The Power of the Spirit

Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church

Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our

podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast,

you can have an encounter with Jesus that'll

change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring

message from our preaching team. So today's reading

is from Acts 10, it's 1 -33. In Caesarea, there

lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who

was a captain of the Italian regiment. He was

a devout, God -fearing man, as was everyone in

his household. He gave generously to the poor

and prayed regularly to God. One afternoon, about

three o 'clock, he had a vision in which he saw

an angel of God coming toward him. Cornelius,

the angel said. Cornelius stared at him in terror.

What is it, sir? He asked the angel. And the

angel replied, your prayers and gifts to the

poor have been received by God as an offering.

Now send some men to Joppa and summon a man named

Simon Peter. He's staying with Simon Atanna who

lives near the seashore. As soon as the angel

was gone, Cornelius called two of his household

servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal

attendants. He told them what had happened and

sent them off to Joppa. The next day, as Cornelius'

messengers were nearing the town, Peter went

up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon

and he was hungry. But while a meal was being

prepared he fell into a trance. He saw the sky

open and something like a large sheet was let

down by its four corners. In the sheet were all

sorts of animals, reptiles and birds. Then a

voice said to him, get up Peter, kill and eat

them. No Lord, Peter declared. I have never eaten

anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure

and unclean. But the voice spoke again, do not

call something unclean if God has made it clean.

The same vision was repeated three times. Then

the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven. Peter

was very perplexed. What could the vision mean?

Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon's

house. Standing outside the gate, they asked

if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.

Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision,

the Holy Spirit said to him, three men have come

looking for you. get up, go downstairs and go

with them without hesitation. Don't worry for

I have sent them.' So Peter went down and said,

I'm the man you are looking for, why have you

come? They said, we were sent by Cornelius, a

Roman officer. He is a devout and God -fearing

man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel

instructed him to summon you to his house so

that he can hear your message. So Peter invited

the men to stay for the night. The next day he

went with them accompanied by some of the brothers

from Joppa. They arrived in Caesarea the following

day. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called

together his relatives and close friends. As

Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his

feet and worshipped him. But Peter pulled him

up and said, stand up, I'm a human being just

like you. So they talked together and went inside

where many others were assembled. Peter told

them, you know it is against our laws for a Jewish

man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate

with you. But God has shown me that I should

no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean.

So I came without objection as soon as I was

sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me. Cornelius

replied, four days ago I was praying in my house

about this same time, three o 'clock in the afternoon.

Suddenly a man in dazzling clothes was standing

in front of me. He told me, Cornelius your prayer

has been heard and your gifts to the poor have

been noticed by God. Now send messages to Joppa

and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying

in the home of Simon Atanna who lives near the

seashore. So I sent for you at once and it was

good of you to come. Now we are all here waiting

before God to hear the message the Lord has given

you. This is the word of the Lord. Awesome, thank

you Carly. Doesn't go any lower. Go lower for

a second, thanks. Alright, let's leave it. Fantastic,

awesome. Alright, before we get into it, I have

a sense today that for someone here, it was really

hard getting here. Maybe your car broke down.

Maybe it was just hard getting out of bed. But

for someone here, Getting here in the room was

all you have to offer. That's all you've got.

And I feel like God's saying, that is enough.

You do not have to be more than that. You don't

have to offer more than that. You are loved.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, speak to us today.

Lord, you are a God who is ever -present to us,

even if we don't always listen. May your whisper

be louder than the running feet on the floors.

May our hearts be open and our ears be open to

where you want us to move today. In Jesus' name

we pray. Amen. One of the first times that the

Holy Spirit revealed something to me in a prophetic

way, prophetic, I might get it wrong by the way,

I don't say pathetic, I'm saying prophetic, I'm

just gonna put that out there. One of the first

times that the Lord revealed something to me

in a prophetic way was when I was 17 years old

at a youth conference. We had spent the day exploring

who God was, we had times of community, we had

times of worship. And it was in this moment of

worship that my eyes were closed, where I had

this image of a woman and a child, like a really,

really young child. They were not recognizable

faces to me. And I had this thought, was this

God speaking to me? That is unlikely. I had probably

just seen her. at some point during the day,

and with all the flashing lights going on, I

just created this image in my mind. It had been

a very long day. You see, I believed that God

spoke, but like, to me? I believe that God spoke,

but like, this is a bit weird. I believe that

God spoke, but how did I know that this was Him

this time? I believe that God spoke, but I have

no idea what he is trying to say. I believe that

God spoke, but honestly, most of the time, I

don't even know if I could hear him. But there

was something, there was something about the

clarity of this image that made me question,

maybe, maybe it was God. And so I walked up to

this woman, no, I'm joking, I did not. If it's

any consoler, if it's any tip, if you have an

image of someone with a child, just take some

partial discernment before walking up to them

and saying you saw something. But instead, I

went to my youth pastor and I was like, look,

I think God's saying something. What do you think?

