Power Of God Series

Big Idea: When a person commits their life to Jesus Christ something happens to them, they have an eternal secure destination and are filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). This filling opens the door to enormous amount of potential and that potential provides us with purpose. Today and for the next few Sundays we will be exploring the Power, Potential and Purpose for our lives as committed believers and followers of Jesus.

Context: Our text is fundamental to understanding what happened when you committed your life to Jesus. When we become a part of the body of believers, we must understand that our power as a Christian only come from the indwelling of the Holy Spirt.

Acts 1:8 is a key verse for the early day church and for the church today. The church was unable to face the persuasion and with the task of being witnesses. Jesus said that they (church) would receive the power of the Holy Spirit and they would be witnesses in the world. As believers are to represent Jesus Christ wherever we are. They were to tell all they met what they had heard, seen and experienced to all who would hear. They had been with Him in His work, had seen His miracles, had heard His teaching, had been taught by Him in private for years, witnessed His death, and resurrection, and witness His ascension; in all of that they still lack the power of God. They were well prepared for the task ahead, well equipped. They may be compared to a fine automobile equipped with all the tools to take the Gospel to the world, but their spiritual tank was empty.

1 John 1:1-4 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched — this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. NIV

As believers we are commanded to take the not just Gospel next door to the farthest reaches of the earth. We must not fail and but when you look at this task it seems to be humanly impossible. And you would be correct but when we are given a task by God, he provides all the necessary tools to completed. Thus those early day Christian and we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit.

This infilling of the Holy Spirit meant that ordinary people like you and I could do extraordinary task because the power of God had been infused into our lives. I discovered that the word “can’t” and “cannot” is not found in the Bible. When Moses made excesses why he could not lead the people of God from the bondage of Egypt, but God provided the “a rod” a symbol of God’s power. (Exodus 4), but the rod was not a just a symbol of God’s power it was and instrument of judgement. The rod in and by it self-had no power but it was what God in and through the rod that we see Gods power.

Ps 2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.'" NKJV

The rod not only symbolizes God’s Power, Gods Judgement and it is a symbol of God’s comfort

Ps 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. NKJV

Jesus called himself the “good shepherd” (John 10:14) the tool of a shepherd is a staff (rod). The Shepard’s staff is the symbol of and protection for the sheep however the shepherd is the source of power, God’s power and without the power of God we can do nothing. Jesus said in John 15:5 that with out Him we can do nothing. Had those early day disciples not infused with the power of the Holy Spirit they would have failed as disciples taking the message of the Gospel to the world...

1st Power of the Word- Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." NIV

Jesus told the disciples in Acts 1:4 to not leave Jerusalem but stay and wait until they had received the gift of God from the Holy Spirit. After He ascended to His Father the disciples assembled and prayed and waited for the fulfilment of the Word. The empowerment of these disciples was not a gift of luxury but of necessity. They were to be disciples and take the message of salvation to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. It is important to noticed that the word “witness” and “witnesses” appears 29 times either as a noun or a verb in the Book of Acts. This word “witness” is a legal term which say each of the disciples had a story to tell. Not just a story but an eyewitness account of all that Jesus did in His ministry, crucifixion and resurrection. But it didn’t stop there they witnessed the post resurrection ministry of Jesus.