The Power Of The Holy Spirit Series

The Power of the Holy Spirit

Pastor Glenn Newton June 6, 2004

AC 1:1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 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. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

AC 1:6 So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

AC 1:7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 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."

AC 1:9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

AC 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

This morning I want to talk to you about without a doubt our greatest need as Christian people, and our greatest need as His Church, His Body of Believers. This morning I want to talk to you about the Power of the Holy Spirit. As Christians we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit….. And as His Church, we need to be Spirit filled and led as we work for the Kingdom.

How do you describe the Power of the Holy Spirit?

It’s interesting that in Scripture, in both the original Hebrew and Greek languages, the word used in speaking of the Spirit is the word that can also mean “wind”.

Billy Graham, in his book, “The Holy Spirit”, talks about this metaphor of the wind and the Holy Spirit. He said, “I have seen tornadoes in Texas and Oklahoma, and even in my home state of North Carolina when I was a boy. Yes, I have seen the power of the wind. I have seen the air-brakes that used the wind, or the air, to stop the giant truck going down a highway. That same force can lift a giant airplane.”

Rev. Graham, goes on, “The manager of a granite quarry in North Carolina said, ‘We supplied the granite for the municipal building in NY City. We can lift an acre of solid granite ten feet thick to almost any height we desire for the purpose of moving it. We do it with air. We can do it as easily as I can lift a piece of paper.’”

Rev. Graham concluded, “Air – this invisible substance in which we live and move, this substance so immaterial that we can move our hands through it as though it had no real reality at all. But the power it possesses. How great! How terrible.”

Air is essential to our bodies, if you go without it for very long you will die. The Holy Spirit is essential to our Christian Life, without Him we will be lost.

Let’s look at our passage in Acts, what we have is Jesus giving some final instructions to his disciples, he has been raised from the dead, he has appeared to the believers, he has shown them his nail scarred hands and feet, he has proved to the doubters that He is alive, and now He is about to ascend into heaven to be with His Father.

What a wonderful plan the Father has shown us, the plan of salvation, Jesus came and died for us, took our sins upon himself, so that we could choose Him. Now he has come back from the dead, he is about to leave his followers and be reunited with His Father…. Do you think, that after all this, God would somehow mess up and not provide all that we need to carry out what Jesus has taught us?