Powerful Spirit

Would you like to experience God's power for daily living. Dr. Michael Yousef explores that next on leading the way. When God is silent as possible because it's trying to do something about yourself, but you need to know your relationship with him. When God is silent.

It is possibly because he wants to see how you can really trust his word, but your trust just promises not just when the sun is shining, but even when it's pouring rain recent years a given excuses for many to just pause and question God's purposes in these difficult seasons experience seasons with answers from mom and dad friends are your loving spouse just you really need to hear directly from God. And yet the sound of silence in the waiting can be deafening hello.

Welcome to leading the way with pastor and author Dr. Michael Yousef today see how the early church gathered and waited, hearing silence as they were obedient in seeking God. Listen with me now to Dr. Michael you soft and is very challenging.

Leading the way for most of us waiting is never easy in our culture, waiting for anything is not considered to be a virtue anymore. Waiting is something the children had about everything in our culture and our society seem to be expanding throughout the world was based. You have been some food in instant drinks, instant dioxin, and even the manufacturing entity while you're waiting, in fact I wrote this week that the average person.

The average course gives agitated within a period of 40 seconds waiting for an elevator. 40 seconds and then become sure visible education is a problem that most people bring this agitation will bring this impatience. They bring all of this into their faith and their walk with the Lord. The expectation for instant things grows by the same proportion as a grows in society at large. The problem is because of our instant society we tend to think of God as just another person would try to treat God just like that is another friend or somebody down the road. We have lost the vision of Cardoso being awesome God and being a transcendent God being a magnificent God who is in control of the whole universe.

What I mean. But we treat God, just as another person will bust to academic using form of illustrations that you can relate to. When you get the silent treatment from your angry spouse. What happens when the what happens you get confused and you'd feel isolated right instructor was George Bernard Shaw who said silence is the most perfect expression of scorn.

No beloved friends would tell your God is not like the repeaters God is not like that when God is silent is not because he's angry. As I understand the Scripture and all the decades I've been studying at Zion I comprehend the word of God. I have learned from the word of God that there are several times when God is silent in our lives when God is solving this problem because it is putting you through his practical school is putting you through this training school when God is silent is possible because it's trying to teach you something or some truth about yourself that you need to know your relationship with him.

When God is silent. It is possibly because he wants to see how you can really trust his word that you trust his promises not just when the sun is shining, but even when it's pouring rain. When God is silent as possible to get you quiet so that he can work on your behalf. When God is silent is possibly because he loves you so much that he wants you to rest on his love and confidence in acts chapter 1 verses 12 to 26 God gave the apostles. Avoiding but that was not a waste of time. There was a period for waiting. It was a period for preparation for them to be able to receive the Holy Spirit of God. God always when he keeps you waiting for purpose.

It's always for purpose of preparing you for something greater in your life. What is this lesson.

The lesson is this God is doing things in your life that you cannot see that God is doing things in your life which you are probably unaware of God is doing things in your life in order to develop your character and that takes time and possibly you cannot see it.

What was God doing in a period of 10 days. This 10 day period from the time that they saw Jesus resurrected Jesus Christ ascended into heaven after he's been with them for 40 days. This period of 10 days was the time from when they saw him going up to heaven to the time that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them.

On the day of Pentecost. That was a 10 day period of time and that waiting period was serving three purposes purpose. Number one waiting for the Lord. Webster strengthens the apostle, how first in this incident. By teaching them obedience in acts chapter 1 verse four basis go to Jerusalem and wait. There was a command he commanded them to wait here in verse 12. While they doing you to find them obedient to the command of Jesus he should go and wait for his wife and 12. Is there waiting is not leave Jerusalem going to tell you why in a minute. There's a reason for that they should not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit to be fulfilled until the morning and give them a clue as how long is going to take for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. So they waited for the Holy Spirit. How many of us would've gotten restless by the third day for this eighth day a week past. Now I don't believe for a moment that it was easy for these men and women. It was not easy.

Most of this apostles affect all of them with exception of Judas for all time from the Galilee region which is north of Israel.

Jerusalem is in the South from home, away from the familiar surroundings away from the loved ones away from their families and have been away for a while. Some of you might remember that after the resurrection, Jesus did not show up for a few days already saw the risen Christ more than once, but he did not show up for a couple days and you know what happened. Peter got restless in chapter 21 verse three of the gospel of John is that I'm going fishing.

