But Wait There’s More, There is Power in Patience

But Wait There’s More, There is Power in Patience
By: Bobby Sullivan

John 10:10   “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Romans 8:32 (AMP)“He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?”

Luke 24:45, 49“Then He [thoroughly] opened up their minds to understand the Scriptures, … And behold, I will send forth upon you what My Father has promised; but remain  (WAIT) in the city [Jerusalem] until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Acts 1:4-5“… He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit…”

Matthew 3:11“… He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:”
“Baptizo”:– to submerge, to immerse, to pickle, to saturate causing a permanent change

Those who can’t accept the doctrine of the Baptism with The Holy Spirit do not have a theological problem they have a grammatical problem.
Jesus will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.

All 4 Gospels also record the baptism in the holy spirit.
When God repeats Himself 4 times, He wants you to pay attention. 

Matthew 3:11“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” 

I understand being baptized in water, but what’s this baptism of fire?  That sounds very painful to me.  Matthew 3:11 can sound pretty weird for most people. There are 3 kinds of fire. The refiners fire, the fire of His love and the fiery witness.

• Refiners Fire- is a purging that removes the covered up unrepented sin in our lives. It convicts of sin, shame and selfishness. It removes the stains that others leave behind!
• The Fire of His Love- This is a fire that consumes us with passion for Jesus. We are drawn deeper in worship and intimacy. You can tell you have this when you don’t look at your watch in church wondering when its going to be done!

3.Fiery witness:  This one is obvious and sets us apart. We are not ashamed of the Gospel, we are not embarrassed, we are guilty by association, we are on fire for HIM.

Fire  can be our greatest friend and most lethal enemy.

IN the forest world, fire cleans the forest floor of trash, debris, death and decay.  It is extremely healthy for a forest to be ravaged with a fire as the change is vital for a healthy new forest giving birth to new vegetation and trees. Studies have shown that a forest must have a fire every 3-25 years in order for life to grow and new growth to occur. Believe it or not, some trees have fire resistant bark that require heat to open and release seeds for regeneration. Some plants actually have leaves that are covered with flammable resins to encourage seed germination.  

We are a gift within a gift. Example, when we say, “I feel the presence of the Lord” it really means  that I pre-sense Him before He actually shows up.  Then people say, “ I feel the glory of God” You cant really feel His glory before you feel His presence. He was full of Himself! Jesus was so full of the Holy Ghost that people felt his arrival long before He actually showed up! The Fire of the Holy Ghost was so inside him that the heat was felt long before the fire arrived or was even seen. 

The point is that if you are baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire, then something should so significantly change inside of you that people sense your arrival long before you walk through the door. Then when you come in, it is your glory…what is that? The glory is all that you are!!!

Food for thought…what in a forest will feed a fire?  Dry brush, dead wood, death and decay and fresh brush

Some of you may feel like your dry in the spirit. Your walk with the Lord is dead, barren and lifeless. You are a prime candidate for the Holy Ghost to work with. 

My dry foliage is food for the fire to fuel a new forest!! 

MESSAGE BIBLE: Vs 7-13. People poured out of Jerusalem, Judea, and the Jordanian countryside to hear and see him in action. There at the Jordan River those who came to confess their sins were baptized into a changed life. When John realized that a lot of Pharisees and Sadducees were showing up for a baptismal experience because it was becoming the popular thing to do, he exploded: “Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference?

It’s your life that must change, not your skin! And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as father. Being a descendant of Abraham is neither here nor there. Descendants of Abraham are a dime a dozen. What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire.“I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. The real action comes next: The main character in this drama—compared to him I’m a mere stagehand—will ignite the kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He’s going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.”

John says don’t think that a little water will fix your issues!  Having a sprinkle, ash on your forehead, falling on the floor, or flapping your tongue are not indications of a transformed life. How many of you know people who live for God on Sunday but live like hell the rest of the week? John also says it doesn’t matter what your background is either.  You can be rich, religious, and self-righteous. What counts is a blossoming life!  Are you ALIVE IN CHRIST?

Mark 1:8“I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Luke 3:16“John answered, saying to all, ‘I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’”

John 1:33   “I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’”

Acts 18:24-26 “… Apollos, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, … instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John … When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.”

 +++++++++++++++++    Picture book on D.L. Moody!!!

Source:  The Life of D. L. Moody, written by his son, pages 146, 147, and 149.
D. L. Moody
D.L. Moody was a successful minister but by his own admission later, he lacked the power in his ministry. One day two women came up to him after a service. They said,
“We have been praying for you.”
“Why don’t you pray for the people?” he asked.
“Because you need the power of the Spirit,” they said.
“I need the power! Why,” said Mr. Moody, in relating the incident years after, “I thought I had power. I had the largest congregations in Chicago, and there were many conversions.”

Moody also said that in a sense, he was satisfied. He was in a comfort zone. But these two praying women rocked the boat. They told him that they were praying for an anointing by the Holy Spirit for D.L. to have a special service to God. He could not get this off his mind and he said, “There came a great hunger in my soul. I did not know what it was, and I began to cry out to God as never before. I felt I did not want to live if I could not have this power for service”.

After the great fire of Chicago, DL was working to raise money to rebuild a tabernacle. He said his heart was not into it because he kept crying out to God to fill him. He withdrew and prayed during a visit to New York to raise money and he cried that God would fill him with His Spirit. DL describes it this way:
“Well, one day, in the city of New York — oh, what a day! — I cannot describe it, I seldom refer to it; it is almost too sacred an experience to name. Paul had an experience of which he never spoke for fourteen years. I can only say that God revealed Himself to me, and I had such an experience of His love that I had to ask Him to stay His hand. I went to preaching again. The sermons were not different; I did not present any new truths, and yet hundreds were converted. I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you should give me all the world — it would be as the small dust of the balance.”

