Sunday Service - 2026-07-19

Sunday Service - 2026-07-19

Episode description

The Gospel Breaks Boundaries
Acts 8:5-25

Pastor Chris Bonner

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0:14

Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast.

0:18

If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you.

0:24

Thank you for joining us today.

0:35

We're looking at Acts chapter 8 today, continuing in Acts chapter 8,

0:41

and we're going to answer three questions today, hopefully.

0:47

One is, is anyone beyond the reach of the gospel?

0:51

In other words, is there anyone unredeemable?

0:55

I think we already know the answer to that, but we're going to see how much so.

1:01

Number two, can you believe in your brain but not in your heart?

1:08

And finally, what is the baptism of the Holy Spirit?

1:14

Because we're going to hopefully experience that today.

1:16

I believe the Holy Spirit will baptize us afresh today.

1:21

So let's pray, and y'all turn to Acts chapter 8,

1:25

and we're just going to thank the Lord for being here and speaking through inaudible words.

1:35

The Holy Spirit is going to deposit something into our souls and our minds.

1:41

So Father God, we thank you, Lord, that your word is here.

1:45

Your spirit is here.

1:47

And Lord God, we believe that you're going to tell us something new today

1:50

that we need to have to embrace, to hold onto, and to cherish,

1:55

and to apply to our lives, that we leave here more like you.

2:00

So Lord God, we do ask you that you would transform our minds today, Lord,

2:05

and speak to us through your Holy Word.

2:08

And we ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

2:12

So just to recap for a minute, last week we saw how a great persecution hit Jerusalem,

2:18

and as a result, the gospel spread out and started to—a lot of people fled Jerusalem

2:26

to go preach the gospel other places.

2:30

Others remained and stayed behind.

2:32

And so we're going to pick it up from there,

2:34

and we're going to see a very unlikely place

2:38

that the gospel would go to first after Jerusalem.

2:43

So let's pick it up in Acts chapter 8,

2:48

and we're going to look at verse 5 to 25.

2:56

Well, first we're just going to read from verse 5 to 8.

3:02

So, then Philip went down to the city of Samaria

3:06

and preached Christ to them,

3:09

and the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip,

3:14

hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

3:18

For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice,

3:22

came out of many who were possessed,

3:25

and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed,

3:29

and there was a great joy in that city.

3:34

So here, Philip, the first stop he makes is Samaria.

3:39

Which leads us to the first question,

3:41

is anyone unredeemable or beyond the reach of the gospel?

3:47

Now, I have to give you a little bit of a history behind Samaria.

3:50

Some of you already may know it,

3:52

but the Samaritans, their history is that

3:56

when the Assyrians came to exile Israel,

4:00

the northern kingdom, that is, to Assyria,

4:04

they took Israel away, but somewhere left behind,

4:07

probably the undesirables or those who were hiding, whatever,

4:11

but most were taken away to Assyria.

4:13

Some remained, and then what the Assyrians did,

4:16

which was normal back then,

4:18

is they said, let's repopulate the area with other cultures

4:22

so that they won't really get along,

4:24

and that there would be a lot of turmoil in the,

4:27

and they can't band together against us.

4:30

So, they brought in other cultures, other countries,

4:32

that they had also captured

4:34

and brought them into the land of the northern kingdom.

4:39

Now, when these peoples came to the northern kingdom,

4:43

the remaining Israelites started to intermarry

4:47

with these other cultures.

4:49

They started to adopt their Gods

4:51

and practice many of their cultural things, their traditions.

4:56

And before you knew it,

4:57

it was kind of like a contaminated Jewish faith.

5:01

They had their own temple on a different mountain

5:05

other than Jerusalem,

5:06

and they had all kinds of customs that were very different

5:10

than the true Israel that followed Yahweh.

5:15

So now, the exile is over, okay?

5:19

And by then, they were all brought together in Babylon

5:21

and then beyond that.

5:23

And then finally, when they were released by the Persians

5:26

to go back to their homeland,

5:28

when the Israelites returned, they're like,

5:32

who are these people?

5:33

They kind of seem Jewish, but they're a mixed breed.

5:38

And they have all kinds of weird cultures and customs.

5:42

And we don't really get along with them.

5:45

And they realize that when the Samaritans saw

5:48

the Israelites come back, they were saying,

5:50

they kind of seem like us, but they seem different.