The way things are going fishing and the others followed him. And Jesus appears to them on the shore of Galilee is a form of rebuke here. The apostles got upset look. Jesus is not gone to heaven and that we need to get on with life. We need to leave Jerusalem and get back north to the Galilee region. We need to go home to Nazareth and all the other villages from where we came. We need to get on with business. We need to get on with life. For we cannot just sit around and do nothing.

Please listen to what I'm going to tell you the one thing you are not supposed to do while you're waiting for the Lord is nothing you do that. The one thing you're not supposed to do while you're waiting for the Lord is nothing that is nowhere in the Scriptures are found in all of the New Testament that God called anyone who was sitting there idle. They were doing whatever they were doing and God came spoke to them and called to do so and do a minister for God.

The most important regions. The most important obedience in your life is the obedience that you practice when you have no earthly idea or earthly reason as to why you are called to do what you're called to do. I want repeaters the most important obedience in your life is the obedience that you practice when you have no reason as to why you're called to do what you're called to do this and to be carefully you are not learning obedience. If you have all the logical explanations given to you ahead of time if you know all of the water where when that's not obedience you will have not obeyed yet you have not learned obedience yet if you know all the circumstances and all the facts surrounding the situation.

But when you cannot see any rhyme or reason why you should do what you are being called to do when you're practicing simple obedience.

The disciples were being strengthened by waiting.

How there were learning obedience, but also in writing. There were not only learning obedience.

They were learning hundred and 20 how to fellowship together and who you thought the family reunion was hard this was not just a few hours of the day and then you got your hotel rooms, Oreo houses, this is not even for the whole day and then go to rooms of got your homes was day and night in one room hundred and 20 other police listen carefully to what I'm going to tell you. I know that there are people who can get on my nerves. I know that I know that some people can drive us nuts and understand some people who just take this. I know there are people who are just pure pain.

I know that.

Listen to me you cannot live the Christian life in isolation is we are to grow in Christ.

We need people to develop the character of Christ. We need people if we are to exhibit the marks of Christ. We need people in writing.

There were learning obedience. But in waiting. There were learning fellowship in together but also there were learning how to write together.

Look at verse 14 of acts chapter 1 it says in unitary. There were constantly praying when you think you're praying about, well, possibly they were confessing their sin. There exhibited cowardice and they all run away and left the Lord, the probably asking, they were confessing their probably giving thanks for the Lord's forgiveness of their sins, giving thanks for the Lord's patience with them throughout the three years of training them and it seemed to not anymore than we are able to get the lessons of life no problem preparing the hearts for anticipation of the coming of the Holy Spirit. There probably were reading the Old Testament as we saw graphically illustrated. There were searching the Scriptures together.

They really all about the death of the in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is that that's what Isaiah meant that's what his equipment that's what Jeremiah meant reading the Scripture together and praising God through the word together but they were studying the book of Joel chapter 2 verse 28 to 32 about the coming of the Holy Spirit, waiting for the Lord strengthens the apostles. But secondly, waiting for the Lord separate cost versus 16 to 20 tell you what an apostate is an apostate is a person who knew the gospel and even accepted it intellectually and believe that then there had, but they after that they've turned their back on the gospel and with their own way. That's an apostate person who turns we have many an apostate corporate all over this country' abounds those who preach the denial of the virgin birth, those who preach the denial of the defendant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who preach the denial of the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Those who preach the denial that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Those who preach that denial of the fact that he is coming back, and he will judge the earth.

That's apostles apostasy abounds in churches today. See that's what Judas Iscariot is all about Judas Iscariot was an apostate deceit. He followed Jesus. I want the church but he had his own agenda of what I want to get out of Jesus. He followed Jesus because it was profitable for him. It was beneficial for him to follow Jesus and follow Jesus because he wanted to use Jesus.

Jesus only to try to manipulate him to get out of it what he wanted out of him is when Jesus failed to deliver what Judas wanted, namely a revolution against the Roman occupiers who turned on him and he delivered the rulers, Judas represents those who throw away the most incredible opportunity.

Bill ever have in the lives of eternal life.

Judas represents all those who are churchgoers TO go to church.

They hear the gospel message. They accepted it intellectually, they are sent to it intellectually, but then never commit their lives to Jesus as Savior and Lord. Judas represents those churchgoers who have been privileged to hear the word of God, but it never takes hold of them live the lives crookedly. Judas represents those who follow Jesus only for what they can get out of. And when Jesus doesn't deliver the chapter 1 verse 16, 17 and 18 of the book of acts Peter obviously is giving us some detail account of how Judas committed suicide detail information that we don't have anywhere else right here in this tree versus obviously he was trying to hang himself from a tree that's on a cliff, and his weight must've pulled Brian should his body smashed all the way down in the Valley on the rocks and his body was cut the pieces by the way some of you may not know this, to know when Judas received 30 pieces of silver to deliver Jesus to the rulers so price of a slave when his conscience was burning within him. He took the 30 pieces of silver and return them back to the rulers and all of these hypocrites that this is this is blood money. We can take it back to give it to charity and without money, they got a symmetry in which they buried the strangers among them.

