Dharius Daniels - Finding Ghost (Pentecost Sunday)

And so, I want to walk you through some teaching today, and I think if you’ll embrace and receive what God has to say, our lives are going to be better because of it. All right? Acts chapter 1, verse number 4, says: «On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized you with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’»

I want to talk from this subject in our time together: finding ghosts. Family, I mentioned earlier that today is dubbed and designated on the Christian calendar as Pentecost Sunday, and everyone who understands the power of Pentecost—if you are classic Pentecostal, neo-Pentecostal, quasi-Pentecostal, or if you don’t even know what any of that means and you just believe in power—put power in the chair! Yeah! It is the day that we celebrate Jesus making good on a promise that he made to his people: that he would leave them with more than principles, but that he would give them power.

Yep! We see this reality revealed right here in Acts chapter number one. We see it post-resurrection. It’s after the resurrection of Jesus; he’s having a conversation with his disciples. Listen to what he says to his disciples, his apprentices, his mentees—they’ve sat at his feet, listen, family, for three years. They’ve eaten with him. They’ve gone on boat rides with him. They’ve been rebuked by him. They’ve been corrected by him. They’ve connected because of him.

In the midst of this final critical conversation he has with his disciples, Jesus says, «All right, now I’m getting ready to leave, but don’t you do anything. I know you’ve been trained, but don’t do anything. Don’t go out and teach. Don’t go out and preach. Don’t go out and attempt to heal the sick. Don’t go out and attempt to engage in ministry.» He says, «Don’t you do anything until you get the gift.» Oh, I love this! «Until you get the gift that my Father promised.»

It’s interesting, right? I mean, you would think if people had been mentored by someone for three years, if they had been coached by Christ for three years, if they had been educated by Emmanuel for three years, that they would have all that they needed to live life effectively and appropriately as God intended. However, Jesus knew that if you’re going to live life the King’s way, if you’re going to experience life the King’s way, you need more than principles; you need power. You need more than, watch this, education and information; you need assistance.

In other words, it was never God’s expectation that God’s people carry out God’s principles without God’s power. Right? See, God’s principles seem impossible without God’s power. Love your enemies. God gave the principle, but he knows we can’t do that without the power. Come on! Pray for those who use you. You mean you used me, and then I have to pray for you? You exploit me, but I have to pray for you? You take advantage of me and then set me at a disadvantage, and I have to pray for you? God knows we can’t do that without his power!

I want you to catch this, family. It’s so important. God says, «I want to do more than give you hope; I want to give you help.» Yeah! It’s right here in John 14, verse 15. It says, «Jesus says, ‘If you love me, keep my commandments, and I’ll ask the Father, and he’ll give you another advocate to help you and to be with you forever.’» Jesus is referring to an advocate that we would call the Holy Spirit.

Listen to me, family. Jesus spent the majority of his ministry telling his disciples, «You need something else.» Did you hear what I just said? Jesus spent the majority of his ministry saying, «Listen, I am the central part of God’s plan. I am the key part of God’s plan. I’m the most important redemptive, atoning part of God’s plan, but I am NOT the only part of God’s plan. The Father creates, come on, the Son redeems, but the Holy Spirit empowers.» Did you hear what I just said?

Jesus said, «Now, I am responsible for making sure you get to heaven, but the one who’s coming after me is going to be responsible for helping you get a little bit more heaven on earth.» And I don’t know about you, but I just believe that in the time and in the season that we’re in, we need a little bit more of heaven on earth. When we are impacted, affected, and infected with the ramifications of systemic and systematic injustice, we need a little heaven on earth. When people are stressed because of a pandemic that is disrupting the ebb and flow of our lives, y’all are talking to me today!

Yeah, we need help! When people are dealing with a future that is uncertain and they are unsure about what this next season of their life looks like, we need a little heaven on earth. And Jesus says, «Now I can get you to heaven, but there’s one coming after me that’s going to put a little heaven on earth.» Where’s he going to put it? He’s going to put heaven in your heart. So he told the disciples, «You got me, but if you’re going to live like me, you need something else.» He’s trying to get them to see: you see the reason you want to be like me. This is Jesus talking. The reason you want to be like…