5:54

And we want to find out more about them.

5:57

Well, the Israelites wanted nothing to do with them.

6:00

And so there started this contention.

6:01

Now, this is back 500 years before the days of Christ.

6:06

And so there was this lineage of animosity

6:10

between the Samaritans and the Jews.

6:14

And for right cause many times,

6:16

because at one point, when there was a conqueror

6:20

coming against them from the Selesud or Selesud Empire,

6:26

they were coming against the Israelites to conquer them.

6:31

And the Samaritan said, we're not with them.

6:34

We're not Jews.

6:36

In fact, if you want, you could bring your God Zeus

6:39

and put it in our temple.

6:41

So they were really like faint hearted fans of Israel.

6:46

And they were hardly friends.

6:48

So there's a lot of reasons behind this hatred

6:51

towards the Samaritans.

6:52

And they're considered half-breeds.

6:55

They were considered demon worshipers,

6:57

all these other things.

6:59

And so now, the gospel leaves Jerusalem.

7:04

And the first stop is Samaria.

7:08

And it seems weird, doesn't it?

7:10

But Jesus had already started this

7:12

when he was in his ministry.

7:14

In fact, when others would travel from the northern area.

7:19

In fact, we have a map up there.

7:21

When they would travel from Galilee,

7:25

down to Jerusalem, right?

7:29

When they would come through the land of Samaria,

7:32

they'd say, no way, Jose.

7:34

And they would cross over the Jordan River

7:36

and travel on this side,

7:38

specifically to avoid Samaria

7:41

because it was considered dangerous.

7:44

It was considered disgusting, in a sense,

7:47

and filled with demonic presence

7:49

and all the other things.

7:50

And so at one point during Jesus' ministry,

7:55

he said, let's go back to,

7:58

let's go from Jerusalem to Galilee,

8:00

but let's take this route right through Samaria.

8:06

And you can read about this encounter

8:07

Jesus had with the city of Sukar in Samaria

8:12

in John chapter four.

8:14

You know the story.

8:15

Jesus is there.

8:16

He's going through Samaria.

8:18

Probably his disciples are saying,

8:19

why are we here?

8:20

What are we doing in this ugly place?

8:22

And here he meets this woman at a well,

8:25

the woman at the well, the Samaritan.

8:27

He starts speaking to her.

8:28

Before you know it, the whole city is saved.

8:33

And they're worshipping him.

8:36

And the disciples are like, wow.

8:39

So Jesus was already during his ministry

8:42

making inroads to Samaria.

8:44

That's why he even said before he left,

8:46

I want you to go to Samaria

8:48

after I leave with the gospel.

8:51

Because to him, they were not irredeemable.

8:55

To him, they were not beyond the reach of the gospel.

9:00

No one is.

9:01

Everyone is valuable to God.

9:03

There's no reason to have a bias or a prejudice

9:07

or a distrust or a hatred towards any people

9:11

or any person

9:13

because anyone has the potential to be saved.

9:16

All they have to do is say,

9:17

Jesus, I want you to be in my life.

9:21

I want to receive you as my Lord and Savior.

9:24

That's all it takes.

9:26

Anyone can be saved if they call upon the name of the Lord.

9:29

Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

9:33

So here we see this beautiful picture of the Samaritans.

9:37

And it was wonderful.

9:38

Remember the 10 lepers, right?

9:40

He heals 10 lepers.

9:42

Which one came back to him?

9:44

The Samaritan, the one leper who was realized, wow,

9:51

I have to go back and worship that person who just cleansed me.

9:58

In fact, Jesus even told the parable, the good Samaritan.

10:01

Remember when that when, you know,

10:03

the priest wouldn't take care of this vagabond

10:05

who was beat up on the side of the road.

10:07

The Levite wouldn't take care of him.

10:09

Who did?

10:11

The Samaritan.

10:11

So Jesus was already saying these people are your neighbors

10:17

and they will also be brought into the kingdom.

10:20

You know, if he even saved Romans,

10:24

who were their oppressors?

10:28

He saved Saul.

10:29

He could save anybody, right?

10:31

And so the answer to that first question

10:33

is obviously no one is irredeemable.

10:37

Even the Samaritans, even me.

10:40

No one is.

10:41

And so there they are and great miracles are happening.

10:46

And verse nine.

