Session 3. 09 Mar 2008 8:00 p.m.
Pastor Wang had good results in his pre-university exam 42 years ago. His dad bought him a Vespa. He liked to dress in white shirt, white pants, white socks and white suede shoes. At that time there was a movie, Roman Holiday. The hero took the heroine on a Vespa. He went to church to pick up his dream girl, who had the longest legs and the shortest skirt. He invited her to barbecue. She accepted. They went to the furthest beach in Hong Kong because he enjoyed being hugged by the girl.
He had the stick, coal and food. He is a graduate from an all-boy boarding school. He was always the big brother and he never had to start a fire. He didn't know how to start a fire. He used up all matches except one when he got an idea. His Vespa! He wanted to get some gasoline from his Vespa to light the fire. He opened the seat and dip a stick of rolled up newspaper and sprinkled the charcoal. He started the fire. He was still all white but lost his eyebrows. He learned that gasoline could help to start a fire.
One year later, he thought it was necessarily to meet her parents. He was a Shanghainese while the girl's family was Cantonese. He took them to a Shanghainese restaurant for his favourite pork knuckle Oporly porky fatty fatty). He served his future father-in-law and mother-in-law and, his girlfriend. But he got the pork on his all white attire. He was to speak in an evangelistic meeting later in the night. He bent down to hide the spot. He thought of his Vespa again. He heard gasoline could remove stains. He asked the waiter for a pair of chopsticks. He wrapped his handkerchief to get the gasoline to remove his stain. On that night, he was all white but a pink tie. He learned that gasoline could remove stains.
Gasoline could start a fire and remove stain. But the main purpose of gasoline it to be put into the tank in order to make a car GO. Can a car move when the tank is empty? Yes. In many churches, the pastor and the wife pushed the church along.
What if we enter a gas station. If we wind down the window and tell the attendant to fill the car with gasoline, they will think we are terrorists. Today, we are spiritual terrorists. We ask the pastor to pray for us to be filled, to give us more. (师母在外是斯斯文文的母亲，在家是母狮)
The Holy Spirit in us is like the gasoline in a car. The Holy Spirit has many functions. While pastor has quiet time today, he read the Bible and found as many as 23 functions. But he has one purpose.
- Comforter
- Teacher
- Glorifier
- Abider
- A Gifter of Joy
- A Witness (of what Jesus did)
- The Gifter of gifts (according to his own desire, he gives us different gifts)
- Sower (he partners with us so we can become fruitful and multiply)
- Reaper (he is the harvester)
- Bears fruits with us
- Brings about Unity (unity is not by us.)
- Intercessor (he prays for us with unspoken groan)
- (Missed this. I will update if I can get it.)
- He worries for us
- Liberates (Paul asked who can set us free? The Holy Spirit)
- The revealer – he shows the mystery of the Gospel
- Leads (John 16 – into the fullness of the Kingdom)
- Fights against our old self (we cannot be overcomer. Paul said there are two laws within him and that woe unto him.)
- Seals (he puts the seals of salvation in us. Our names are recorded in the Book of Life. God will not forsake us when we are sealed by the Holy Spirit.)
- Resurrects (Rom 8:11 said the Holy Spirit resurrects Jesus Christ and he will resurrects us.)
- Deals with our old self. (Doing his job is easy. He has been doing it for 42 years. But dealing with his old self is still his daily struggle. He doesn't sin with his hands or eyes or his feet anymore. He doesn't sin with his conducts anymore. A church often grows big but seldom grows mature. A church leader may grow imparient.)
- He is the sent one.
- He gives us power.
Act 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
To bear witness means to be fruitful and multiply.
3000 were saved in a day but the church stayed in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit got involved. 敬酒不喝喝罚酒。
Act 8:1 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
When we are invited / asked to go and bear witness and we refused, the Holy Spirit will get involved. The disciples were forced to scatter to Judea and Samaria due to persecution.
Pastor Wang likes our theme. He doesn't want it to remain a theme. He wanted it to be a lifestyle for us.
Pastor Wang is not inviting us to go to China or India although he likes to. He invites us to go across the street, to our colleague in the next desk, the girl at the check out counter. If we refuse to go, he doesn't know what the Holy Spirit to go. But we see the Holy Spirit did something dramatic.
If we really say to Jesus, the Lord of Harvest that we are willing to go.
The Holy Spirit has many functions. But the only purpose is to enable the church to GO and bear witness.
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