He's like, I don't know. Let's go talk to this

other guy. And so we went up to another trusted

pastor and he knew the woman. And I shared what

I experienced and I was like, oh, thank God's

saying this. And with clarity, he looked me in

the eye and said, go tell her. I was like, no,

you do it. I think I actually might have even

said that, I'm gonna be honest. You do it, me?

No. So a few moments later, I think I forgot

to say the part where a few moments later after

I'd seen the image, the woman had walked onto

the stage And I saw this face that had been unrecognizable

until this vision. And that was when I decided

I should probably go talk to someone about it.

But this woman, she was leaving, the night had

finished, and I had in this back of my head that

I should go talk to her. So I walked up to her,

this stranger, and I called out to her. I didn't

know her name. Hey, yeah, yeah, you, hey. Look,

I don't know what this is about. I had so much

trepidation and hesitancy. But look, I had this

image of you with a baby. And that was it. And

then she hugged me and she was weeping. And then

she left. Like that's it. I have no idea who

this woman was. I don't know what babies have

to do with her life. I don't know where she is

now. But God knew her. God knew her, even when

I didn't. You know, we're in the middle of our

Power of Encounter series. We're exploring how

God moves in power through His church. And today

I'm gonna speak about the power of the Spirit,

specifically how the Spirit moves through prophecy.

But like, what is prophecy? Sometimes we see

it in our worship songs. But in its simplest

form, prophecy is just hearing God and then sharing

it. It is a gift. There's kind of two aspects

of prophecy that we tend to see in Scripture.

There's foretelling, which is speaking about

future events and revealing the things to come.

We think of Agabus in Acts 11 where he foretold

of a coming famine. Today, some people receive

words like this as warnings or confirmations

from God. That is foretelling, speaking of future

events. But then there's forth telling, speaking

the heart and truth of God into a current situation.

This is the most common form of prophecy that

we see throughout scripture and we see in our

churches today. It's what the Old Testament prophets

did when they were calling Israel to justice

and repentance. It's what happens when someone

shares a spirit -filled encouragement or challenge

that cuts right into what God is doing now. Maybe

like me, you can feel like it's for the more

spiritual people. Like Ashley, you ended up being

a pastor, so... Maybe if we do get a sense of

an image or word, we don't know what to do with

it. We have the question, is stepping into the

prophetic through giving and receiving of words,

like is that for me? Maybe when we do response

prayers and Pastor Tim asks someone to raise

their hand, surely God doesn't mean you. When

Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, he

made available to all believers the fullness

of the Spirit, including access to the spiritual

gifts described in Scripture. Receiving the Spirit

means we have a connection to God's voice and

presence, enabling us to hear and respond. Prophecy

then isn't some isolated, mystical talent reserved

for the special few. It is a part of the Spirit's

work in all who follow Him. It's about cultivating

a relationship with the Spirit that leads us

to listen and trust and speak God's truth. This

is for you. God wants to use you to speak prophetically

and He wants to speak to you through receiving

words and visions from others. In Acts 10, we

see the power of the Spirit on display through

the prophetic, bringing people together, breaking

through walls, revealing God's heart for His

people. Cornelius, one of the characters in the

story, was a Roman centurion, a Gentile. They

said he was a devout, God -fearing man, which

basically means he was religious, but he wasn't

Jewish, and he wasn't a believer in Christ. He

receives this vision of an angel telling him

to go send for Peter. He has no idea who Peter

is. Peter could be anyone. But the angel said,

go send for Peter. I'll even tell you where he

is. I'll make it a bit easier on you. And so

he sends three men. Meanwhile, cut to the other

side of town, is probably a few days away. But

Peter was a Jew and an apostle, receives a vision

of the unclean animals being lowered from heaven.

