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Acts 1:8 and 2:1-4

"I have been with you……I shall be in you"

People's faith does not make as much of a difference in their behavior as might be expected, according to the newest report by the Barna Group. The national survey related people's faith to 19 lifestyle activities that might be expected to be affected by faith views.

Although Christian evangelicals are just 7% (seven percent) of the adult mass, they are the group whose faith is most clearly evident in their behavioral choices. In addition to attending church, praying and reading the Bible, they are most likely to:
	•	discuss spiritual matters with other people.
	•	volunteer at a church or non-profit organization.
	•	discuss political matters with other people.
	•	stop watching a television program because of its values or viewpoints.
	•	go out of their way to encourage or compliment someone.
Evangelicals were least likely to:
	•	contact a political official.
	•	view pornographic media.
	•	use tobacco products.

Ventura, CA) Jesus taught that Christians would be recognizable by their distinctive behavior - specifically, by the way they love others and how their lives reflect their spiritual values and beliefs (i.e., the "fruit" of their transformation). A new report from The Barna Group, a cultural analysis company in southern California, presents research indicating that people's faith does not make as much of as difference as might be expected - especially among non-evangelical born again Christians. Based on a national survey that related people's faith and 19 lifestyle activities that might be expected to be affected by faith views, the report concludes that two groups - Christian evangelicals and those without a faith preference (i.e., atheists and agnostics) are those that stand out from the crowd.

Christian evangelicals are a small proportion of the national population, representing just 7% of the adult mass. However, they are the group whose faith is most clearly evident in their behavioral choices. The survey divided the population into five faith segments (evangelicals, non-evangelical born again Christians, national Christians, adherents of non-Christian faiths, and atheists/agnostics).

Evangelicals were also distinguished by being the segment least likely to engage in the following endeavors:
	•	contact a political official
	•	view pornographic media
	•	read their horoscope
	•	use tobacco products
There is a strong connection between the faith views and practices of evangelicals and their lifestyle. Evangelicals also emerged as the group most likely;
	•	to attend church;
	•	pray to God; and
	•	read the Bible.

By definition, they believe in the accuracy of the Bible, contend that they have a personal responsibility to share their faith with others, claim that their religious faith is very important in their life, reject the idea that Jesus Christ sinned, describe God as the Creator who still rules the universe today, and believe that Satan is real. That body of beliefs - and the worldview it represents - has produced a distinct way of living in an increasingly postmodern culture - a lifestyle that is increasingly at odds with the accepted norms.

That being said I want to say the following:

Our faith is not based on the dogma of some man-made council. It is not based on the ideology of a denominational beliefism.

Our faith is based in the bedrock of the Word of God. It is based in the knowledge that the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost is the foundation and thrust of our very existence.

Without God's Spirit we would have no life. Our faith is not just a set of easy believeism rules. It is not a Sunday-go-to-meeting religion. It is not manifested in shaking a preachers hand or having our name on some church roll.

Our faith is no more and no less than the power of a living God abiding in us.

Jesus said, "The works that I do shall you do also and greater works than these shall you do."

The living and abiding Spirit of God dwelling within every born-again child of God is the very catalyst of our faith that:
	•	moves mountains
	•	binds things on earth and in heaven
	•	lays hands on the sick and they recover
	•	believes the impossible;
	•	sees the invisible and
	•	grasps the inevitable

We believe as did the Apostle Paul in addressing the Roman church that without the Spirit of God we are not any of His.

It takes the indwelling and abiding Spirit of God in order to be saved.

Nothing more and nothing less!

You can argue tongues all day.

You can accept Jesus as your personal Savior

You can believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

You can call upon Him forever…………………

H O W E V E R:

The truth of the matter is that except the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in yours and my mortal body,
	•	we will not be saved,
	•	we will not be changed in the moment and twinkling of an eye,
	•	we will not rise to meet Him in the air, and
	•	we will not live forever in His presence.
God's Spirit has been poured out without measure in these last days. God's promise made by the Apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost was the promise was extended to everyone, as many as God would call. He did call:
	•	On the Day of Pentecost, about 120
	•	Conclusion of the Day of Pentecost - 3,000
	•	Acts 4 - 5,000
	•	Acts 10 - To the Gentile race at the house of Cornelius (it opened the door for us)
	•	T O D A Y - The Spirit of God is being poured out in the remotest regions of the globe

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One of the most startling discoveries of the early 1970's was that about five-sixths of the world's non-Christians can only be reached by cross-cultural missionaries.

