God Moves Suddenly

Transcript

Rob McFarlane: 0:59

Today we're exploring how God moves suddenly. Let's look at Isaiah chapter 48 verse 3, and I'm reading from the English Standard Version of the Bible. The former things I declared of old, they went out of my mouth. I announced them, then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. Let's read this verse from the easy English translation. Isaiah 48, verse 3 says, The Lord says to his people, I already spoke about things that would happen at a future time. A long time ago I told you what would happen. Then suddenly I did my work, and I caused those things to happen. We see from this verse that God speaks, then in his time and in his way he makes it happen. Suddenly it comes to pass. When we look at the sweep of history, God has spoken many things from the scriptures, and in his time and in his way, he causes them to come to pass. The same applies in our lives. God speaks to us through his word or through prophetic promises or through his still small voice, and there's a period of waiting, and then in his time and in his way it comes to pass. Today we're going to look at three instances in the book of Acts where God moved suddenly. So, number one, the Holy Spirit was poured out suddenly. On the day of Pentecost, we read that in Acts chapter 2, verse 2, reading from the English Standard Version, it says, And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Jesus had promised the Holy Spirit to his disciples, and they waited in anticipation. Then suddenly the Holy Spirit came. He then continued in Acts chapter 1, verse 4 and 5, where he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said was being baptized in the Holy Spirit. And he continued in Acts chapter 1, verse 8, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The Lord had promised his disciples power, being clothed with power by the Holy Spirit. And he said that they would have this dunamis, this dynamite power in them, in order to be his witnesses. And they waited in the upper room. And on the day of Pentecost, as the word of God says, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, he poured out his Holy Spirit. Suddenly they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and a group of timid disciples went out and proclaimed with boldness the good news. And that day 3,000 people were saved. And we began to see the church expand and grow in its influence and impact in Jerusalem, then in Judea, then in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. We see here that God had spoken to them and they waited with anticipation. We need to find out what God is saying to us through the scriptures. We need to stay in faith and wait with anticipation for the Lord to move. They were praying. They stayed in unity. They waited until the Holy Spirit began to move. I want to encourage us to stay in faith, keep waiting upon the Lord with an expectation that what he said he would do, he will do. And when he does it, often it's suddenly. So number one, we've seen that the Holy Spirit was poured out suddenly on the day of Pentecost. Number two, Paul, the apostle, was converted suddenly. Now we remember that he was originally called Saul, and Saul went about persecuting the early church. It says that he was breathing out murderous threats to the disciples. And we read in Acts chapter 9, verse 3 in the English Standard Version. Now, as he went on his way, this is Paul going to Damascus to persecute Christians, he approached Damascus and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. Now this was Paul's conversion experience. When he shares his testimony in Acts 22, verse 6, he says, again, reading from the English Standard Version, as I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon, a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And we see this Paul, who had been persecuting the church, encountered Jesus Christ, the risen Savior. And Jesus Christ converted him, changed him, transformed his life. It was a suddenly. Now he wasn't waiting on God. In fact, he was going in a direction to oppose what God was doing through the Lord Jesus Christ and what the Holy Spirit was doing through his disciples. We see that this was a sovereign move of God, a radical conversion. And I believe that we will see in these last days radical conversions as people encounter Jesus Christ. And he will change them radically. I've read stories or heard testimonies of people who had no exposure to the gospel, encountering Jesus in this way. People who were against what God was doing and up to no good encountering Jesus and Him changing them forever. God moved suddenly. We need to keep praying for our loved ones who don't know Jesus, for our colleagues who have not encountered Him. We need to keep praying for people that we know and people we do not yet know who need to encounter the risen Savior, Jesus Christ. They may be on a life mission that is opposed to God's purposes or just pursuing their own goals or objectives. But I believe that Jesus Christ can intervene sovereignly and he