Sermon - Things We Need... Dependence - Littleby Baptist Church - March 21, 2021
Last week we talked about how we are to embrace the Things We Need… Perseverance and give our all, in service to Our Lord. The thing is we are not meant to do it all on our own.
“8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 1:8
Jesus was commanding His Disciples to be His witnesses. We are to start in our local communities and then let it spread from there until it reaches the ends of the earth.
Being a witness can feel like riding a bike up a really steep hill against the wind. We can invite people and invite people, and no one wants to join us at church. We can talk about Jesus and sometimes get shunned, but what we need to remember is that He did not tell us to do it on our own strength. He told us that we will receive the power of the Holy Spirit.
It is not by any power we have at our finger tips, it is not by the power of Perseverance, it is not by some catchy phrase, or some new expensive program. It is by the Power of the Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Helper. If we depend on the Spirit of our Lord, He will open doors for us. He will give us the words we are to say. He will empower us to be His witnesses to others.
The Things We Need… Dependence helps us to carry out the command of being a witness to the people of the world and so much more.
“38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” – Acts 2:38
Once we have repented of our sins and decided to follow Jesus as out Lord and Savior, we have the Power of the Holy Spirit in us. When we turn our lives over to Jesus, we not only receive the amazing gift of being forgiven of all our sins, but we are also given the gift of the Holy Spirit living in us.
The Holy Spirit convicts us, strengthens us, equips us, and guides us as we walk the path laid before us.
“13 In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. 14 The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.” – Ephesians 1:13-14
As followers of Jesus, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. Meaning the Holy Spirit is in us and is at work in our lives. When Paul says that the Holy Spirit is the ‘down payment of our inheritance’, he is stating that the Holy Spirit is part of the guarantee, the Hope we have in our eternity with our God. As a follower of Jesus there is no doubt, the Holy Spirit is at work in you whether you realize it or not.
The Things We Need… Dependence is part of our inheritance as a child of God.
What does the Holy Spirit living in us really mean?
“7 Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment:” – John 16:7-8
When Jesus’ time on earth was done, He sent the Holy Spirit to carry on. The Things We Need… Dependence has us relying on the Holy Spirit.
Most of us have been raised to be independent. It is common for us to work to do everything we can on our own before we ask for help. Some feel that being dependent on anyone or anything is a bad thing. When we are talking about the Holy Spirit, we simply need to get past that. If you think about it, what issue is there with being Dependent on the Holy Spirit who has the power to raise Jesus from the dead? How is being Dependent on the one who came into this world to convict us of our sin going to prevent us from growing? What part of being Dependent on the Holy Spirit who opened our eyes to the truth that we need a Savior is going to hurt us?
“13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.” – John 16:13-14
The Things We Need… Dependence means that the Spirit of our Lord will guide us in finding and understanding His truth. Our Dependence on the Holy Spirit will help us to know what God wants us to know. It is amazing to think that if we are Dependent on the Holy Spirit, we will draw closer to our Savior Jesus.
“26 In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” – Romans 8:26-27
Not only will the Things We Need… Dependence helps us to understand the Lord’s truth, but through the Holy Spirit we will be able to cry out to our Lord when we are at our weakest. Even when we do not know what to say, if we are Dependent on God He already knows.
The more I know about how the Holy Spirit works in us, the more I want to be Dependent on Him. The more I want Him to work in me!
Scripture states that the Holy Spirit will do many things within us:
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He will help us as we pray to our God
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He will help us to understand the Truth
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He convicts us of our sins
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He guides our steps
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He teaches us
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He empowers us
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He brings peace
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He connects us to our God
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He intercedes for us with our God
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He helps us to carry out the commands of our
Lord
The Things We Need… Dependence will ultimately bring us
closer to our God!
In Acts 1:8 the direction we were given is clear, receive the power of the Holy Spirit and then be witnesses to our communities and beyond.
These words were spoken to the guys who walked with Jesus every day. They listened to His teachings for a couple of years, they witnessed miracle after miracle, and twice they saw thousands fed with next to nothing. These guys saw Jesus cast out demons, heal lepers, the blind could see, and the lame were able to walk. The disciples had witnessed Jesus’ work firsthand, they knew Him, and they knew His teachings. You would think they would know how to witness to others on their own. But Jesus spoke these words to them, they needed to wait for the Holy Spirit to come to them.
The disciples, the ones we read about in the Gospels, the ones we use as examples, needed to be Dependent on the Holy Spirit.
It is hard to imagine why they needed to wait. Jesus had taken the time to break down many of the parables for them. Their lives had been drastically changed. From the world’s perspective they were ready, but they were not meant to do it on their own and neither are we. Regardless of how much of the Bible we have memorized, no matter how friendly we are, no matter what we think we can do, we Need to be Dependent on the Spirit of the Lord.
The disciples could have started on their own, but it would be safe to say that the impact would have been far less than waiting on the Holy Spirit.
In Acts chapter two the Holy Spirit falls upon the disciples and then Peter preached. We are going to pick up at the end of that sermon.
“38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each 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 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!” 41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.” – Acts 2:38-41
Peter preached and roughly three thousand people repented of their sins and became followers of Jesus. It was the Holy Spirit who empowered Peter. It was the Holy Spirit that gave him the words to say. It was the Holy Spirit who changed people’s hearts and moved them to repent. It was power of the Holy Spirit moving in Peter that brought forth the life change and the results were Awesome.
Peter practiced the Things We Need… Dependence.
One of the most important jobs of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of our sin. It is His job to help us to know that we Need a Savior. We do not have that power, we cannot convict someone of their sin, or change someone’s heart. We can reach out to them, love them, and faithfully share the Word of God with them. The rest is up to God. We need to be Dependent on the Holy Spirit and let Him do His job.
If we learn the Things We Need… Dependence, we will learn to let the Holy Spirit work in us and through us. Our Job is to pray, let the Holy Spirit guide us, and to step out in Faith.
“13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher?” – Romans 10:13-14
As we learn to live the Things We Need… Dependence, we will be our Lord’s witnesses to the lost of the world. We cannot change their hearts, but the Holy Spirit can. Our Lord is counting on us to share the Gospel message with everyone who needs to hear it. He wants us to pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us. He expects us to follow the Holy Spirit as He leads us. He needs us to be His’ witnesses.
As we learn to be Dependent on God, we need to learn to carry forth His message. We need to learn to share what God has done in our lives and what the Awesome gift of Jesus means to us. It is not about a program or a catchy phrase, it is about letting the Holy Spirit guide you to share what is truly in your heart.
The Holy Spirit will open people’s ears and prepare their hearts to hear what is shared. The results are completely in the Lord’s hands. We need to share the Love of Christ and how our Savior has changed our lives.
Embracing the Things We Need… Dependence will free us from trying to do it all on our own, but it will also take us on an amazing journey as God uses us to do His will.
Be Dependent on God!
God Bless,
Robert
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