They are found in people groups where there is no indigenous church to reach them. The U.S. Center for World Missions isolates over 16,000 such people groups.

But we don't feel the dreadful force of this state of affairs because we don't look beyond America. Here there is one (so-called) evangelical for every three adults.

There is one vocational Christian worker for every 296 people and there is one church for every 800 people. But in India there is one Christian church for every 8,000 people, one Christian worker for every 4,500 people and one evangelical for every 173 people.

Oswald Smith used to ask, "What would you do if you saw ten men lifting a log; and if nine were on one end and one on the other?" There are 190 countries in the world with proportionately fewer Christian workers than we have. Of these, 45 have fewer than one-tenth as many Christian workers in relation to their population as we have. Yet year in and year out we send men and women to the wrong end of the log. The simple fact is that the deployment of Christian troops in the world is proof that the church in America does not yet have a war-time mentality. It is as though during WWII we drafted one million men and then sent 600 to fight Hitler and
999,400 to Norfolk.

The Spirit wants the world for Christ; the goal is not reached; therefore it is time for Bethlehem to move dramatically with the Spirit in world evangelization.
Most people in the world today are unaware of what the Holy Spirit is doing
throughout the world in terms of global evangelization. But when one looks at the
facts and statistics listed below, it is apparent that we are about to see an
unprecedented, worldwide expansion of Christianity:

•	There are 16,000 new Christians in Africa every day. Africa was 4% Christian in 1900; today, over 40% is Christian.
•	In Latin America, the evangelical movement is growing 3 times as fast as the population.
•	In the Soviet Union, after 70 years of oppression, the Christian movement is 36% of the population; this is more than 100 million - over 5 times the size of the Communist Party.
•	Many are aware of the miracle of the growth of the church in China - 23,000 new Christians per day!
•	In Indonesia, the percentage of Christians is so high that the government will not print the figure.
•	In India, 25% of the people say they would like to be Christians if they could stay in their families.
•	In the United States, 350 new missions agencies have been established since 1950. Even more significant is the fact that the same number in the same period have come into being in the so-called Third World.
•	Young people in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia are more interested in missions today than at any time since the days of the Student Volunteer Movement. The largest meetings of young people interested in missions ever in history are appearing in Europe, Latin America, and in local regions of the United States (1500 at a Midwest meeting).

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Acts 1:8 "You will receive power and you will be witnesses of me "after" you receive the Holy Ghost and it will be spread from:
	•	Jerusalem
	•	Judea
	•	Samaria
	•	The uttermost part of the world
Did Jesus not say in Matthew 24 that THIS gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and THEN shall the end come! It's time to rise up and realize we are charged with a mandate to
	•	Impact this city and region
	•	Reach this generation
	•	Effect this world
We can no longer be satisfied with sitting in the dust of despair licking our wounds and waiting to die. We must realize we have been called to the kingdom for such a time as this and that the times demand our best. If it is to be done-it is up to me. It must be personal and we must take personal responsibility for our world. Our faith is not:
	•	A Church (building)
	•	A Creed
	•	A Choir
	•	A Charismatic apparatus
	•	A chorus
B - U - T Our faith is:
	•	The Power of God
	•	The Holy Ghost and Fire
	•	An anointing from the Holy One
	•	A Vibrating and pulsating Spirit that lives and abides forever

MY QUESTION TO YOU TODAY IS:

"HAVE YOU RECEIVED THE HOLY GHOST SINCE YOU BELIEVED?"

No, I'm not asking if you feel good!

I'm not asking if you think you're O.K. !

I'm asking, "Do you have the Holy Ghost like the Bible says.

"Do you have the Holy Ghost like was received on the Day of Pentecost?

SONG: "Send It On Down"