Full Of Faith And Power
Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
If the early church can be full of faith and power so can the church of today.
We are getting ready for growth. We are expecting to grow again.
We are endeavoring to make preparations for the growth that God is going to give us.
We are going to do our best to have our land purchased and have our plans for our new church building drawn up by the end of this year so that as soon as God gives us the finances and the ability we can start our new sanctuary.
And we are on target. Our church has grown. We’ve had good attendance this summer.
Our Wednesday night services are almost as crowded as our Sunday night services.
We are a blessed church and we want to give God all the glory.
God is putting something together. He has a purpose and a plan that is greater than what we can see.
So we have to prepare and plan. We have to move when God moves.
It’s like the Israelites in the O. T. There was a pillar of cloud that hovered over them by day and a pillar of fire by night.
It was a means of protection. The cloud protected them from the heat of the day and the fire protected them from the dangers of the night.
But there was more to it than protection; there was also guidance and light.
God told them that when that pillar of fire moves, you move with it.
So they could be camped somewhere for a week and the pillar of fire might be hovered over the place of the tabernacle; the place where the presence of God rested.
And all the camp was encamped around it on all four sides so that the tabernacle was in the center of the people of God.
There the pillar of cloud and fire rested but every now and then they would look up and see that the pillar was moving.
And when the pillar of cloud or fire started moving it meant that it is time to move. So the people started moving.
When God moves it’s time to move. We can not be satisfied with what God is doing.
When God moves you have to move.
God has been good to us. He has added to this church and he is not finished.
We can not ignore what God is trying to do.
He desires for our church to move forward.
He is getting us ready for something greater than what we have already experienced.
God is giving us more than a church on a dead end street.
He has great things in store for us.
But we can not become satisfied. We have to keep working. We have to keep being faithful. We have to keep giving. We have to keep praying.
We must rise to the occasion an except our greatest challenge yet.
We’re talking about building a new church. We’ve started a building fund program.
We’ve added to the parking lot because we had too.
We’re attempting to buy land and draw up the blue prints.
We have a worshiping church. God is adding to the church.
And I believe that it won’t be long until we will be sitting down with the banker working out all the minute details.
And God will continue to give us revival.
And we have to have a vision for that. We can not over look the physical aspect of it.
But to be honest the physical part of the whole thing is really minor.
But even more important than this there has to be a spiritual preparation in our hearts.
We have to build a spiritual foundation big enough for God to do what he wants to do.
And that’s why I’ve been preaching the word to you that if you will get a hold of it; will cause you to grow spiritually.
That’s why I preach reality. That’s why I preach practical issues about where we live and how we need to respond to people and the attitude that we need to have because that is so important.
We have talked about the fruits of the spirit. Why? Because we have to get those concepts in our minds.
We have to think in a spiritual way. We can not get a spiritual job done with carnal thinking.
We can not have a spiritual revival with carnal methods.
But in order to have revival and in order for this church to keep growing and in order for us to accomplish everything that we need to accomplish as a church we have to be spiritually minded.
Our minds have to be full of the word of God. Our hearts have to be full of the spirit of God. We need to have the fruit of the spirit growing to maturity. We need to have the gifts of the spirit operating freely.
We need to have a consecrated life that we can be a channel or a vessel for God to work through.
And if we will do that, if we will rise to the occasion I’m telling you that we will see a greater revival than we ever imagined.
You’ll be amazed at what God will do.
I’m talking about what God wants to do with an ordinary group of people who will let Him have his way.
I want to challenge you to pray.
Now is the time to pray. …to have faith. …expand your spiritual vision. …increase your spiritual thinking. … to increase your spiritual vocabulary.
Start talking about souls and spiritual gifts. Start talking about miracles.
Expand your spiritual vocabulary to believe God for what he wants to do.
I am convinced that the only limit God has is the limit of our ability to think, to believe, and see what God wants to do with us.
God is looking for folks who are consecrated and dedicated. He’s not looking for super human. He’s just looking for folks who are dedicated enough to allow Him to do what he wants to do.
Most of all, we must have faith.
How do you open the doors of impossibility? By saying, I believe that God can use our church.
I believe that God can keep adding to the church.
I believe God can use me.
If God can use anybody he can use you.
The disciples were ordinary men. They were men who made mistakes. But God used them because they were willing to be used.
