ACTS 1:8 “HOLY GHOST POWER”
A) The Greek word for “power” here is “dunamis” where we get our English word “dynamite!”
* We need the fire like Uncle Bud Robison preached about.
* Fire in the pulpit … Fire in the choir … Fire in the pew.
* Holy Ghost power means: An uncontrollable religious enthusiasm; A strength within to do,
to bear, and to resist.
B) Let me tell you, by the help of God, how to get this Holy Ghost power! * Four things …….
(1) MAJOR ON THE BASICS! * The secret is not in the play, but in the performance!
A) Knute Rockne was one of the greatest football coaches who ever lived!
* He was the head coach for Notre Dame for 13 years. * He never had a secret practice.
* In fact, he sometimes would put up a sign for visitors … It read, “Secret Practice … Come
and bring your notebook.” * An Army scout missed the practiced and called Knute …….
* The coach sent him the plays and explained, “It isn’t the play that wins, it’s the execution.”
B) Champions are made by majoring on the fundamentals, the basics, blocking and tackling!
* They execute well! * A team may win a game here and there by a trick play or gimmick …….
* But they won’t be a consistent winner that way.
C) Great churches are built the same way … By majoring on the basics!
* The spiritual fundamentals for the church are: Prayer; visitation; and Bible teaching.
* Some try to build a church on gimmicks, but the trouble with gimmicks is the people get wise
to them and lose faith in leadership. * It also exhausts and wears out the people.
D) So what is the only solution? * Get back to the basics!
* If you build a church on the basics (prayer, visitation, and Bible teaching), and you do the basics
well, there is no limit to how long you can stay and how strong the church will become!
* The secret is not in the play, but in the performance!
E) You don’t build an exciting and spiritual, growing church on some newfangled idea that
no one ever thought of before … You build it on the basics!
* Prayer; visitation; and Bible teaching, and you build it by doing them better than anybody else.
* So, major on the basics … Prayer … Visitation … And Bible teaching … And do it well!
(2) PRAY MUCH! * John 15:5, Jesus says “For without Me ye can do nothing.”
A) With that, He gave us the secret to building an exciting and spiritual, growing church!
* He didn’t say, “Without Me ye can do the necessary.” * He didn’t even say “… the minimum.”
* He said, “Without Me ye can do nothing.” * It is the living Christ who provides the power that
makes the church hum.
B) If we rely upon education, we get what education can do!
* If we rely upon organization, we get what organization can do … If we rely upon money, we get
what money can do … If we rely upon people, we get what people can do.
* But if we rely upon prayer, we get what God can do!
* That’s what our churches desperately need today … We need what God can do!
C) Through the Holy Spirit, the Lord provides all the power necessary to accomplish His work!
* The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost to empower His church for effective witnessing and ministry.
* He is with us now and stands ready to empower us if we lay hold to Him through prayer!
(3) BUILD SPIRIT! * Let’s get all excited! * What kind of spirit do we need in RLCC?
A) One: The Spirit Of Joy! * The surest mark of a Christian is not faith, or even love, but joy!
* Phil. 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” * Give out quiz …….
B) We are to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!
* We’re told in Acts 2:46 that the early church “did eat their meat with gladness and …”
* Paul even described the “giving” as hilarious (2 Cor. 9:7) What must the rest been like?
* So overflowing joy, old fashioned joy, ought to characterize God’s church!
C) Two: The Spirit Of Enthusiasm! * Nothing worthwhile is accomplished without enthusiasm.
* The word “enthusiasm” means “God in us” … It suggests the idea of strong excitement, concern,
dedication, and passion for God.
* The most effective way to reach people for Christ is an enthusiastic Christian that is excited
about Jesus Christ and the church. (Uncle Bud Robison and his mule)
D) Three: The Spirit Of Optimism! * We’re going to win … Be optimistic!
* Jesus said “in this world we would have tribulation, but be of good cheer …” (John 16:33)
* We believe that our lives are in His hands and we believe Rom. 8:28 “And we know that all …”
* How then can we be anything but optimistic? * Like old Western Movie – Indian scalp hunters
E) Four: The Spirit Of Love! * John 13:35 “By this shall all men know that ye are my …”
* Division; envy; and strife are like sand in a ball bearing.
* The church can never hum when they are present! * FOR GOD’S SAKE, PULL TOGETHER!
* Christian love is very important in the church … It won’t survive without it!