10:48

But there was a certain man called Simon

10:50

who previously practiced sorcery in the city

10:53

and astonished the people of Samaria,

10:56

claiming that he was someone great

10:59

to whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest,

11:03

saying this man is the great power of God.

11:07

And they heeded him because he had astonished them

11:10

with his sorceries for a long time.

11:14

But when they believed Philip,

11:16

as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God

11:19

and the name of Jesus Christ,

11:22

both men and women were baptized.

11:24

Then Simon himself also believed.

11:29

And when he was baptized, he continued with Philip

11:31

and was amazed seeing the miracles and signs

11:35

which were done.

11:37

Verse 14.

11:39

Now, when the apostles who were at Jerusalem

11:42

heard that Samaria had received the word of God,

11:45

they sent Peter and John to them,

11:48

who when they had come down,

11:51

prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.

11:55

Now, did you catch that?

11:57

They believed.

11:59

But verse 16.

12:00

For as yet he had fallen upon none of them.

12:04

And they had only been baptized

12:06

in the name of the Lord Jesus.

12:10

Then they laid hands on them

12:12

and they received the Holy Spirit.

12:15

And when Simon saw that through the laying on

12:18

of the apostles' hands,

12:19

the Holy Spirit was given,

12:21

he offered them money saying,

12:23

give me this power also

12:25

that anyone on whom I lay hands

12:27

may receive the Holy Spirit.

12:30

But then Peter said to him,

12:32

your money perish with you

12:34

because you thought that the gift of God

12:37

could be purchased with money.

12:40

You have neither partner portion

12:43

in this matter,

12:44

for your heart is not right

12:47

in the sight of God.

12:49

Repent, therefore,

12:50

of this your wickedness.

12:53

And pray, God,

12:54

if perhaps the thought of your heart

12:57

may be forgiven you,

12:59

for I see that you are poisoned

13:01

by bitterness and bound by inequity.

13:06

Verse 24, then Simon answered and said,

13:10

pray to the Lord for me

13:12

that none of the things

13:13

which you have spoken

13:14

may come upon me.

13:17

So when they had testified

13:19

and preached the word of the Lord,

13:22

they returned to Jerusalem,

13:24

preaching the gospel

13:25

in many villages of the Samaritans.

13:30

So that's an interesting,

13:32

we have a few quandaries

13:33

we have to figure out here.

13:35

Okay, first of all,

13:37

Simon the sorcerer,

13:38

didn't we just read that he believed?

13:42

That he believed.

13:44

And he was baptized in water.

13:48

So, you know,

13:49

most of us would be someone like that

13:51

and say, okay, all right,

13:53

he's coming along,

13:54

he's one of us.

13:56

And yet what did he want to do?

13:58

He wanted to purchase that capability

14:01

to lay hands

14:03

and give the Holy Spirit.

14:04

Why do you think

14:05

you might have wanted to do that?

14:08

Ego, what else?

14:11

Little jealousy.

14:12

Look at these guys, man.

14:14

Everyone's following them now.

14:16

I used to be the guy.

14:18

They used to worship me.

14:20

I was the power of God.

14:21

Now suddenly they are.

14:24

I don't like this.

14:26

What's in this for me?

14:28

You see this envy

14:30

and the desire

14:32

for to glorify himself in this.

14:36

But he was a believer.

14:38

How could Peter say

14:42

that I could see

14:44

that your heart is not right

14:46

in the sight of God?

14:49

How can that be?

14:50

Well, the second question we ask,

14:52

can you believe in the brain

14:53

but not in your heart?

14:55

I think you can.

14:57

You know that?

14:58

I really do.

14:58

I think you can logically

15:00

come to the conclusion

15:02

well, you know,

15:03

Jesus was a perfect man.

15:05

He lived a perfect life

15:07

and there needed to be a sacrifice.

15:10

And so he was the sacrifice for me

15:13

and he died on the cross,

15:14

paid for my sins

15:15

and now he's in heaven

15:18

and he's going to come back someday.

15:19

Okay, I'm good with that.

15:22

It's okay here,

15:23

but is it okay here?

15:25

Like has anything happened here?

15:27

Because, you know,

15:28

we can understand things logically

15:30

but until it leaks down

15:32

into the brain,

15:33

into the heart,

15:34

it's not really here.

15:36

Unless we have a transformed heart,

15:38

nothing happens with these thoughts.

15:41

You know, in fact,

15:41

James said faith without works is right.