If God could turn this world upside down with 12 broken, rejected men what could he do with 90 men and women who are just as willing, who have the same spirit, the same attitude, and the same faith?
I’m saying, let’s expand our faith. Let’s expand our vision. We need to be full of faith and power.
Look at Stephen.
In Acts 6:1 the Bible says that the number of the disciples was multiplied,
The church was growing. This church is growing.
There was a dispute. Because the early church was all Jews. There were the Greek speaking Jews and there were the Hebrews who maintained their original culture and used Hebrew and Aramaic as their primary language.
And their arose a racial or cultural dispute between these Greek speaking Jews and these Hebrew speaking Jews.
And the Greeks said, we came from these different countries on the day of Pentecost and we all got the Holy Ghost and now we’re waiting for the return of the Lord.
We did our fair share in the church, but you Hebrew speaking Jews think that you’re better than we are.
You think that you’re more pure than we are and we’ve noticed something, when your widows have a need you take care of them but when our widows have a need you ignore them.
So the apostles got together and said we’ve got to do something about this.
My point is: this was a great church but it was not a perfect church.
If this church could have revival so can we.
If God added to this church He will keep adding to ours.
They were divided.
And the apostles got together and said this isn’t right, we shouldn’t allow these things to happen.
It’s true that it’s our responsibility but we can’t afford to spend all of our time trying to resolve petty disputes like this.
Trying to figure out who gets what and whether or not what they get is of equal value.
So let’s find seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom.
(Vrs. 3) that we may appoint over this business, but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and the ministry of the word.
We’ve got to pray for the needs of the people.
We’ve got to pray that God will give us a vision for the future.
If we spend all of our time trying to solve disputes, running here and there, we won’t have time to pray or study so that we can preach the word.
So let’s find seven men with a good reputation, who are full of wisdom and of the Holy Ghost.
And one of those men was Stephen.
Notice in (vrs. 5) it says the same pleased the whole multitude. They chose Stephen who was a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost.
Then it lists six others. They chose seven men to take care of the business of the church.
This proves to us that everybody in the church is important.
Getting involved and finding something to do and doing it. It may seem mundane cleaning the church or washing the dishes or mowing the yard or fixing the electrical, but you still need to be full of the Holy Ghost to do it, you still need to be full of wisdom to do it.
It may seem like a minor thing but a minor thing could cause a major explosion if somebody is not wise.
It could cause a great disturbance in the church if somebody is not letting the Holy Ghost guide them.
So whatever job you’re doing I want you to do it. If you are on the cleaning crew, do it in the Holy Ghost.
If you don’t want to do it in the Holy Ghost you can get a job cleaning somewhere else and do it for money.
But to do it in the kingdom of God, some may look down upon it but it is a very important job so when you do it do it in prayer.
Walk up and down the isles praying for revival.
Walk up and down the isles praying for a move of the Holy Ghost; for the anointing on the Chorale and on the sinner that God would move them.
The church needs some good folks who may not be preaching but who are people of prayer, and of faith, and of wisdom and of the spirit who will do their job,
whether it’s dealing with the nursery, cleaning the carpets, Praise Kraze, making cotton candy, serving hot dogs, fixing the doors, reading the scripture, playing an instrument, receiving the offering or whatever it may be we need to do it in the Holy Ghost.
If we will we’ll have revival.
Notice: there is something special about Stephen.
Now Stephen was not one of the apostles. He was a guy who was chosen to take care of some business that the apostles didn’t have time to take care of.
So Stephen was just one of us.
He was not a pastor, he was not a preacher, he was a member of the church who was full of faith and of the Holy Ghost.
You can be full of faith and of the Holy Ghost if you want to be.
You don’t have to be called to preach. You don’t have to be called to pastor. You don’t have to be called to be an apostle.
You can be somebody who is dependable in the church and take care of things that are needed to be taken care of.
So these seven men were consecrated with prayer and they were given this job to do.
Acts 6:7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
Notice: that when they settled their differences, when they put people to work, not just apostles, but folks in the congregation who rose to assume leadership roles in various areas, the word of God spread.
How did the word of God spread?
The Bible says they went from house to house.
I don’t really know what they did when they got there but they probably taught a Home Bible Study.
