Family Church Waterlooville

One of the Power Gifts, we will look at examples of the gifts of healings and discover the key elements to operating in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Pastor Andy Elmes considers what happened next after Easter Sunday – what happened on Monday Morning? Often we pack away the major festivals (Christmas, Easter) very soon after the event and then return to ‘normal’…but what is normal and how should we approach the days afterwards. Let us not think Easter is only a weekend. Let us make what happened 2000 years ago the ‘normal’ for our life. Peter was confused…in John 21:3 we see how he went back to fishing or tries to until Jesus meets with him and restores him to his intended ministry. Are we likewise confused or are we walking in the new creation that we have become? Just as Jesus’ disciples lives were changed forever after the resurrection, so are ours, there is no going back.

Jesus followed in the tracks of the Jewish festivals – Passover, Pentecost & Tabernacles are three. The 50 days after Passover and Pentecost are as important to us as they were to the disciples. Jesus was the lamb whose blood was slain for the ceremonial marking of doorposts for Passover. He is our Passover Lamb now as he was then (in Exodus 12). When we place our faith in Jesus we experience a Passover in our lives. John 1:29 states (ESV), ‘The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”’. Death and the works of the enemy have no authority over us when we have Jesus in our lives.

Fifty days after Passover came another feast – the feast of Pentecost, a celebration of First Fruits. In the intervening time, Jesus did two things 1), He appeared to many as the resurrected Christ who had conquered death and sin and 2) He spent many occasions teaching his disciples and followers about the Kingdom of God. Then He sent them on their way in the great commission before ascending in to Heaven. Acts 1:1-3 describes this time (NIV) ‘In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.  After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God’!

A new way of living began – Kingdom living. In all the occasions when Jesus appeared to people (road to Emmaus etc), nobody recognised Him until He broke bread or something familiar. His spiritual, risen body was present and also our eyes need to be ready to be opened by Him daily. Let us not pack Easter away so quickly but live in the risen reality of everything Jesus did for us. Everything is now changed. The kingdom that was previously only in heaven now reigns here on earth. We are commissioned and also empowered. Let us live in the victory of the Passover. 

The Gift of Faith and the Working of Miracles are 2 of the 3 gifts which are covered in this session. 

Today is Easter Sunday and Pastor Andy Elmes delivers his Easter message. He refers to what Jesus did on the cross for us all 2000 years ago and quotes 1 Corinthians 15, 12-22 (NIV) “Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive”.

So this Resurrection Sunday is most crucial because if there had been no resurrection our hope in Christ would have been in vain. But no other person who claimed to be God or a Messiah made to it through the grave conquering death as Jesus did. Only our Lord can cause the dry bones in our lives to be risen to newness.

Job 19:25 (NIV) says “For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth”. Job stated these words in a time of trouble, confusion and despair, but he knows that his redeemer lives. Do we know our redeemer and do we know that he lives? Our redeemer saved us and brought us back to life, not just this Easter day but every day. He paid the price for our sins in that divine exchange on the cross. We are now righteous in His sight because of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. Are we ready for His second coming?, do we know Him as we should? Pastor Andy ends his message by praying for all those listening and watching that they may know the risen Jesus Christ. Amen!

This week we unpack the Inspiration Gifts of Different kinds of tongues, the Interpretation of tongues and Prophecy.

This week is My Story Sunday. Pastor Andy interviews a member of our Portsmouth congregation whose life has been transformed from a ‘religious’ view of a ‘distant god’ to a personal relationship with our Lord and Father. Two other congregational members give their stories as well, illustrating how their lives have been transformed by God and how they have come to know Him as their saviour. 

As we unpack our toolbox, we learn about these revelation gifts of the Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge and Discerning of Spirits

This week’s message is by Pastors Sean and Paula, entitled “Turn The Power On - Pause for Thought“. In their own inimitable style, Sean and Paula reflect on the last five weeks of messages from Pastor Andy in his series ‘Turn The Power On’:

·        Week 1 – You Shall receive Power – turning on the power of God to live a Spirit filled life

·        Week 2 – Be Filled with Power – know the power of God and his divine ability in our lives

·        Week 3 – Welcome Holy Spirit – How we need to experience the infilling or indwelling of the Holy Spirit

·        Week 4 – Walking with The Spirit – How the Spirit lives in us and what we can expect

·        Week 5 – The Overflow – Holy Spirit living in us to benefit others too

Personal insight, husband and wife anecdotes and a revisit of some of the major revelations from this series of messages provides fresh perspective and personal challenge for us all regarding the presence of the Holy Spirit within us, His Temples. A ‘must hear’ message!

In order for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to manifest in and through the Body of Christ, 3 key ingredients are necessary, which are Unity, Love and Desire.

This week saw the final part of the series by Pastor Andy Elmes titled ‘Turn The Power On’, with this session specifically called ‘Overflow’. In this blockbuster preach, Pastor Andy examines the how, why, what, where and who of the Holy Spirit living in and on us not just for our own benefit but primarily also for that of others around us.

Andy speaks of Jesus life described in the scriptures…after His baptism, he is filled with the Holy Spirit, he is then led to a wilderness to be temped but the tempter does not succeed and then we see Jesus in the temple reading from a scroll. In Luke Chapter 4 verses 16 to 21, Jesus went to Nazareth where He had been brought up and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue as was his custom. He stood to read and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He didn't pick this book or that section. It was preordained. He found the place where it was written “The spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for prisoners, recovery of sight to those who are blind, to set the oppressed free and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour”. Then in verse 20, then he rolled up the scroll.

So Jesus was saying that the Spirit was upon him and that Spirit was there to set people free, break dominion over sins and heal people of their sicknesses………which he proceeded to do in the rest of His ministry. But Jesus did not do this in His own strength; it was the Holy Spirit working in and through him according to The Father’s will. We too have been called to do this - the same Spirit that was in Him and on Him and with Him is in us and on us and with us today and Jesus actually said we wouldn't do the same things as him… in fact we would do more! Jesus was speaking of every believer that would be filled with his Holy Spirit having an expectation that our lives aren't just benefited personally by the indwelling of the Spirit, but to bring freedom and wholeness to others.

We need to change our expectations. We need to begin to believe to see others in our world touched by the life and the power of God. When we take time to pray for them we've got to stop ignoring them and find courage and confidence that comes from the Holy Spirit to begin to say ‘Hey the same Spirit that was in Jesus that healed the sick then is the same Spirit that now is in me and the agenda of the Father's heart remains the same – that none would perish. Let us be filled with His Spirit so our cup runneth over (Psalm 23) so we also can minister to others and allow Gods Spirit to do exceedingly and abundantly what we can imagine or dream in our lives (Ephesians 3:20). We've got to come to a point where we're not just seeing the filling of the Holy Spirit for our own lives or for our benefit, but that the overflow of the Spirit of God in our life would be that which blesses the lives of others. God looks for our availability rather than our ability.