SUCH AS I HAVE…
by Pastor James May
There are so many times when we feel inadequate to the task that God has set before us. How often do we find ourselves at a loss for words in times of tragedy? How many times do we feel absolutely helpless in the face of overwhelming grief in the loss of a loved one? I can tell you that I am at a loss for words more often than not. In such times I just don’t have anything to give that seems relevant to the situation; at least not from within my own ability to give.
I want to read a very familiar passage of scripture for you this morning and, from that scripture, give you the knowledge that, as a Christian, you always have something relevant to give to those who are hurting. You may not have anything of value that you can give based upon your own ability, education or reasoning, but you have the greatest gift of all. You have the gift of the Love of God.
Acts 3:1 - 9, "Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God:"
This was just an ordinary day in the life of Peter and John. They were living their lives with a new-found faith now. No longer were they hiding in shadows, fearful of the mob that had crucified Jesus. Oh the dangers were real, the threats had not subsided and everyday the persecution of those who called themselves Christians was just as widespread as it had been on a short time before when Jesus had been crucified.
But something was different now. Fear had been replaced by faith! Frustration had been replaced by faith! Doubt of what the future held was replaced by a commitment to follow Jesus and to preach the gospel to the world around them. Peter and John, and all of the other disciples, had embarked upon a course of service that would ultimately end in great suffering for the cause of Christ and an eternal reward in glory once this life had passed.
They had experienced the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Ghost fell in the Upper Room and now they had a fresh anointing. The power of the Holy Ghost was upon them everywhere they went. But that anointing power and indwelling Spirit of Almighty God wasn’t there just to occupy space or to have a place to live in the heart of men. No, the power of the Holy Ghost is there for a reason. It’s there to be given out, extended in faith to anyone who needs the touch of God in their lives.
If you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you should be actively seeking for the Baptism in the Holy Ghost.
I have the same question for you this morning that Paul had for the new converts and disciples at Ephesus in Acts 19:1-7, "And it came to pass, that …Paul … came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied…"
Some of you have been baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues and I hope that you pray every day for a fresh infilling and a fresh anointing. I believe that we need to pray for that new-ness of the power of the Holy Ghost in us to be renewed every day. We can’t live on past experience or the power we had last year or years ago, we need a fresh infilling, anointing and abiding power of the Holy Ghost if we are going to be the disciples that God expects us to be.
God didn’t call us just to come into his house to pray. He called us to minister to a lost and dying world.
Jesus had given the disciples a command before He left to go back to Heaven.
Mark 16:15-20, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen."
Now some of you might feel like it’s just not your forte to minister to those who are hurting or sick, but I want to tell you that, upon the Word of God, there is no reason why every man or woman of God shouldn’t be going about ministering and witnessing to everyone we meet.
Jesus didn’t say for us to go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature only if your personality is outgoing and upbeat. He didn’t say to go and preach or minister to other people only if you feel up to it, or you have had some specialized training, or if you feel a definite call to the ministry, or if the time and circumstances are right and you feel good about it. Jesus just simply said, “Go ye”, and I believe that “Ye” mean everybody, not just a few.
So why don’t we act as though we are a part of that “Ye”? I can tell you why. It’s the same reason that Peter and John were in hiding before the Day of Pentecost. It’s the same reason that all of the disciples and everyone who had believed in Jesus was hiding in fear, doubt and frustration, before that day came.
The reason is that we aren’t “filled with the power of God through baptism in the Holy Ghost”! If you really get filled with God’s power and anointing, you won’t be able to just go about your daily life without some great times of ministry happening to you any more than Peter and John could.
On this day, this ordinary day, Peter and John were doing what they did every day as men of God. They were entering into the temple to attend their daily ritual of prayer. They were going to church out of habit and routine. Since the day they realized just who Jesus was and what He had done for them, their lives were changed.
They had truly repented of their sins (that’s John’s baptism); they had been forgiven for all their sin, their doubt and even the denial of Jesus in Peter’s case; and they were washed clean in the Blood of Jesus, accepting His sacrifice upon the cross as the payment of the debt of sin. They were saved at that moment and they began to follow Jesus as closely as they knew how.