F) Five: The Spirit Of Friendliness! * Prov. 18:24 “A man that hath friends must shew …”
* The church that is not outwardly and openly friendly and receptive to visitors and new members
will soon find itself without any! * Don’t run people off by being unfriendly!
* Jesus, who was ever and always a friend to all men, including sinners, is our example.
G) Last: The Spirit Of Loyalty! * Be faithful! * 1 Cor. 4:2 “Moreover it is required in …”
* The word “required” means “to demand as necessary, to command, to order.”
* The word “steward” means “the overseer of an estate” … And that’s exactly what we are.
* The word “faithful” means “trustworthy, loyal, allegiance to duty or to a person (God)”
H) The Lord doesn’t hold us accountable for success, but He does for our faithfulness!
* Prov. 28:20 “A faithful man shall abound with blessings:”
* 1 Cor. 7:25 “… as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.”
* Rev. 2:10 “… be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”
* Matt. 25:21 “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few …”
I) While our primary loyalty belongs to Jesus, we must never forget that the church is both
His bride and His body!
* We can’t love Him fully and completely without having a sense of loyalty and devotion to His
church! * If you’re not faithful to church, you’re not faithful to Him!
* Here’s one more way to get Holy Ghost power …….
(4) WORK HARD! * Off your seat … On your feet … And out into the street!
A) If you’re looking for a quick easy way to make the church hum, forget it, there is none!
* It takes blood, sweat, and tears to build an exciting and alive church!
* There is no contradiction between the “pray much” and the “work hard.”
* You are to pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you!
B) Job 14:15 “… thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.”
* In other words, “Work creates desire.” * The more you work, the more you desire to work!
* We’re not gonna build a church without hard work.
* There’s got to be more than just me and Libby and Eddie and Susan going visiting.
C) Have you ever heard of “The Great Commission?”
* Mark 16:15-16 “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
* You do know that these are the Lord’s last words to the disciples before He went back to heaven.
* They are our marching orders … And we are to carry them out!
D) In closing: A great commitment to the Great Commission will grow a great church!
* We all need Holy Ghost power to carry out this great commission!
* Here’s how to get Holy Ghost power: Major on the basics … Pray much … Build spirit …
And work hard! * Thomas Edison once said: “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”
* Here’s three rules for building a great church … “Work … Work … Work.”
Quiz .......
I have come up with a quiz to assess your response to Philippians 4:4 …….
Question 1: You are in the 10 item, cash only line at Wal-Mart with your 2 cans of green beans and 1 can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup with a fresh $20 bill from your ATM machine in your hand.
The person in front of you has 30 items and a checkbook in their back pocket.
How do you respond?
A. Gratitude for the Green Bean Casserole your family will enjoy.
B. Grit your teeth and wonder if the guy ahead of you failed math or reading.
C. Yell at the cashier, “Checkout Line Violation -- 30 items! 30 items!”
Question 2: You receive a letter from the IRS, stating you will soon be receiving a $1,000 refund on your tax return, how do you respond?
A. Gratitude to live in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.
B. Grit your teeth about the other $10,000 you paid in taxes last year.
C. Rip the letter to shreds while demanding more.
Question 3: You receive a letter from the IRS, stating you will be audited. How do you respond?
A. Gratitude to live in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.
B. Clench the phone and call your accountant.
C. Write the Spartanburg Herald Journal an angry letter about tax oppression in the USA.
Question 4: You are driving your daughter to school, and as you drop her off, the car in front of you decides to just park there, trapping you in the school parking lot. How do you respond?
A. You look out the window and give thanks for this time to stop and smell the roses and car fumes.
B. Grab the steering wheel tighter as steam comes out of your ears.
C. Honk your horn continuously until you sound out “move your car” in Morse code.
Question 5: You’re watching your college football team play on Saturday, and they win by a touchdown in a close game. How do you respond?
A. Stand up and start singing a victory song calling out your team’s name.
B. Wring your hands over the game next week.
C. Call a sports radio station and complain how we should have won by 3 touchdowns.
If you had all B’s for your answers, you need to take a deep breath, chill out and relax.
If you had all C’s for your answers, you may need therapy.
If you had all A’s, you need to teach a message on Phil. 4:4.
If you had a mixture of A’s, B’s, and C’s, welcome to the club.
I am not surprised when people are grateful when life goes right. I am surprised and a bit envious when life goes wrong, and people respond with a grateful heart.
I want to be able to respond to all of life with gratitude, and praise.