15:45

If we're not acting on the things

15:46

that we supposedly believe,

15:48

then it's just dormant.

15:50

It's idle.

15:51

There's nothing happening.

15:53

And so we see that Simon believed up here

15:56

but his heart was still rotten.

15:59

I have a little diagram,

16:00

a little graphic

16:01

that I found along the way.

16:04

I don't know if you can connect with it,

16:06

but I kind of did.

16:07

But anyway,

16:08

but like here,

16:09

you know, we believe in the mind.

16:12

Okay.

16:13

But then when it comes down to the heart,

16:17

when we finally say,

16:19

yes, Lord, like,

16:21

I want this for my life.

16:24

I need this for my life.

16:27

I am.

16:28

I'm going to own this.

16:29

Yes, Lord.

16:30

I want to receive you fully.

16:32

I want to die to who I used to be

16:34

and come alive and resurrect

16:36

in who you are.

16:38

And it trickles down into my heart.

16:40

Suddenly now,

16:41

it's a transformed heart and mind.

16:45

Amen.

16:46

You know, why do you think in Romans 10, 9, 10,

16:48

it says,

16:48

you know,

16:49

if you confess with your mouth

16:51

that Jesus is Lord

16:53

and believe in your heart

16:56

that God raised him from the dead,

16:57

you will be saved

16:58

for with the heart,

17:00

one believes on the righteousness,

17:02

but with the mouth,

17:04

which is connected really

17:05

to your thoughts,

17:06

with the mouth,

17:07

one confesses unto salvation.

17:09

It has to be in the brain

17:11

and in the heart.

17:13

In fact, in the Hebrewic Bible,

17:18

when they say mind,

17:19

we think of mind as the brain.

17:21

Don't we?

17:22

What's in your mind?

17:23

You know, we think of up here.

17:25

But to the Jews

17:27

and to the Hebrew language,

17:29

the mind was even more

17:30

in the heart than the brain.

17:33

Do you realize that?

17:33

It's more of like,

17:34

you know,

17:35

it's the heart and the mind,

17:37

but love the Lord

17:38

with all your heart,

17:39

soul, mind and strength.

17:40

The mind is really the heart as well, right?

17:44

And so it's interesting.

17:46

They're finding out more and more facts

17:48

about how the heart does

17:50

a ton of communication to the brain.

17:54

Did you know that?

17:55

This Vegas nerve system

17:57

that it actually transmits

18:00

communication and orders to the brain.

18:03

We always think the brain

18:04

controls everything,

18:05

but the heart does a lot more

18:07

than we think.

18:08

And that's biologically.

18:09

But how much more spiritually?

18:12

You know, did you ever hear

18:12

someone say,

18:13

Oh, my heart's just not in it.

18:15

That's what I see about

18:16

all the projects around my house.

18:18

My heart's not in it.

18:20

Jill says,

18:21

Can you not?

18:22

My heart's not there.

18:22

Yeah, my heart's not anywhere

18:25

to do any work around the house

18:27

lately anyway.

18:28

But really, if it's not in your heart,

18:30

it ain't happening, right?

18:32

You have to love what you're doing.

18:35

And so this was the problem with Simon

18:36

and it's really a problem

18:38

with all of us.

18:40

If it's not in the heart,

18:41

when you think about it biologically,

18:43

what is it like a distance

18:44

between nine inches to 14 inches

18:47

with Josiah Kennedy.

18:48

It's like 14 inches

18:49

between the brain and the heart.

18:51

Me, it's probably nine.

18:53

Okay, I'm just saying.

18:54

But whatever distance,

18:57

it could be eternity.

18:59

If it's not here, right?

19:01

It has to be in your heart.

19:03

And so that was the problem.

19:05

Now, so we kind of solve that problem

19:08

in a sense

19:08

because there is a lot of,

19:10

you know, people

19:10

who believe logically.

19:12

But really, are they really believers?

19:15

Because it hasn't transmitted

19:17

into the heart.

19:19

But I saw another issue here

19:21

is because, you know,

19:22

they all believe,

19:23

they're all filled with joy

19:24

and so forth.

19:26

Peter and John come down here

19:27

and says, hey,

19:27

they haven't received

19:28

the Holy Spirit yet.

19:30

That kind of bugs me.

19:32

Like, is there something there

19:33

that you kind of say,

19:34

that doesn't really make sense?

