it's impossible to count the exact statistics because as i say it's illegal to become a christian in muslim nations some experts say that at least a quarter of all muslim background believers have experienced some type of supernatural dream or vision about jesus.

Here's someone taking a tour group through jerusalem and through the muslim quarter and they talked to a sheik there and the sheik the their tour guide broke down in tears and says i will tell you a secret i myself have seen jesus and he talked about this dream and this vision that he had had of jesus.

And now he's a follower of jesus. No church to go to no christian literature to read. This is a sovereign revelation of jesus as god pours out his spirit upon all flesh. And he begins to reveal christ to all people because he's not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

And even though you and i fall short of the market even though you and i we we miss it we do the best we can but we're not reaching the loss or reaching the world. And even if we wanted to there's certain places in the world that we just can't get into.

Nevertheless god is able to pour out his spirit upon all flesh so that all men would be saved and would come to the full knowledge of the truth. And you say well that's just individual people having these dreams.

Well it's been going on for over a decade and it's increasing but not only that. Here's an example of jesus appearing to an entire group of people simultaneously. The lord appeared to some muslim school boys in arabia in a classroom during ramadan.

You say well i don't know if i believe that or not. Well it doesn't matter if you believe it or not. God says i will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. He says that you're going to your sons and your daughters will prophesy your young men shall see visions your old men shall dream dreams.

And on my men servants and on my maid servants i will pour out my spirit. In those days he's going to show wonders in heaven signs in the earth beneath all of these things happening before the great and awesome day of the lord and whoever calls upon the lord will be saved.

And so what's happening in these nations. And so we can pray just as paul taught us to pray for all men wherever they may be and all women all in and all boys and girls in every nation of this world that christ would have the preeminence.

The Holy Spirit's Work in Believers and Unbelievers

So we know that the holy spirit is working in believers. We know this but the holy spirit is also working in unbelievers. He's working in all men in all places in all mankind to draw us to christ. But first let's look at seven ways that the holy spirit is empowering us as believers.

Because what i have found with a lot of christians is they become saved. And then they try to live for the lord or do things for the lord and and be a christian in their own strength. They're saved by the spirit.

But then they walk in the flesh. And i want us who are believers who should be walking in the fullness of the holy spirit. I want us to learn how to better cooperate with god's holy spirit so that we can co-labor together with him and be a witness and a light to the nations.

So that when these people in other lands when they have these experiences where god supernaturally reveals himself to them that we are ready and we're able to help and to encourage and to assist them because we understand what it means to walk after the spirit.

Therefore we can teach and help and encourage and strengthen others as well. Seven ways the holy spirit empowers believers. Well first and foremost number one the holy spirit gives us the revelation of christ and god's purpose the revelation of christ.

The Holy Spirit Reveals Christ and God's Purpose

When peter said to jesus you are the christ the son of the living god. Jesus says blessed are you simon son of jonah. Because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you it is the revelation of my father in heaven.

And we understand that the father in heaven is the spirit of god who is revealing christ to all who seek for him and seek for truth wherever they find wherever they are looking says god says if you seek me you will find me if you search for me with all your heart.

And i just believe that people all over the world are hungry and thirsty for truth and that god is going to meet them and reveal himself to them if they are honestly seeking that truth it's the holy spirit who gives us the revelation of christ.

In the beginning flesh and blood didn't reveal it to you it's been revealed by my father in heaven. Ephesians 1 17 says that paul says i pray that the god of our lord jesus christ the father of glory may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.

And you say well aren't they christians. Don't they have the revelation of christ. Well there's such a depth to the revelation of christ. And just because you're saved and just because you've prayed the sinner's prayer it doesn't mean that you have the fullness of the revelation the fullness of the depths of jesus christ.

And that's why paul prays here for the ephesians for people who are already saved already born again he says i pray that god may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of his calling and and and on and on so much there in that ephesians chapter one.

But he's praying things for them that we take for granted that we already know. And paul says there's a depth of christ that we have yet to know. But that's what the holy spirit is here to help us to do to come to the depths of christ.

And then right along with that as we have the revelation of christ we also have the revelation of god's purpose. In ephesians 3 beginning in verse 2 it says. If indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of god which was given to me for you how that by revelation he made known to me the mystery as i have briefly written already.

By which when you read you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of christ which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men as it has now been revealed by whom by the spirit to his holy apostles and prophets that the gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body.

So the holy spirit reveals the fact that there is a purpose there is a will and that god is working all things together for good for those who love god to those who are the called according to his purpose he has a purpose and a plan that he is working out in all people in all places in all things.

The holy spirit gives us revelation into that purpose. And that purpose is centered around christ having the preeminence in all things. Secondly the holy spirit helps us to grow spiritually. You know spiritual growth and maturity is god's desire for all for all disciples of jesus.

