Power...for What? Series

Power…For what? Acts 1:8

We need the power of the Holy Spirit, but we need to understand what that means.

The clearest sign of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is…POWER

For what? To witness for Jesus Christ. Where the Holy Spirit is, people will be coming to Christ.

We can experience the power of the Holy Spirit in the following ways:

POWER TO PRAY: 1:14 They were devoted to prayer.

If we are full of the Holy Spirit, we will want to pray.

POWER FOR MIRACLES 2:4

The baptism in the Holy Spirit and signs were miraculous!

The Power of the Holy Spirit still brings miracles.

POWER TO GIVE GOD GLORY! 2:10

They were giving God glory.

If you are full of the Spirit, praise and worship should come naturally to us.

POWER TO PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL 2:14, 40-41

Peter stood up and explained what was happening.

We pray for souls, but if we do not share the Good News, that is a contradiction.

If we are full of the Holy Spirit, we should be able to present the Good News in a way that people will respond to.

If we are not bringing people to Jesus during the week, there is less chance people will be saved at church.

POWER TO GROW IN FAITH 2:42, 47

Why is it we don’t see what everyone else sees about us?

If we do, why don’t we change? WE NEED HELP!

If we call ourselves Spirit-filled, we should be growing spiritually.

We need a spiritual physical.

POWER TO BE A BLESSING. 2:44-47

2 Chronicles 20:26 The Valley of Blessing.

If Christians followed God’s financial principles, the Church would have more money than it could spend. Randy Alcorn “The treasure principle.”

The Church should not be the place begging for money, but blessing the community.

Power to get wealth: Dt. 8:18 God never has a recession!

POWER TO BE POSITIVE – If we are living with a negative attitude, the world is not going to care about our faith.

We complain too much.

Some people always need something else to make them happy.

Be happy now!

We all have free will: No one makes us do anything. Be thankful for your family, spouse, job, home…

We may have some challenges, but if we are living in the fullness of the Holy Spirit and we are in God’s will, the place we are in is exactly where God wants us to be.

POWER TO HANDLE ADVERSITY 1:26, 2:13

They had to replace Judas and the Holy Spirit led them through it.

They were mocked and made fun of.

The power of the Holy Spirit should give us thick skin where we can handle tough times without falling apart.

Power to be commited

POWER TO LOVE PEOPLE – 2:46-47

The believers grew in favor with people.

Josh Hunt – groups with people skills are 147% more likely to grow.

Christianity is a people-oriented program – if you don’t like people, you should sign up for the landscaping ministry.

We should not only love people, we should like to be with people.

The power of the Holy Spirit makes us love people that are unlovable.

“Old Time Religion:” Makes you love everybody.

What is a life worth? 10% of my income? Living in a small, hot, desert town? Being friends with my rowdy neighbors?

Is it obvious that we are Christians?

The gifts of the Spirit and spiritual language are wonderful. We still need them. We need to understand it. We need spiritual language so we can speak with God, and for God. But if we speak in tongues but live defeated, negative, critical lives, we are not living in the fullness of the Spirit and we do not have the power to witness.

The most powerful work of the Holy Spirit is that people are coming to Christ and growing as Christian disciples.

The Holy Sprit is our life support. We cannot pull the plug!

Job 34:14 (NLT) If God were to take back his spirit and withdraw his breath, all flesh would perish.

Don’t get discouraged! You might not lead everyone you know to Christ, but you can be an influence.

“Let’s have baptism parties!”