19:35

Like, because I always thought

19:37

when you become a believer,

19:39

you receive the Holy Spirit.

19:42

Don't you like these things

19:43

that seem contradictory?

19:45

Because they're like puzzles.

19:47

I think God just wants us

19:48

to solve the riddle in a sense, you know.

19:52

But we're told that

19:53

when you believe

19:54

you receive the Holy Spirit.

19:56

In fact, we have Ephesians chapter 1

19:58

verse 13-14.

20:00

In him you also trusted

20:02

after you heard the word of truth,

20:05

the gospel of your salvation

20:06

in whom also having believed

20:10

you were sealed

20:12

with the Holy Spirit of promise.

20:15

Okay, so I'm not here

20:16

to like have anyone question

20:18

their faith, okay?

20:19

Unless you are and then, you know,

20:21

come on up and we'll talk about it

20:22

and pray about it.

20:24

But we're supposed to be

20:25

receiving the Holy Spirit

20:27

when we believe.

20:28

I have another one.

20:29

Galatians 3

20:29

verses 2 and 14.

20:33

This, I want, this only,

20:37

I want to learn from you.

20:39

Did you receive the Spirit

20:40

by the works of the law

20:42

or by the hearing of faith?

20:45

The purpose was

20:46

that the blessing of Abraham

20:48

would come to the Gentiles

20:49

by Christ Jesus

20:51

so that we could receive

20:53

the promised Spirit

20:55

through faith.

20:57

You see that?

20:58

We believe we receive

21:00

the Holy Spirit.

21:02

And Romans 8-9 says,

21:04

if you don't have the Holy Spirit,

21:07

you're not even,

21:08

you don't even belong to the Lord.

21:10

So, so when we become believers,

21:13

we're supposed to receive

21:14

the Holy Spirit.

21:16

So, why didn't he,

21:18

they experience the Holy Spirit?

21:21

Why did the Holy Spirit

21:22

not come upon any of them yet?

21:25

Are you questioning that?

21:27

It doesn't make sense fully, right?

21:29

Well, I believe it's solved

21:31

because, you know, there are,

21:33

there are,

21:34

there are three prepositional positions

21:38

of the Holy Spirit

21:40

towards mankind.

21:42

And we see this

21:43

throughout Scripture.

21:45

The Holy Spirit

21:48

comes alongside,

21:50

he's with us, okay?

21:51

In fact, Emmanuel, what is, you know,

21:53

his name will be Emmanuel,

21:54

God with us, right?

21:57

The Holy Spirit is with everyone,

21:59

meaning the Greek word is para,

22:02

as in like parachute,

22:04

paralegal, paramedic, right?

22:05

It means with.

22:06

So, the Holy Spirit's with mankind.

22:09

He's always trying to draw people

22:10

to the Lord, right?

22:12

So, he's everywhere.

22:13

The Holy Spirit is with all mankind.

22:15

It's with.

22:16

It's just, he's here.

22:17

He's here right now.

22:19

The Holy Spirit is here in our midst.

22:23

And that's, that's the,

22:25

that's his position

22:27

in being with mankind.

22:29

But then there's the in, okay?

22:31

And it's actually end in Greek.

22:33

And it means he comes into us.

22:35

That's when we become believers.

22:38

A believer doesn't have that

22:40

in position of the Holy Spirit.

22:42

He's not in them yet.

22:46

And then there's an upon.

22:48

That is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

22:51

I believe that's what is being spoken about here.

22:53

He had not fallen upon any of them.

22:56

That word is epi, meaning comes upon them.

22:59

That means baptizing them.

23:01

That means empowering them, right?

23:04

And so, we see three positions

23:06

of the Holy Spirit.

23:08

Jesus spoke about these

23:09

in John 14, verse 16 and 17.

23:14

This was the last evening with his disciples.

23:17

And he said,

23:17

and I will pray the father

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and he will give you another helper,

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meaning the Holy Spirit,

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that he may abide with you forever.

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The spirit of truth

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whom the world cannot receive

23:31

because it neither sees him nor knows him.

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But you know him for he dwells with you.

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That's the power.

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And he will be in you, okay?

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We so far have the with and the in.

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Two thirds.

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If you've received the Lord Jesus Christ

23:49

as your Lord and Savior,

23:51

you already had the with

23:52

and he's still with

23:53

but he's also in.

23:56

But then what's this

23:59

other preposition of the Holy Spirit

24:01

being upon?