Please let this be a warning to all of us waiting for God strengthens the apostles waiting for God separate the apostate waiting for God solidifies the anointed set aside because the apostle waited on the Lord, they have learned obedience they have learned, fellowship, and together they have learned how to pray together but also learned how to discern the will of God together in my years of ministry. I have many people who have come to me with Seo. I feel the call of God upon me for a full-time ministry development action is discouraged him discouraged. So what you do that for simply because God is always going to get his men are his woman so not worried about I've experienced it firsthand and the how God works. God has depend on you when you run all you want to make help me one bit. So I know that I'm not worried about that, but most often those who see full-time ministry as an escape from other things that God has called them to this or that is, it is a way I'm amazed at times when someone comes to see Mrs. I feel called of God to go across the ocean to witness for Jesus Christ. My simple question is this. Have you ever gone across the street to witness Jesus Christ, not only about a vision to witness people across the letter until you had a vision to witness to people across the street and hear the apostles are very careful in selecting a replacement for Judas.

They have put a set of criteria they have put set of qualifications they believe the Lord has given them and even then they wanted God to be the final one to call somebody to replace Judas and they waited upon the Lord, and wrote showed I'm getting close to the end, but I wanted to listen to. I'm going to tell you. You've heard me. You heard many of us. Many of you pray for revival. We often pray for revival and we absolutely right to pray for revival, genuine Holy Spirit survival. When God's spirit is pouring upon people and we can see it with our own eyes, but I have often wondered and I continue to wonder every single day when I pray, personally, publicly or privately always wonder and ask myself the question I we really prepared for the revival is one thing to pray for revival, but all I really prepared for how we as a body prepared for revival that's a question we need to ask ourselves how we really prepared for you. See what you mean by prepared for.

As I read church history I learned that when genuine Holy Spirit survival breaks out in an area or a door across the world for that matter. It is the most draining experience emotionally, physically, spiritually, the most draining thing that more than anything in the world I read this again and again in history books during times of revival people come under such conviction of their sins that they are literally pressing into the church.

The people who when they come under conviction of the sin they don't want to go home when they come under conviction of their sins and times of revival Christians, new Christians are hungry and thirsty.

The word of God, hungry and thirsty for godly men and women to teach them to train them hungry for probably men and women to counsel them to give them wisdom to strengthen and straighten the live we really prepared becoming more and more convinced that if we really going to experience a revival prepared for. Thank you for joining Pastor and Dr. Dr. Michael you sent for leading the way you struggling to get some momentum in your spiritual life. Maybe you've been looking for something to jumpstart your faith walk will leading the way just might be what you need. If your reader Dr. Yousef is written any books and give great ways to connect you with God's word and personal level and encourage you to grow in your relationship with Christ. Here are a few titles to consider God to help me rebuild my broken world. And here's one of my favorites conquer your battle plan for spiritual victory and had about never give up. Dr. Yousef just recently released MacBook, never give up, and we already heard so many encouraging words from people who've read it experienced growth and encouragement. Never give up take you right into the heart and soul of the apostle Paul, as he reflected on his life of faith and as he contemplated his quickly approaching execution by Rome. Dr. Yousef capitalizes on Paul's words, offering a heartfelt charge to make sure that you are leaving the spiritual legacy using matter you rate the impact that you have on those around you will touch generations pressure will clearly hear Paul's charge to never give up when it comes to being faithful in your pursuit of God's word and where your call to serve even when you feel that getting up is your only option to get the ordering details for Dr. Yousef's box. Give us a call 866-626-4356 866-626-4356 and the website is LTW.org that LTW.Ward if you'd like to Jonathan note you can send it in the mail to leading the way, PO Box 20100 Atlanta, GA 30325 as PO Box 20100 Atlanta, GA 30325 do make a note at this time. Enjoy this again for another message from Dr. Michael you sent as he passionately proclaims uncompromising truth right here on leading the way this program is furnished by leading the way with Dr. Michael connect with us to our YouTube channel Facebook social. Learn more. LTW.org