The Word of God spread from house to house. Then it says that the church grew. The number of disciples multiplied. And then it said that a great number of the priests were obedient to the faith.
As the church grew, as lay leaders assumed their proper roles, they attracted other leaders.
They attracted people of quality.
Now we will take anybody. (whosoever will)
But in order for the church to keep on growing we have to keep growing not only in our number but also in the number of folks that can assume leadership.
When you read the scripture it would seem like when they started raising up lay leaders in the congregation that that enabled the church to grow and reach other folks that could also become leaders.
So the church grew in every dimension.
That was the result.
Now Stephen was specially used by God. It looked like as he did what he was called on to do that God placed another call upon him.
And he became a preacher of the gospel.
My point: here was an imperfect church. It had problems but they still great revival.
Here was a typical man in the congregation who had leadership qualities, full of faith, full of the Holy Ghost.
He was not an apostle but God still used him.
Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
This was somebody who was not an apostle. This was somebody who was not the pastor of the church.
But somehow he went out and he had faith and when he testified God backed him up and miracles and wonders were done.
Now you may not have the same exact experience as Stephen but you do have the same potential.
God will use anybody who is willing to be used.
You can be full of the Holy Ghost. You can be full of faith.
Notice: vrs. 8; full of faith and power. Why Not?
Is there a restriction? Can you only be full of faith? And not be full of power. Or if you can be filled with faith could you also be filled with power?
If you can be full of the Holy Ghost can you not also be full of power.
Jesus said in Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: …
I want to challenge you thinking.
You don’t have to be a preacher to be full of the Holy Ghost and if you are full of the Holy Ghost you will be full of power.
It’s time for some folks to rise up in this church who are full of faith and of power and let God do miracles signs and wonders.
Somebody might ask the question, well, why am I here then? Does that mean that God can use me in an unusual way?
God can use anybody.
Esther didn’t think that she could do the job but Mortachi said who knows but you are come to the kingdom for such a time as this.
You might say, but I’m not worthy, I’m a new convert, my background is this or that, or whatever.
But the fact is that you are here. God brought you here.
God sees potential in you that you may not see in yourself.
You could be a modern day Stephen. You don’t have to be an apostle. You don’t have to be a renown person.
But you can rise up with faith and power and do something for God.
If we can catch a glimpse of that vision the plan of God is going to unfold.
And I’m not talking about ten years from now, because we don’t have time to waste. Jesus is coming soon.
I’m talking about right now. I’m talking about this year. I’m talking about 2004.
If we finish packing this building out, God will take care of the rest. We won’t have to worry about that, if we’ll fill it up everything else will fall into place.
If we’ll do our job, God will do His.
The real need of this urgent hour is not money; the real need of this hour is revival. ... souls and everything else that needs to happen will happen.
Full of faith and power.
We do fund raisers around here when we can but that is not the only way we are going to build a church.
What we need is somebody like Stephen who is full of faith and power and see what God will do.
We already know what we can do, but let’s see what God can do.
Let’s unleash the power of God in this community.
Let’s have a hunger for greater revival. Let’s have a burden for souls. Let’s pray. Let’s say God use me.
Don’t ask God to use somebody else. Make it a personal prayer. God use me. If you can use anybody Lord you can use me.
Full of faith and power.
We need some folks to rise to the occasion and say I’m going to be used of God.
I’m going to be a soul winner.
I’m going to be a prayer warrior.
I’m going to see God work a miracle through my witness, testimony and prayer. Not because I think I’m something, but just because I believe that God can do it.
And this has already happened if we can just see it.
Two or three could bind together daily praying about something and God would answer.
A miracle can be worked in somebody’s life, not because Pastor prayed, not because some evangelist prayed but because somebody in the church was full of faith and power.
That’s how we’re going to continue to grow.
The church can not grow from the top down, it can only grow from the bottom up.
The pastor can give the vision, but the people have to keep bringing the revival up from the grass roots.
Yes, the apostles were doing there job, but it wasn’t just the apostles working.
It was men who perhaps waited on tables but they must have waited on tables full of the Holy Ghost.
Because God started doing miracles while they were waiting on tables.
And if we could grasp that spirit, great things will keep happening in this church.
We can be full of faith and power.
Close:
God is challenging us today. He is looking for modern day Stephens.
He is looking for somebody to rise up and be full of the Holy Ghost.