Acts 19:1-6“And finding some disciples he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? …when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.”

Acts 8:18-19 “And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

THIS IS A BIG DEAL!!

Acts 1:8“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;…”Power:– {dunamis} inherent power, explosive TNT, Dynamite
Power to produce 5 things:

1. Miracles
2. Morality
3. Money
4. Multiplication
5. Movement

Acts 13:1-3“…they put their hands on them and sent them away.”
Rich deposits of God upon people to equip for effective ministry.
Impart:– (meta) (didomee) with and to impart, furnish or supply

The Greek word for “impartation” is (metadidomi):— “to give over, i.e. share: give, impart” (Strong’s);“to give a share of” (Young’s);“to share in association with anyone, i.e. to impart, communicate” (Bullinger’s);“to transmit, pass on, confer, transfer.”

Mark 16:17-19“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will … lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”   BELIEVERS ANOINTING:  Our hands are used for impartation.

“Laying on of hands” epíthesis:—(Strong’s) The imposition of hands …conferring of divine blessings, especially bodily health, or the Holy Spirit (at the administration of baptism and the inauguration to their office of the teachers and ministers of the church):

1. The Fact Of Impartation
   A Doctrine
   Hebrews 6:1-2“Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”

A Duty
1 Timothy 4:14
(NKJV) Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
(AMP) Do not neglect the gift which is in you, [that special inward endowment] which was directly imparted to you [by the Holy Spirit] by prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands upon you [at your ordination].

A Desire
Romans 1:11
(NKJV) “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established”
(AMP) “For I am yearning to see you, that I may impart and share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen and establish you;”

2. The Act Of Impartation
   For Blessing
   Mark 10:13-16“And they kept bringing young children to Him (Jesus)that He might touch them; and the disciples were reproving them [for it]. But when Jesus saw [it], He was indignant and pained, and said to them, ‘Allow the children to come to Me – do not forbid or prevent or hinder them – for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive and accept and welcome the kingdom of God as a little child [does], positively shall not enter it at all.’ And He took [the children up one by one] in His arms and (fervently invoked a) blessing, placing His hands upon them” 

For Healing
Acts 9:17“And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus,[a] who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 28:8-9 “And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.”

For Power
Acts 8:17-19 “Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

Acts19:6“And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.”

For Office (Service)
Acts 6:4-7 “…but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.’ And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.”

Acts 13:1-3“Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.”

Acts 2:17
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:”

2 Timothy 4:12-16
12 Let no one [d]despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, [e]in spirit, in faith, in purity. 13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to [f]doctrine. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. 15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. 16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

2 Timothy 1:14 English Standard Version (ESV)
14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

3. The Impact of Impartation:

Who has had the greatest impact on your life and what did they impart to you?

As verbs the difference between impart and impact

is that impart is to give a (l) or (l) while impact is to compress; to compact; to press or pack together.
As a noun impact is  the striking of one body against another; collision.

The measure of impartation you received is determined by how bad you want to give it away. I don’t receive to achieve. I receive to release.

How much of an impact/influence are you having?  Are people leaving changed and challenged?

Paul felt this way about the First Century believers in Rome. Even though he had never met the Roman congregation face-to-face, he was sure that if he could spend time with them, he would rub off on them too. In Romans 1:10, he wrote, “Making request, if by any means now at length, I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.” Then in Romans 1:11, he told them, “For I long to see you, that I may impart unto some spiritual gift….”

 ^{THE PASSION TRANSALTION 10} My desire and constant prayer is that I would be able to come and visit you,^[m]according to the plan and timing of God.^[n11 I yearn to come and be face-to-face with you and get to know you. For I long to impart to you^[o] the gift of the Spirit^[,^pthat will empower you to stand strong in your faith. ¹² Now, this means that when we come together and are side by side, something wonderful will be released. We can expect to be co-encouraged and co-comforted by each other’s faith!

RICK RENNER SAYS < Notice that Paul said, “For I long to see you….” This word “long” tells us how deeply Paul wanted to meet these believers. In Greek, it is the word epipotheo, which has the root potheo, meaning desire. However, it also has the prefix epi attached to it, which gives an extra force to the word, portraying a person who wanted something so much that he intensely longed for it. Very often this word depicts an insatiable appetite or a craving — and in the New Testament it is often translated as the word lust. The fact that Paul used this word to depict his longing to come see the believers in Rome tells us that he was intensely yearning to see them.

In verse 11, Paul provided at least one reason why he wanted to see them. He wrote, “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you….” Paul believed he had something spiritual to impart to his brothers and sisters in Rome. Paul believed that if he could see the Romans, spend time with them, or perhaps lay hands on them, there would be an impartation of something spiritual to them. In the same way that I walk away spiritually richer after being in the presence of the man I told you about earlier, Paul was convinced that if he could spend time with the Roman believers, something powerful would be imparted to them. As a result, they would come away from that encounter feeling richer, fuller, and touched by Jesus.

These words of Paul in Romans 1:11 tell me that he was convinced God would use him as a channel to touch these believers in a way they had never been touched before. Paul was so confident about it, he actually wrote that he longed to see them, specifically stating that he wanted to impart something spiritual to them.

Who has had this kind of profound influence in your life? Has being in anyone’s mere presence made you feel touched by Jesus? Who was that person? Perhaps the more important question is this: Have you ever made anyone else feel that way? How do you affect people when you are with them? In what condition do you leave them when it’s time for you to say farewell?

Are you ready to be ignited? To be immersed, pickled, baptised  by the Holy Spirit and Fire?

But Wait There’s More, There’s Power in Patience, Sermon notes to print, PDF