A New People - Pt 2 Series

A NEW PEOPLE – Pt 2

Acts 1:3-8

* Many times you have heard me say this in some form or fashion, but it is true so I’ll say it again, “This world needs a new type of people.” It is the result of the “Old man” running things that has run us into the ground. On every hand, we witness the decay and disintegration the American culture, which was once the envy of the world. Today, the lack of ethics in business, the lack of conviction in government, and the lack of morals in the culture has us on a collision course with a fate which we don’t want. Without a change in direction, without new ethics and moral, and without a different type of people, hope is dim.

* To meet Christ is to become a new person, one that is different from the rest of the world, and one that should make a difference in the rest of the world.

* This morning we talked about “GOD’S PROMISE” which is the Holy Spirit and how, if we are to be God’s New People, we must be filled and controlled by the Spirit of God. In this text they are told to ‘wait’. How long should they wait? The believers in the upper waited, sought God, and prayed for 10 days!

* If we do, when God shows up He’ll find us, fill us, focus us, and even fire us up to fulfill His mission. It is at this point that we become “a new people.” Let’s re-read our text.

* Every time I read this text, I am stunned with the responsibility which the Lord Jesus has given to His followers, to me, and to us. His words are ‘wait’ & ‘go’. We wait for His Spirit & then go in His Spirit. Last time we spoke of God’s Promise.

1. God’s People – It is a popular thing in the South and even inside to the church to refer to ourselves as “God’s People.” Yet, there are some serious implications to being “God’s People.” In the Old Testament on more than one occasion we witnessed God’s judgment on His people. Words & places like Kadesh-Barnea, the Wilderness, and even AI, remind us that God has expectations for those who wear His name. Candidly, He expects us to be ‘game-changers.’ Think about it this way; His people possess the hope for the world. With this being true, how do we KNOW when we become HIS people fulfilling His purpose?

a. A New Power – The text says, “You will receive power.” Jesus outlined the power He would give to His people back in Matthew 16 and then implied it, once again, in Matthew 28. His people make us His church and HIS church is so strong that the “Gates of Hell cannot prevail against it.” When we wait on or ‘trust in’ the Lord, we receive divine power to do a divine work. That divine work is to change lives. We are called to give what we have & do what we can.

* In Christ, we have eternal life to give and possess the power to give it. It is an evidence of being a ‘New person.’ Candidly, the church today believes that she can do much for our world. Listening to some preachers I get the idea that the pulpit has become a mixture of psychology, sociology, and therapy with a little scripture thrown in. The power which we are given is the POWER OF THE GOSPEL. It is the power of salvation for everyone who believes. It takes power to change a life and this power beyond what we think or know. We become a new people when we tap into this power. This only comes when we get;

b. A New Presence – Please get this; “you’ll only receive power WHEN the Holy Spirit comes UPON you.” Get the picture; with motion the Holy Spirit comes to rest on you, “OVERTAKES” you, and as it says in verse 3 you are immersed in and with the Holy Spirit of God. In other words, you become saturated with His presence. It is only at this point that the divine power comes.

* Have you ever given yourself to the study of the Bible and all that it teaches about the importance of the Spirit? Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us having the Holy Spirit is God’s down payment for our souls. Galatians 5:16 tells us to “walk” (or live) by the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:17 says the “Lord is the Spirit” and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Romans 8:14 says that all those who are led by the Spirit are God’s Son (which implies those who are not – are not!)