and is told do not call anything can pure that

God has made clean but he does not know what

that means what are you trying to say here God

and whilst he was wondering the spirit speaks

to him again Simon three men are looking for

you get up go downstairs do not hesitate to go

with them for I have sent them at least like

that one's a little clearer than a sheet with

some animals and so he gets up and he goes You

know, this isn't random. These two visions aren't

just a coincidence. This is a spirit initiated

purposeful moment of revelation. God is orchestrating

a divine confirmation in his people. The visions

align and they reinforce one another, confirming

that the gospel is for all, not just for the

Jews. You know, prophecy in this sense confirms

what is the true heart of God. It doesn't add

confusion or contradiction to scripture. It brings

alignment to God's already revealed purpose into

the current moment and context. Theologian John

Calvin says the Holy Spirit is the bond by which

Christ effectually unites us to himself. Why

did Cornelius and Peter receive separate prophetic

visions? Couldn't he just trust one? God was

doing something radical. He was uniting people

together. Cornelius, on this side, needed to

be prepared to receive the Word. And Peter needed

to be prepared to go into a place that was culturally

kind of a no -go zone. If only one of them had

received a vision, the divine encounters could

have been misunderstood, resisted, or missed

entirely. Peter could... be of left wondering

what the whole blanket and the sheet and the

animals was all about. He was hungry, so that

can do stuff to you. But Cornelius, he could

have been left without a revelation of Christ

Jesus. Without the fullness of understanding

who God was. These prophetic experiences reflect

a real powerful truth. and that is God often

speaks in community. Prophetic words are not

meant to isolate us, make us the weirdos on the

outside of community. They're invitation into

a collaboration of God's heart and mission for

his people. Peter and Cornelius each had a part

of the picture, but it wasn't until they listened

to one another, they understood the fullness

of what God was saying. I was at a youth pastor's

retreat. Semi recently and God spoke to me through

a vision of someone standing on a beach and And

the waves were rolling in but this person was

just standing there not getting in the water

And so I shared it with the group and I'm gonna

be honest. I thought I understood what this vision

was all about I was like brilliant. God is gonna

confirm in someone that they are called into

ministry This is what I felt God was doing But

I was just faithful, I didn't say that part.

I just shared the vision. But what I didn't know,

cut across to the other side of the room, God

had already been speaking to someone in that

room. A young woman had felt the pull towards

baptism, but for one reason or another hadn't

made that decision. But the words and images

God gave me to speak were confirmation to her

that it was time to literally get in the water.

Three months later, she was baptized in a beach,

probably with waves rolling in, in a public declaration

of who she lives for. Are you praying for an

area of confirmation into an area of uncertainty?

Has kind of God been nudging your heart? The

Spirit will speak to you through multiple channels.

Scripture, community, internal peace, even dreams.

Maybe like Cornelius and Peter, someone else

will speak his words to bring clarity. Be open

to the different ways God will confirm his will

for your life. Because the spirit of God confirms

through prophecy, not confuses. But the spirit

also matures the church. Sometimes it feels like

we could do with some of that. Not this one,

just like the global church. Peter enters Cornelius'

home and says, You are well aware that it is

against our law for a Jew to associate with or

visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I

should not call anyone impure or unclean. You

know, this moment isn't just about cultural reconciliation.

It was about transformation. Peter is being matured.

His understanding of God's love is being expanded.

His prejudices are being exposed. The prophetic

experience doesn't just inform him of God's heart,

but it forms him towards God. In Ephesians 4,

Paul explains the purpose of five ministry gifts,

which include prophecy, that they were given

by Christ himself, and that is to equip God's

people to do his work and build up the church,

the body of Christ. That's you guys. This will

continue until we all come to such unity in our

faith and knowledge of God's Son. so that we

will be mature in the Lord measuring up to the

full and complete standard of Christ. You know

prophetic moments like the ones in Acts 10 don't

just simply confirm the truth of God but they

develop the disciples. The Spirit uses all the

gifts to grow us in humility and obedience and

Christ -likeness. Peter had to lay down his old

assumptions in order to step into this new mission

field. a Welsh minister and he was a medical

doctor and I think that's important too, Martin

Lloyd -Jones. He says, the Spirit does not just

give us gifts, He gives us Himself and the result

is transformation. The Spirit's goal isn't just

to give us messages through us or to us, it is

to make us more like Jesus. The more we walk

in the gifts, the more we should reflect His

character. It is in the giving and receiving

of the prophetic that the Church is built up.

It is encouraged. It is matured. Last year I

was at a prayer retreat. Apparently I go to retreats

a lot. Yeah, they're fun. And we were at this

prayer retreat and we were at a dedicated time

of prayer. And we were specifically praying for

the gift of healing. I was held up in my hoodie

with a blanket on the couch. I really postured

myself towards God. And I was meditating and

seeking God's clarity on my ministry giftings

and the spiritual gifts that He wanted me in

particular to cultivate. And I wrote down a list.

