Talk given on February 16, 2019 at Blazing Fire Church. blazingfire.org Jesus had a lot to say about the coming indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. We'll see the impact of this beautiful, powerful Promise and Gift in the Book of Acts. To listen, go to https://blazingfire.podbean.com/e/preparing-to-dive-into-acts-%E2%80%94-russ-fochler/

1. Preparing to “Dive In”
to the Book of Acts
February 16, 2019
Russ Fochler

2. Preparing to
Dive In

3. We’ve been drawn to dive into the Book
of Acts with Holy Spirit as our Guide
The Acts of Whom?
The Acts of the Apostles?
The Continuing Acts of Jesus?
The Acts of Holy Spirit on Jesus’ Behalf
Through the Ekklesia?

4. The Letter vs The Spirit
2 Cor 3:5-6 The Passion Translation
Yet we don’t see ourselves as capable enough to do
anything in our own strength, for our true competence
flows from God’s empowering presence. He alone
makes us adequate ministers who are focused on an
entirely new covenant. Our ministry is not based on the
letter of the law but through the power of the Spirit. The
letter of the law kills, but the Spirit pours out life.

5. To “Dive” into Acts experientially, we
need the life-giving breath of Holy
Spirit. Otherwise, we’re just analyzing
it from a “safe” distance.

6. Before He Left
Jesus Talked About Holy Spirit
John 14:15-18 The Passion Translation
“Loving me empowers you to obey my commands.j And I
will ask the Father and he will give you anotherk Savior,l the
Holy Spirit of Truth, who will be to you a friend just like me
—and he will never leave you. The world won’t receive him
because they can’t see him or know him. But you will know
him intimately, because he will make his home in you and
will live inside you.m
“I promise that I will never leave you helpless or abandon
you as orphans—I will come back to you! n

7. Before He Left
Jesus Talked About Holy Spirit
John 14:~26-28 The Passion Translation
“…when the Father sends the Spirit of Holiness, the One like
me who sets you free,q he will teach you all things in my name.
And he will inspire you to remember every word that I’ve told
you.
“I leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of
fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace. Don’t
yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts—instead, be
courageous! r “Remember what I’ve told you, that I must go
away, but I promise to come back to you.

8. Before He Left
Jesus Talked About Holy Spirit
John 15:26-27 The Passion Translation
“And I will send you the Divine Encourager
(Parakletos)w from the very presence of my Father. He
will come to you, the Spirit of Truth, emanating from
the Father, and he will speakx to you about me. And
you will tell everyone the truth about me, for you
have walked with me from the start.”

9. Jesus Talked About Persecution Too
John 16:1-3 The Passion Translation
“I have told you this so that you would not surrender
to confusion or doubt.a For you will be
excommunicated from the synagogues, and a time is
coming when you will be put to death by misguided
ones who will presume to be doing God a great
service by putting you to death.b And they will do
these things because they don’t know anything about
the Father or me.”

10. Before He Left
Jesus Talked About Holy Spirit
John 16:7-11 The Message
“If I don’t leave, the Friend (Parakletos) won’t come. But if I
go, I’ll send him to you.
When he comes, he’ll expose the error of the godless
world’s view of sin, righteousness, and judgment: He’ll
show them that their refusal to believe in me is their basic
sin; that righteousness comes from above, where I am with
the Father, out of their sight and control; that judgment
takes place as the ruler of this godless world is brought to
trial and convicted.”

11. Conviction of Sin, Righteousness, and
Judgment
John 16:8-11 New King James Version
“ And when He (the Parakletos) has come, He will
convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of
righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see
Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler (archon)
of this world (kosmos) is judged (krino).

12. Judgment Upon the One Who Worked
Disobedience and Death Into Us
Eph 2:1-3 New King James Version
“ And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses
and sins, in which you once walked according to
the course (aion) of this world, according to the prince
(archon) of the power of the air, the spirit who now works
in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all
once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were
by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

13. Rescued From a Dark, Dead “Life”!
Col 1:12-14 The Message
“Your hearts can soar with joyful gratitude when you think
of how God made you worthy to receive the glorious
inheritance freely given to us by living in the light. He has
rescued us completely from the tyrannical rule
(authority) of darkness and has translated us into the
kingdom realm of his beloved Son. For in the Son all our
sins are canceled and we have the release of
redemption through his very blood.

14. A Story of Societal Transformation
in Equador
An Ekklesia Pursuing God’s Justice
Jennifer Toledo
Recorded at the Imagine Conference
with Shawn Bolz in February 2018
The podcast of the panel discussion including
this clip can be found at
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/dir-hw4rv-41d2eab

15. Preparing to
Dive In