The Effects of Waves
Jonathan Ember, Lead Pastor
Diversity Church Indianapolis
We have been on a journey of discovering the Holy Spirit. Using waves as an analogy to express who the Holy Spirit is and his working in our lives.
We've talked about, “The working of…” & “The Experience of…” Now we are talking about “The Effects of.”
If you look at natural waves, the effects of them on the beach and climate are endless.
Shaping the landscape of beaches.
Texturing the sand on the beach.
Shaping the ecosystem of the ocean.
Providing entertainment for surfers…
We can talk about the effects of waves for days.
The same could be said concerning the effects of the Holy Spirit on our lives!
And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 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." Acts 1:4-5, 8
Out of all the books in the Bible, Acts may tell of the Holy Spirit affecting the church more than any other book.
So Let’s talk about the effects of the waves of the Holy Spirit on our lives!
We Get Salty
When I say salty I’m not talking about being upset…. far from it. When you play out in the waves, and you get out, you are salty!
When You get hit with God’s waves you get salty too!
Acts 1:8 says the effect of the Holy Spirit touching their lives would be that THEY WOULD RECEIVE POWER to be his WITNESSES!
"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
Matthew 5:13
This makes Matthew 5 make more sense. “YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH!"
The more we get hit with the Waves of the Holy Spirit, THE MORE WE GET THE EFFECT OF BEING A SALTY CHRISTIAN.
You become more of an effective witness of Jesus; One that makes Jesus appetizing to the pallet of a lost world.
Have you ever tried to eat food without salt? Maybe you were on a low sodium diet because of your blood pressure. It is boring and bland and dry…By the way, SEA SALT IS BEST FOR YOU.
Christianity is boring, bland and dry without the effect of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is the best for us!
This is precisely the reason why Jesus told his disciples to wait first, before he said go! This would be his same advice today for us!
We Get a Blow Hole
Waves create something called a blow hole.
How this blow hole is created is that waves carve out the rock over time and when it has completely been carved out to the surface the wave comes bursting through the hole and this fountain of water appears.
When the Holy Spirit baptizes you(the thing Jesus was telling them to wait for), you get a flow through your blowhole...rivers of living water!
Acts 2:1-4, When they felt the wave of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit bursts through them to the point they spoke in tongues!
This is one of the effects of the Holy Spirit flowing through you!
Just like a wave through a rock, when the Holy Spirit bursts through you, something comes out on the other side.
Tongues, prophecy, other Spiritual gifts!
Every Time the Holy Spirit baptized people through the book of acts, some sort of miracle came out of them!
I believe the baptism in the Holy Spirit is the GATEWAY to the supernatural flowing through you.
2 Things that flow through you after the Holy Spirit Baptism:
1. Prayer Language
“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.” 1 Corinthians 14:14-15
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26
2. His Gifts
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
Word of Wisdom- I know something from God that will happen in the future.
Word of Knowledge- I know something about you I wouldn't have known but for God.
Faith- Supernatural faith (not by reading the bible) that God imparts to you for a situation.
Gifts of Healing- God’s grace to heal in certain scenarios and for certain people.
Working of Miracles- things like feeding the five thousand.
Prophecy- A word of edification, exhortation and comfort.
Discerning of Spirits- When someone sees a vision of an angel or demon.
Diverse Kinds of Tongues- different than prayer language, Like Acts 2, used to preach to people of a different language.
The Interpretation of Tongues- A gift you have to have if someone speaks to the congregation in tongues. “But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.” 1 Corinthians 14:28
Make no mistake, the Holy Spirit will affect you with his waves, do you want that? Do you believe that?
Let's Talk About This...
1. What has been your past experience to the Holy Spirit & "Pentecost"?
2. What is the Holy Spirit leading you to do for God's Kingdom?