There was a few things, I was like, yeah, yeah,

yeah, that sounds good, that sounds good. And

then I wrote prophecy, question mark. Sure, this

like prophecy had clearly been a big part of

my ministry in the past, but like a lot had changed.

Would that be something he still wanted to use

in me again? And so I closed my notebook and

I scrolled Facebook. And then someone walks down,

someone walks across the room and sits next to

me on the couch and says, God said you need to

give me a word Like what? I can probably tell

you what was just my Facebook feed But like something

like powerful and timely and prophetic like no

way. I do not have anything for you right now

So I was like sure That sounds great Let's pray

So I did what we do when we don't know what else

to say and I said just come Holy Spirit Like,

please come, Holy Spirit. And this image came

into my mind, and I tried to make it go away.

Because surely that was not the thing that God

wanted me to say. Like, surely not. But there

was nothing else. So I was like, okay, so...

Look, this might sound a little cringe and a

little cliche. I'm so sorry. Like, just ignore

it. Like... Just ignore it. But the image I had

in my mind was of you walking down a beach full

of starfish, and you were just picking one up

and throwing it into the ocean. If you haven't

heard that before, it's a modern parable. It's

often found in toilets right next to footprints

in the sand. That's why it felt so cliché. And

I was like, well, Vanessa, but I kind of opened

my eyes and I looked at her. And she was like,

that's exactly what I needed to hear. God had

been speaking me to me today earlier about how

I just need to focus on those who are in my care.

This moment of prayer and prophetic sharing was

a confirmation and reinforcement for her. But

it was so much more than that, friends. This

moment matured me. and it matured her. The doubt

that I was feeling about how God might use me

lessened. I was encouraged even though the word

had not been for me. This other person was built

up and encouraged because the nudge to come out

even ask me for a word had been confirmed. They

grew in a deeper understanding of the voice of

God in their life. Both of us had been matured.

And all of that had nothing to do with the actual

vision communicated. So this is our Henley homework.

Not to go ask someone for a word, but you can

do that. Our Henley homework this week is to

go and encourage another person. Like that's

it. Sure, okay, pray about it. And maybe God

will tell you who to encourage. But if no one

comes to mind, do not let that stop you. Just

go. do it. We are called to encourage one another,

Paul talks about in Hebrews 10, because look

church, at the very least the church is built

up through love and encouragement, at the very

least. But just maybe, like just maybe, God has

already been speaking to the heart of that person

and he will use your word of encouragement to

bring confirmation of this. This will help begin

to build your muscles in hearing and speaking

God's truth into a situation. This will help

you build in confidence in maybe just going to

talk to someone in church about something more

than what they got up to during the week. So

this is your homework. Go and encourage another

person specifically. Something that might help

you with this is that prophecy begins with listening.

Peter is perplexed after his vision. You know,

verse 17 says, while Peter was wondering about

the meaning of the vision, you know, the spirit

doesn't rush him, he doesn't slap him over the

head for not understanding. Instead, the spirit

patiently guides Peter step by step. In Peter's

uncertainty, in his lack of clarity, in his wondering,

the spirit speaks again. Simon Go. You know,

even more, the vision of the sheep coming down

from heaven is repeated three times. God is patient,

but He is persistent. Sometimes we need to hear

it again and again and again before it sinks

in. Friends, the prophetic life starts not with

speaking, but with listening. Prophecies can

be misunderstood as bold declarations. Someone

just is getting up there and saying some wild

things and hoping for the best. But in actual

fact, it begins in quiet surrender, hearing from

God. Whether that be through a still small voice,

a word of prayer, or scripture coming alive,

hearing from God is where it starts. Jesus said,

my sheep listen to my voice. I know them and

they follow me. Do you know the Father's voice

in your life? 1 Corinthians 2 talks about and

reminds us that it is the Spirit that reveals

the deep things of God to those who are willing

to listen. I'm gonna butcher his name every single

time, but there was a Dutch priest, Henri Nouwen,

listening is much more than allowing another

to talk. It is an act of obedience to God's voice,

even when that voice is hard to hear. You know,

to be prophetic is all about cultivating a posture

of attentiveness. Because ultimately, all the

spiritual gifts flow from this intimacy of God.

If we cannot hear, we cannot minister effectively.