The Holy Spirit Guides Spiritual Growth

Obviously john 16 3. Actually it's not 16 3. It's 16 13. I left out a digit. So john 16 13 jesus says when he the he the spirit of truth has come he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority but whatever he hears he will speak and he will tell you things to come.

He will glorify me for he will take of what is mine and declare it to you. So the holy spirit helps us to grow spiritually. Holy spirit gives us revelation as we enter into the narrow gate and then helps us to grow in this revelation of christ as we walk the narrow path.

The Holy Spirit Reproduces Christ's Character

Thirdly the holy spirit reproduces the character of christ in us. You know there's nothing more debilitating and frustrating than to try and act. How you think jesus would act. To try and mimic the behavior of jesus.

Have you ever tried that and found it to be frustrating and impossible. There's a whole book written called in his steps and it's a fictional novel of people in a small town who decided that they would not do anything before they asked what would jesus do.

And then they try to figure out what jesus would do. And then they try to do it. It's entertaining and it's a great story. But in actual life in practical terms it's impossible. You can't ask what would jesus do and then do it.

You don't have the power. You don't have the ability to copy jesus to mimic his behavior to love your enemies to go the extra mile. You don't have the ability in yourself to do or to do what jesus did or to behave as you think jesus would behave.

It's beyond your ability. That's why the holy spirit has been given to reproduce the character of christ within us. Galatians 5 we read about the fruit of the spirit. It's love and joy and peace and long suffering and gentleness and goodness and faithfulness meekness and self-control.

All of these wonderful things that are the result of us walking in the spirit. Living in the spirit. And that simply means living and walking in surrender and acquiescence to the spirit of god. So the holy spirit reproduces the character of christ within believers.

The Holy Spirit Gives Love for the Lost

Number four. And this is important because i've been talking about the harvest quite a bit lately and i've been talking about our responsibility to the loss. And i've made the statement that when someone or something is lost if we value it we go when we look for it till we find it.

And that's what jesus says the good shepherd does. He'll leave the 99 sheep. He'll go out and look for the one until he finds it. See here's here's i just don't believe jesus will give up until he finds his lost sheep.

If there's a lost sheep out there he says that the shepherd leaves the 99. He goes and searches for that one sheep until he finds it. Until he finds it. I mean you will give up. He doesn't give up he doesn't quit.

He'll look for the sheep until he finds it. Because love never fails. And wouldn't you agree that if he doesn't find the lost sheep and doesn't bring it home again that's a failure. If you go to look for someone or something and you don't find it and you return empty-handed.

That's a failure. But love never fails. So i'm saying we have a great hope and a great basis upon which we can go into the world and share the love of god. But in order to do that we have to have god's love for other people.

Well so it's interesting that the first fruit of the spirit that paul mentions in galatians 5 is love. Jesus says the greatest commandment is this love god and love your neighbor as you love yourself.

So then one of the things that the holy spirit has to do in us is he has to give us a heart of love for the lost. Because we naturally love ourselves. We naturally love our family. We naturally love our friends.

We naturally love brothers and sisters who are like-minded. Think like we do believe like we do. We love people who love us. But i believe that having a love for those who are lost for those who are not like us for those for those who are not believers that kind of love is a supernatural love.

And it's the mission the work of the holy spirit to put that kind of love in a person's heart. Romans 5 5 says that hope does not disappoint because the love of god has been poured out in our hearts by the holy spirit who was given to us.

The love of god is poured out in our heart by the holy spirit. How do i love god and love my neighbor by the holy spirit. How do i produce spiritual fruit including love joy and peace by the holy spirit that has been given us.

So it's the holy spirit who gives us a a heart of love. Created me a clean heart david says. And renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your holy spirit from me.

See the holy spirit is there to soften our heart to give us a heart of love a heart of compassion. Jesus looked upon those those multitudes of people. He it says he was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

We can have that same compassion if we allow the holy spirit to give us that heart of love. And as as i've said previously if you don't have that heart of love then everything you do trying to reach the loss preach to them invite them to come to church.

It just comes across as a religious exercise. It makes you feel good that you went out talk to somebody about jesus. It doesn't do them a bit of good because they don't feel the love. They don't see the concern.

They don't see the compassion. But the holy spirit working our working in our hearts can give us this heart of love for the loss. And i think that's critical if you don't have that ask the holy spirit to give you that heart of love for your neighbor your co-workers people in your neighborhood people in your family.

Not the ones that are easy to love but the ones that are difficult to love. We don't need the holy spirit to do things that we do on our own. We need the holy spirit to change us to enable us and to equip us to do what is impossible to do on our own.

You've been listening to crosswind featuring the teaching ministry of jip rogdon. We hope you enjoyed today's broadcast and found it challenging and encouraging. If you'd like to find out more about the school of christ and how to get additional teachings audio recordings books and other christ-centered resources to help you grow spiritually visit us online at www .theschoolofchrist .org.