can reach them. It may be a sovereign move of God where he sends an angel who he may even appear to people and their lives may be changed. Or he may use somebody else, or perhaps a piece of literature, or a Bible, or a tract, or something that they encounter. And when Paul or Saul encountered Jesus on the Damascus road, he said, Who are you, Lord? And Jesus introduced himself to him. His life was changed completely. And then he asked the question, What do you want me to do for you, Lord? And the Lord then started to use him powerfully for his purposes. So we've seen that the Holy Spirit was first poured out on the day of Pentecost suddenly. We've also seen in Acts chapter 9 that Paul was converted suddenly. Number three. Paul and Silas were suddenly set free from prison. In Acts chapter 16, we see Paul and Silas on a ministry trip. They were ministering to people, and a servant girl who had was possessed by a demonic spirit was set free. The result was her owners, those who employed her and used her for unhelpful purposes were upset and they stirred up a crowd. Paul and Silas were beaten and they were thrown into prison. And the Bible says that they were put in the inner cell in chains. Let's pick it up in Acts 16, verse 25 and 26, where it says, About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were open, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. The next thing that happened is the jailer was uh was so upset that he considered taking his own life. And Paul and Silas said, No, don't do that. And they shared the gospel with him, and the jailer and his whole household were saved and baptized. And in fact, not just that family were affected, but the whole region began to open up for the gospel. It tells us that at midnight, at the darkest hour, in chains, having been beaten, probably bruised and bloodied, probably really just fed up with what has happened, they began to sing and they began to pray. They worshiped and they prayed. And then God suddenly intervened. God began to move because they did not give up. They continued to pray and worship, even in a difficult time. In chains, in the inner prison at midnight. Worship and praise and pray are spiritual weapons. The Bible says that praise silences the enemy and opens prison doors. And we must stay in faith and keep worshiping and keep praying, even when we feel constrained, when we feel like we've been beaten up by life, when it seems darkest. Don't give up. Keep worshiping and keep praying. I personally like to have a theme song that I listen to at different times of my life. I've had the theme song of Phil Wickham's The Battle Belongs or Cody Kahn's Firm Foundation. There's different songs that I begin to listen to, and it at times of my life I listen to that song again and again and again, and it puts me in the right frame of mind as I turn my eyes towards heaven and worship. And I do that until I see a breakthrough. I would encourage you to take the scriptures, meditate on them, but stay in prayer, but also find a theme song for yourself where you begin to sing that song and it lifts your heart, turns your thoughts towards heaven, and puts you in a place where God is able to intervene and move suddenly. So today we've seen three examples of how the Holy Spirit moved suddenly in the book of Acts. First, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit moved suddenly as they were waiting. Secondly, the Holy Spirit moved suddenly, Jesus appeared to Paul on the Damascus road, and he was converted. His life was completely turned around. It was a sovereign move of God. And we've seen that in prison, as they worshiped and prayed, in the inner prison, in chains, in the darkest hour, Paul and Silas saw God move suddenly. The prison doors were opened, the chains fell off, and they were released. You might feel constrained by life. God wants to release you into freedom and effectiveness for his kingdom. God speaks. A long time ago I told you what would happen. Then I suddenly did my work and I caused those things to happen. Let's pray. And as we do, ask the Holy Spirit to show you what He wants you to do as a result of what you've heard in today's sermon. Let's pray. Father God, thank you that you are a God who moves suddenly. You speak, you make promises, you want us to stay in faith, and then suddenly you move. For what you have said in your word and what you have revealed to us personally. Help us to wait on you, to prepare our hearts, to stay in worship, to allow you to sovereignly move to bring change in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Thank you that you are still at work in the world today. What you promised, you will fulfill. You are not a man that you should lie. You are a God who fulfills his promises. You are faithful to your word. And we thank you that you will fulfill your purpose concerning us. Holy Spirit, speak to us now. Show us what you want us to do, what adjustments you want us to make in our lives, so that we are ready when you move suddenly. We ask you for this now. In Jesus' precious name. Amen.