24:03

Well, Jesus also talked about this.

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He said in Acts chapter 1, verse 8,

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you will wait and the Holy Spirit

24:09

will come upon you at B.

24:12

And you shall be witnesses to me

24:14

in Jerusalem and all Judea

24:17

and where?

24:18

Sumeria.

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Sumeria and to the end of the earth.

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And what happened at Pentecost?

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The Holy Spirit came upon them, right?

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Well, some might say,

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well, that was the same thing.

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They received the Lord,

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the Holy Spirit in them

24:33

and then also upon them.

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No, there was another empowerment here.

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And the reason I can say that for sure

24:41

is do you remember a short time after that,

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we already read it in the past,

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Acts chapter 4,

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when this is after Peter was arrested

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and they're all praying in the upper room

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and said, Lord,

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you know, all these strikes against us

24:53

empower us to be bold

24:55

and to preach the gospel

24:58

and prove your gospel

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by garnishing it with the worse,

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the signs and wonders and miracles.

25:08

And as they were praying,

25:09

the place was shaken

25:10

and what the Holy Spirit came upon them.

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And they went out and preached

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with even more boldness.

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Were they already saved?

25:19

Did they already have the Holy Spirit with them?

25:22

Did they have the Holy Spirit in them?

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But there was a new fresh empowerment upon them.

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Isn't that awesome?

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And so I have a little prop here.

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I haven't done a prop in a while.

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And with one arm,

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it could be a little challenging,

25:38

but why not?

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So this is you.

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Okay, a little sponge, all right?

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And we do actually sponge

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in everything around us, don't we?

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There's a lot of spirits in the world.

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And before we came to Christ,

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we have sponged up

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a lot of spirits in us, right?

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There's a lot of spirits in here, right?

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And so the Holy Spirit comes along.

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Okay.

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And He's dwelling real close

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to a lot of people.

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But He's not in them yet.

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He's just with them, okay?

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He's drawing them in.

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Come on, you got to receive them.

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Come on in.

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The water's warm.

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Like we say, we're always baptized in here, you know?

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And we don't lie.

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It is warm.

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But anyway, He's saying, come on, you know,

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come to the Father.

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They're being drawn in, right?

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But until they say, yes, Lord,

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they don't have them in.

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And so finally, they say, yes, Lord.

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Save me, Lord.

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And what happens?

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Well, there's not even a drop there.

26:52

There we go.

26:53

I don't want to...

26:54

There.

26:56

Okay.

26:58

Is there a Holy Spirit in here?

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Yes.

27:02

Okay.

27:03

They're saved.

27:07

But...

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Is there anything coming out?

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It's almost bone dry, isn't it?

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It's just a little droplet of the Holy Spirit.

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Don't we want more than just that, right?

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And then we say, Lord, I want to be baptized.

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I want Your Holy Spirit to come upon me.

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I just want You to fill me,

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overflow like living wooders, Lord God.

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I want to be saturated with Your Holy Spirit.

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Isn't that what you want?

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And you know what comes out of us?

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Like Jesus said, like living wooders.

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It just pours out.

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And guess what?

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Lord, I want some more.

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I want some more, Lord.

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Give me some more.

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Isn't that what we want?

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We want to be baptized again and again

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so that it just keeps pouring out of us into others

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and being refilled up again.

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There's a never-ending flow of the Holy Spirit.

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That's the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

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I believe that's what He's talking about here,

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is being the Holy Spirit had not fallen upon any of them yet.

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And yet also what bugs me is

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why did He have to lay hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit?

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Now, that wasn't one of our questions, okay?

28:31

We're not necessarily going to solve that

28:33

because you see the Lord move in a lot of different ways, okay?

28:38

He really does.

28:38

He doesn't like to do the same thing the same way again and again

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because all of a sudden, you know what mankind does?

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Oh, let's save that bronze serpent and worship it.

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That's going to be our Messiah.

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Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

28:53

Everything becomes a religion.

28:55

Everything becomes a symbol.

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Everything starts to have its own divine power

29:01

instead of the power of God, right?

29:04

So He doesn't like to do the same thing

29:05

over and over and over and over again.

29:07

But sometimes do we need to have an anointing

29:11

and have someone lay hands on us

29:14

to receive the Holy Spirit though?

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Sometimes, but we don't.

