Jesus worked with Abraham and prepared him to be the father of the Israelite nation. When Solomon’s temple was destroyed, the Jews developed the synagogue system, which became the glue that held their belief in God intact. Most importantly, it was never polluted by idol worship like the other pagan nations.

When the God-man arrived and began to teach and perform miracles, it upset the leadership of the Jews, who refused to accept the incarnated Messiah. They had faith in God, but rejected the idea that God had a Son who had been sent to the earth to save the human race. There was no supernatural activity within the synagogue system, so when Jesus started healing people and casting out demons, the Jewish leadership doubled down on stupidity and decided that Jesus had to die.

The day of Pentecost was an unmitigated disaster for the ungodly Jewish leadership as they suddenly had to contend with hundreds of little Jesuses as more and more people were born again and baptized in the Holy Spirit. The new believers became part of the church that replaced the synagogue system. In a short time, the Holy Spirit guided the apostles to develop a leadership system consisting of bishops, pastors, elders, deacons, teachers, prophets, and evangelists. The power of the Holy Spirit saw the Gospel penetrate the Roman Empire.

Constantine instituted a state church in 325 A.D. The problem was that there was no place for the Holy Spirit within Roman Catholicism. But God was not done. About a thousand years later, a restoration began with salvation, water baptism, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the accompanying nine gifts.

Operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit is exciting because it means you are in God’s will and He is choosing to use you for something particular. It is wonderful knowing that the path you’re on is sanctioned by God and receiving His blessing in the form of one of the nine gifts.

Print out the sermon outline and let's examine the Scriptures together Sunday morning at 9:00 AM PST.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John S. Torell