It was Peter, James and John who had followed Jesus so closely that they were the only disciples present to watch Jesus as he went back into Heaven to be seated at the Father’s right hand from the Mount of Transfiguration. They were Christians, doing all that they could to fulfill their calling.
You see, Jesus had given them a second command that must be considered before we obey the commandment to go into the world and preach the gospel.
Acts 1:2-4, "Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me."
Acts 1:8-9, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight."
This commandment to wait for the Baptism in the Holy Ghost was given after the commandment to go into every part of the world.
Those disciples weren’t told not to witness at home in Jerusalem. Their changed lives and their new attitudes were a witness to everyone at home. But before their ministry could have the impact upon those outside of their home that God wanted them to have, they had to be endued with power from on High. They had to have the anointing power of the Holy Ghost upon their lives.
In that short space of time between the Ascension of Jesus back into Heaven and the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the disciples had continued in their faith and done their best to serve the Lord. Their changed hearts and lives were obvious. Their faith was stronger than ever and they were committed to following Jesus now, even at the cost of their lives. But there are no mighty works recorded in this space of time.
It is certain that they continued in prayer. They gathered in the Upper Room in a constant prayer vigil for 50 days. During that 50 days, they continued to love Jesus; continued to serve him to the best of their ability; but they had been commanded to wait for the coming of the Comforter and that special anointing power that Jesus had promised.
Then it came, when the Day of Pentecost was fully come. Somewhere between 6 AM and 9 AM, everything changed for those disciples in the Upper Room!
It was the third hour of the day when Peter, being filled with the Holy Ghost, began to preach the most powerful message that he had ever preached before. No doubt he had preached before, but this time his words carried a power behind them greater than he had ever known. It was as though the power of God was in every word and his words were piercing the mind and heart of every one who heard him. God’s power was doing its work through the words of Peter.
On that day, the last day of the Feast of Passover, known as the Day of Pentecost, had come, the Holy Spirit came into their midst with the power of a rushing might wind, and an anointing fire that ignited their hearts and spirits with the power of Almighty God and they were forever changed.
Meekness turned into power to speak under any condition or circumstance. Doubts gave way to absolute faith in God’s power to do anything. They had a new experience now! Suddenly those disciples were so full of God’s power that they couldn’t keep quiet anymore! They began to shout and praise the Lord and speak in languages and tongues that they had not known before. The power in that room was like a giant power surge of electricity multiplied many times over and they couldn’t help but preach the gospel and tell of the wonders of God to anyone who would hear!
Have you ever felt that power? Have you ever been shocked by an electrical current? My friend that power of electricity let’s you know its there! It has the power to kill! But the indwelling power of the Holy Ghost is greater than that of electricity. It may even give you the same sensation at times. But the power of the Holy Ghost doesn’t kill; it gives ultimate life!
Or maybe the power of the Holy Ghost does kill – it kills lethargy! It kills non-commitment! It kills not caring! It kills laziness! It kills apathy! It kills false religion! It kills doubt! It kills fear! It kills everything that would keep us from being anything other than victorious in Christ!
Oh but the life it gives is beyond description! The power of the Holy Ghost in you will give life a greater meaning than ever before! It will give you a greater purpose than ever before! It will give life a greater passion for God than ever before! It will give you a love for all people that you never knew possible! It will give you a life that is anointing, directed and guided by God like you have never known before!
Now that’s what we need today in God’s people. We need a mighty outpouring of the Holy Ghost! We need to experience that Day of Pentecost in our own hearts. We need that fresh indwelling power and presence of the Holy Ghost.
But you don’t hear much of that anymore in our churches! Is there any doubt why there are fewer people being saved today? Is there any doubt why we feel that we are stuck in a rut? Is there any doubt why we seem to be going through the motions and observing rituals instead of seeing a mighty move of God?
Folks, we are never going to experience a mighty move of God without a fresh infilling of that power of God through the baptism in the Holy Ghost!