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In fact, I can prove it to you

29:20

when Peter went to the house of Cornelius.

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You remember that?

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We're going to come to it in Acts chapter 10.

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They're all unbelievers.

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They were Romans and he goes to them and he says,

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you know what?

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I can't even believe I'm here, okay?

29:38

Because you guys are unclean, okay?

29:41

And I'm in your house

29:43

and they probably had a meal together, right?

29:46

And so he comes in and he's like saying,

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the Lord told me this is okay.

29:52

He never would have been in there.

29:53

But guess what?

29:54

Nobody is unredeemable, right?

29:57

So here he is in the Roman household

29:59

and he's talking, he's talking

30:01

and he's trying to convince them.

30:03

And then suddenly, as he's still speaking,

30:05

had nothing to do with him anymore.

30:07

Holy Spirit just fell upon me.

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He didn't have to lay hands.

30:13

He didn't have to lay hands on them.

30:15

But then we see other places

30:16

where Paul, you know, Ananias came to him,

30:19

laid hands on him.

30:20

He received his sight.

30:23

He received the Holy Spirit.

30:25

We see when Paul was in Ephesus

30:28

and he was preaching to those 12 men.

30:32

And as he was speaking to them,

30:33

he had said, were you guys ever baptized?

30:35

We, I was baptized in the baptism of John the Baptist.

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He goes, oh, well, that's for repentance.

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But you have not received the baptism

30:43

of remission of sins.

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He laid hands on them

30:47

and they were anointed with the Holy Spirit.

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So we see that the Lord wants to anoint all of us

30:54

with the Holy Spirit.

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He wants to baptize us with the Holy Spirit, doesn't he?

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If the worship team could come up,

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I know it's a little bit early,

31:03

so sorry if I'm taking some of you by surprise,

31:07

but as you're making your way up here,

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you know, as we're thinking about this,

31:16

I was thinking about like a sailboat, okay?

31:19

You know, and I'm not a sailor.

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I've never sailed a boat.

31:22

So I don't, why am I talking about it?

31:24

I'm not sure yet.

31:24

But anyway, I saw, this is what I've heard, okay?

31:28

Any people ever sail a sailboat?

31:30

You lucky people, you know?

31:32

Okay, not me.

31:33

Roger, you look like a sailor, actually.

31:36

I could see him with a sailor's cap on.

31:38

But anyway, so, but, you know, a sailboat, you know,

31:42

you can hoist the sail.

31:45

A little bit, and you'll catch a little bit of wind, right?

31:49

Go a little bit of places, right?

31:52

Or you can just pull it up a little bit higher,

31:54

halfway up, you'll go a little faster.

31:57

What if you hoisted the thing to the top

31:59

and caught all the wind?

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Well, you know, the Holy Spirit is spoken of as a wind,

32:05

a mighty rushing wind.

32:07

The Holy Spirit's wind.

32:08

Don't you want to catch all of the wind?

32:12

In fact, what I'm about to see sometimes on the beach,

32:15

and I look at, and you ever see a kite border?

32:21

Man, I wish, I don't think I have the guts for that,

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but maybe someday, I don't know.

32:25

When I have a death wish, I'll just see how I'm going.

32:27

That's it.

32:28

Bye, Jill.

32:29

I put everything in order for you.

32:31

But, I mean, they have these kites,

32:34

and they're on a little wakeboard, or a hydrofoil.

32:38

No, not a hydrofoil, a wakeboard.

32:40

And they're holding on to the sink,

32:42

and it catches the wind, and they jump off a wave.

32:45

And it's like 30 feet in the air,

32:48

and it's for like 100 yards in the air.

32:51

I'm like, how do you have the guts

32:53

to even practice something like that?

32:56

And they're in the ocean,

32:58

about three quarters of a mile out in the ocean.

33:00

Like, what if a whale comes by, and you land on them,

33:03

and then the shark comes along right after it,

33:05

and says, hmm, what's this?

33:06

Here's a nice snack, right?

33:08

But like, I want to catch all the wind, man.

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I don't want to leave any wind behind.

33:13

I want to just say, Lord, if you want to take me,

33:17

take me where you want to go.

33:19

Amen.

33:21

When Paul was writing to Timothy,

33:25

and he said, do you remember the Holy Spirit?

33:28

He said, do not neglect the gift that is in you,

33:32

which was given to you by prophecy,

33:35

with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.