Whether that be gifts of healing, gifts of discernment,

of wisdom, of knowledge. Before we speak on God's

behalf, we must sit at His feet. One week I was

on intercessory prayer, which is just, we have

someone, it's Chelsea this week, who's praying

for the service for you and interceding to God.

And if you want to know more about it, talk to

Jen Alpha, piano man, prayer man. talk to Charlie

about what intercessory prayer looks like in

our church. But I was on intercessory prayer,

and this week, the week that I was on, I chose

to go pray in the foyer, mostly because there's

carpet, and it means being on my knees before

God is a bit softer. But I felt like, at the

start of my prayer, I felt like God spoke to

me, just kind of write them out, but it just

wasn't on my phone. Um, so I tried thinking about

who was at church that day and maybe what they

may need to hear, but still no clarity. I was

like, what am I going to do? So I ended up lying,

did my and not, but the clarity came and I messaged

him and texts and maybe they shared it with you.

I don't know. But what I was reminded of that

day is the power of listening. because God does

want to speak to you and through you. Sometimes

it isn't clear, sometimes because it's fighting

through distractions, assumptions and maybe a

whole bunch of fear. Are you making space in

your life to hear the Spirit? Maybe you need

to set aside time this week. to listen with our

agenda, to book into the prayer room, to ask

the Spirit to speak, and write down what you

sense. This is not your Henley homework. You've

already got some. But I believe that it will

have a profound impact on your intimacy with

God. The prophetic starts not with speaking,

but with listening. You know, throughout Acts

10, we've witnessed the powerful movement of

the Spirit confirming God's heart, stretching

His people, breaking down barriers. But all these

prophetic moments point us to one person, and

that is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the fulfillment

of all prophecy. The Old Testament is filled

with promises for shadows and glimpses of God's

plan to redeem His people. Every one of those

promises find a complete yes in Jesus. He's not

merely a prophet who speaks God's Word. He is

God's Word. He's the Word made flesh. In Jesus,

God's nature, love and and plan for salvation

are fully revealed. You know, this is crucial

because prophecy isn't just about knowing the

future and hearing a message from God, about

encountering the living God in Jesus. He is the

ultimate revelation. The law and the prophets,

they point forward towards Him and now through

His life, death and resurrection, God's salvation

has come in full. You know, more than just being

a fulfillment of prophecy, Jesus is the Saviour

who rescues us from our sin and restores our

relationship with God. His sacrifice on the cross

and victorious resurrection fulfilled the hopes

of every prophet. Through Jesus, the Kingdom

of God breaks into our broken world, offering

forgiveness and healing and new life for all.

including you. The same Spirit who inspired the

prophets and empowered Jesus now dwells in you,

in us. This Spirit gives you the ability to not

only hear God's voice, but to live as His witnesses,

boldly sharing the good news and embodying His

love. If you have ever wrestled with doubt, about

hearing God or speaking His truth, know that

the Spirit is patiently but persistently leading

you into this reality. He equips us to be a part

of His prophetic mission in this world. The Apostle

Paul reminds us in Romans 8, for those who are

led by the Spirit of God are the children of

God. Being led by the Spirit means we're being

drawn into God's family, transformed by His love

and sent out to reflect His light. Tim Keller

summarises it like this, Jesus is the ultimate

prophet. He doesn't just bring the Word of God,

He is the Word. And when you hear Him, you're

not just being informed. Not just being informed

of God's plan and truth and love, but you are

being transformed. As we seek to hear God's voice

and speak His truth, we must fix our eyes on

Jesus, the Living Word, the fulfillment of prophecy,

and our Savior. He alone is the authority and

has the authority and power to change hearts

and lives. Not fancy words or clever imagery

or a well -timed prophetic word. It is Jesus

who changes hearts and lives and He wants to

do that in you. So let the power of the Spirit

lead you into a deeper, more intimate relationship

with Jesus. Allow Him to... transform your doubts

into faith, your fear into boldness and your

words into a message of hope to your families

and your friends and your neighbours. This is

the power of the Spirit working in us and through

us, not to draw attention to ourselves, but to

point others to Christ, the one who saves and

sustains us. Lord, pour out your Spirit. pour

out your spirit. We need you. Thanks so much

for tuning into this week's message. If you've

felt challenged or need prayer, we'd love to

hear from you on Instagram at encounterhenley.

Or if you're interested in how you can support

this ministry, please go to our website encounteradelaide

.com .au. Thanks again for listening. God bless

you.