Peter and John continued in their daily routine to attend the House of God and to pray. It was the ninth hour of the day, the same time that Peter had preached the message on the Day of Pentecost, and the same time of day that he had entered into the temple so many times.
As they approached the temple they weren’t aware that this time their entrance into the temple was going to be very different from all the times before.
There sat a beggar asking for help. He represents the world out there to you and I. As we came to church this morning, how many lost people did we meet on the highway, in the store, or wherever we went? How many will we meet after we leave this morning.
I believe that God is going to put someone in your path, and in my path, who are searching for answers, begging for a crumb of bread from the Lord’s table, and seeking for help because they can’t find the answers for themselves in the world.
I believe that your chance, and my chance for ministering to them, is going to come but that chance is only going to last for a moment and then the opportunity will be gone.
What will we do with those opportunities? How will we react to the beggars we meet?
Will we pass by as Peter and John had probably done before? We will simply look the other way? Or will we allow the indwelling power of the Holy Ghost to work through us to touch those in need?
We are no different from Peter and John. We have to say with them, “silver and gold have I none”. I don’t have financial wealth to give away freely. I don’t have physical abilities or any power of the flesh that can help them. But like Peter and John, we should have something far greater to give.
“Such as I have” – What a “Such” that is! It’s the anointing, healing, delivering, yoke-breaking, sin-killing, life-giving and eternal, almighty power of God! That’s what you have to give and its value is far above riches of this world. The power that you have to give and the message that you have to share is what this world needs more than anything.
That beggar received far more than he expected! He received a blessing that money couldn’t buy! He jumped up, walked and jumped and went praising God! He was having an old fashioned “Holy Ghost Fit”! There’s just something about the power of God moving in you that makes you want to shout “Hallelujah” sometimes. It makes you feel like dancing a jig once in a while! It puts a spring in your step and song in your heart and you just have to let it out or you feel like you are going to explode!
We need to see a few more “Holy Ghost Fits”! I want to see people who are so full of the Holy Ghost that they just have to Shout for Joy! I want to see someone dancing before the Lord in the power of the Holy Ghost – not some choreographed, show-off dance, that offends the Body of Christ – but a real Holy Ghost dance when you can’t control where you go or the how your feet are going to move!
We need a fresh outpouring of the Holy Ghost in the church! And not just in Victory Temple, but every Christian church in the world, especially in America. I want to see Pentecostal churches being called “Holy Rollers” again. We’ve become too sophisticated for our own good! We have tried to calm people down to the point that we have grieved the Holy Ghost and that’s why we don’t see people praising God and getting saved as much as we should!
We can’t expect a might revival in our church, our community and in our families until we see a revival of the Holy Ghost in our own lives! When that lame man went into the temple praising God, jumping and leaping and shouting the victory, everybody took notice. When something is happening by the power of the Holy Ghost, everyone will know it. You won’t have to advertise it to draw a crowd. You won’t have to beg people to come. You won’t have to put notices in the newspaper or signs on the billboards. When the power of God is really moving, the whole world will sit up and take notice.
Are you ready for revival? Are you ready for a might move of God? Then get full of the Holy Ghost! Ask for it, seek after it, desire it with all your heart, surrender you will to God’s will and let the Holy Ghost fill you with power! It’s a gift from God to his church to give us the power to perform his will!
I think it’s important to say this though. If you haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and surrendered your life totally and completely to Him, that’s your first move. You must repent of your sin, confess Jesus as the Lord of your life, and be washed in the Blood of the Lamb, and be born again into the family of God before you can be filled with the Holy Ghost!
The promise of the Holy Ghost is given to all who have been born again. Many are afraid of that power. Many will even doubt its existence. Many more will say it was for another time and not for today. I’m here to say that the Baptism in the Holy Ghost is for today! God has not changed! His indwelling power is the same today as it was on the Day of Pentecost and it’s a power that every Christian should earnestly desire and seek after.
Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? Do you want that power of God in your life that Peter and John had? You can have it right now if you will seek after it and ask for it. The Holy Ghost will come and your life will be forever changed!