33:39

So they laid hands on them with the Holy,

33:41

and prayed that the Holy Spirit would gift him in a certain way.

33:47

And yet, Timothy probably always struggled with boldness,

33:51

with confidence, with courage, yet he was still chosen.

33:56

And in Paul's second letter, his last letter ever written,

34:01

and he had invested so much in Timothy,

34:04

and he was probably thinking, man, if Timothy lets this dwindle,

34:10

this flame that was started in him, the Holy Spirit,

34:13

if he lets it, I'm not going to be here anymore.

34:15

My time is very limited at this point.

34:18

And he was right.

34:19

He was executed probably within a year after this letter.

34:23

And he was writing to them, and he said,

34:25

listen, fan into flame that gift of God,

34:29

which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

34:33

You know, we're told here, obviously,

34:35

that we have a responsibility to not only be baptized,

34:39

but in the Holy Spirit, but be re-baptized,

34:42

and rejuvenated, and just, and refilled with the Holy Spirit,

34:47

with that rushing, living waters, the mighty rushing wind,

34:52

right, the Holy flame of God.

34:54

It's up to us to say, Lord, I want more, and more, and more.

35:00

Jesus said, ask, seek, and knock.

35:04

If you being evil fathers give good gifts to your children,

35:09

how much more your heavenly Father

35:11

will give anything you ask when it comes to the Holy Spirit?

35:17

Ask, seek, knock.

35:19

That's what he wants us to do.

35:20

He wants to say, yes, Lord, I am no mediocre human being.

35:24

I am the temple of the Holy Spirit.

35:27

I am a new creation.

35:29

I am anointed for great things.

35:31

I am a royal priest or priestess.

35:33

I am a holy nation.

35:35

I am anointed for mighty things on earth,

35:38

and as long as I am walking the face of the earth,

35:40

I am going to make it known that I belong to Jesus Christ,

35:44

and he belongs to me.

35:46

We are one, and he lives in me.

35:48

Amen.

35:50

So I think it's time to, let's get anointed in the Holy Spirit.

35:53

You know, I was thinking, Lord, what do you want to do today?

35:56

And I just was tearing up thinking, Lord, like,

35:59

can you just fill us afresh with the Holy Spirit?

36:02

Can you just pour down on us like living waters?

36:08

Can you send your holy flames on us today

36:10

to burn up all the dross, Lord God,

36:13

and to purify us that we will be like liquid gold

36:16

leaving this place, that we will be purified, Lord.

36:20

Fill our sails today, Lord God.

36:23

We are ready for more of you.

36:25

Are you ready for more of the Lord?

36:27

I want to be filled today.

36:28

I'm not satisfied yet.

36:32

I'm content, but I want more.

36:34

If there's more to be had, do you want more?

36:37

He said, ask, seek, knock.

36:40

He doesn't say just be okay.

36:42

He says, ask, seek, and knock.

36:44

Are you ready to ask for more of the power of God in your life?

36:49

He says that he will download gifts of the Holy Spirit into us today.

36:54

You may receive a gift today that suddenly you'll be praying for someone

36:58

and casting out a demon right out of them.

37:00

And you think, oh, he's being ridiculous.

37:02

No, I'm not.

37:03

I'm saying this is for us today.

37:06

You may be laying hands on someone and praying for them,

37:09

and actually they're healed.

37:11

Like, whoa, this is for now.

37:14

This is true.

37:15

We are equipped to do this.

37:18

So we're not going to do it.

37:20

Who's going to do it?

37:22

There's only one human race that can live in the power of God,

37:27

and that's the saints.

37:29

That's us.

37:30

If we're not going to believe who we are in Christ, who else will?

37:34

There's no one else that will believe in us except Jesus Christ.

37:38

And he says, look, I've done this for you.

37:40

I want you to have more.

37:42

Ask, seek, and knock.

37:45

So let's stand up and let's just claim what the Lord wants for us today.

37:52

And it's not for our benefit.

37:54

We don't want to be superheroes.

37:56

We want to be empowered to bless others.

38:00

To change their lives in the name of Jesus.

38:03

As we worship, let's just prepare ourself

38:07

to cry out to the Lord and say, Lord, anoint me today.

38:14

Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church

38:17

as we praise God and discuss His word.

38:21

Don't forget to join us for Worship Lives Sunday mornings

38:24

at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube.

38:26

Be blessed and have a great day!