After The Resurrection Part 3
Scriptures: Romans 12:2; Philippians 2:5-8; Acts 1:4-8; John 14:16-17; 26
Introduction:
This morning I will conclude this series I’ve titled “After the Resurrection”. To date I have shared with you that after the resurrections the first thing that was received was joy. The disciples upon experiencing a live and well Savior were filled with joy. The second thing that was given after the resurrection was forgiveness. Last week I used the story of Peter to share with you the depth of forgiveness that has been given to us through Jesus Christ. If you recall from last week, Peter had denied Christ three times and yet after Christ rose from the dead He ensured that Peter knew he was forgiven and more work was expected of him.
This morning I will focus on the final thing we received after the resurrection and that was power. Before I go into the heart of the message, I want to remind you of something that Paul said and I want you to keep this in mind as we go through this message. Paul said the following in Romans 12:2 and Philippians 2:5-8:
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal to God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:5-8
In order for you to grasp what I am going to share with you this morning, you must start thinking differently from the way you are thinking right now. You must start thinking as Christ thought so that you understand the difference between you and those who lived without the promise. When we read the Old Testament, they did not have a full understanding of who God was and they were not considered to be Children of God because that condition came through Christ. So we are empowered in a much mightier way than they and yet we live as if nothing has changed. This morning I want you to take a close look at who you are; what is available to you; and most important, how you will begin to operate in what God has given to in order to achieve His goal, not ours. Let the same mind that was in Christ abide within us through the Holy Spirit who was given to us to empower us. This is the promise of what would come after the resurrection. Let’s start with Jesus final words to His disciples.
I. Wait For The Promise
Acts 1:4-5, 8 records the following: “Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which’, He said, ‘you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.….but you will receive power when the Holy spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
The Greek word for power as used in Acts 1:8 is dunamis. This word carries the meaning miraculous power or force. It also carries the meaning of having an “ability” that resides within a person. This is what I want you to focus on this morning. Many of us are walking around being beaten because we refuse to use the power that has been given to us through the Holy Spirit. Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they receive the promise of the Father. That promise was the Holy Spirit. Jesus said once they received the Holy Spirit they would receive power and this power would enable them to be witnesses for Him throughout the world. This is the same power that we have within us today – all we need to do is believe.
There is a song that Kenny Rogers sings titled “Coward of the County”. In this song there is a young man who was considered to be the coward of the county because he always walked away from trouble whenever he could. He was given this direction from his father who had died in prison. The final words his father had told him were “you did not have to fight to prove you’re a man.” So this young man was mistaken for a coward because of the promise that he had made to his father about walking away from trouble. One day while he was not home, a group of boys came to his home and raped his fiancée. When he came home and saw her, he went out looking for the boys who had done it. When he walked into the bar room the boys were not afraid of him. However, he had had enough. When he left the bar, there was not one of those boys standing for he had beaten all of them. He was not known as the coward of the county any longer.
I share this story with you because some of us are know spiritually as cowards because somewhere along the line we have been taught that Christians are supposed to be meek and quiet. While this is true in some sense as it relates to how we operate in this natural world, it does not apply to how we operate spiritually against our spiritually foes. No where in the Bible are we commanded to step aside and allow Satan to have his way. No where in the Bible does it command us to keep our mouths shut when we see what is happening around us. No where in the Bible does it tell us to ignore our sin and the sins of other. The Bible tells us the opposite. When we face our enemy we are to be strong, fighting warriors – not cowards in hiding hoping that someone will come and save us. Maybe your button has been pushed and you have not found a reason to fight – well this morning I want to give you a reason because people are dying and going to hell all around us and we act as if we do not see it. When the disciples received their power, they did not let it lie dormant within them, they went to work.
II. Knowledge Is Power
We have heard it said that knowledge is power and the one who has the knowledge has the power to affect change. You cannot act on something you do not know. To change your mindset – to walk in the mind of Christ, we must understand the Holy Spirit. Jesus told the disciples that the Holy Spirit would do the following for them (and us) specifically:
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; That is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:26)
The first thing we see is that the Holy Spirit was sent to help us and to abide within us. That word “helper” means “counselor”. The Holy Spirit is here to act as a counselor for us in all things. Jesus also told His disciples that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things. Now many times we assume that this relates to spiritual things only – but it is not just limited to this. Let me give you a few examples. On several occasions I have misplaced something and asked God through the Holy Spirit to tell me where to find it and He did. There have been times when I have been working on a situation that I did not know how to handle and asked God for direction and the Holy Spirit directed me on how to handle the situation and what the outcome would be. There have been many times when I have been talking with someone and asked God to reveal to me the real situation and what I should say and He did it – very pointedly. All of us have examples like these but we treat them as something special instead of what should be an everyday occurrence. We should not be surprised when we are directed by the Spirit of God as He is part of the total package that we have received. When the Holy Spirit acts as a counselor for us; directing our paths so that we avoid unnecessary trials and tribulations, that should be the norm for our lives, not the exception. Let’s look at one additional Scripture. Turn to the sixteenth chapter of John.
“But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” John 16:13-15
The Holy Spirit is sent to help us; teach us; bring to our remembrance things we have learned of God’s word; and now we see that He will guide us. He will share what He hears from Jesus with us. He will guide us while teaching us. Do you see this? We are not walking alone, the Holy Spirit is in this with us. Through the Holy Spirit we have the power to do what we could not do before – be a live witness for Christ. Let’s go back to what happened with the disciples. Turn back to Acts the second chapter.
III. The Power Received
Acts 2:3-4 records the following: And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.” The power (Holy Spirit) descended upon them as tongues of fire and the first thing they did was speak in other tongues. They spoke in a language where everyone present heard in their own language the message from God. That was the very first act. The Holy Spirit could have been given to them at any point, but He was given when there was a large group of people present and who could witness what had taken place. The people were amazed at what they heard. The next thing that happened is Peter delivered the sermon of his life (verses 14-36) after which three thousand souls was saved. Now consider what I shared with you last week. Last week we talked about Peter and how he had denied knowing Christ and how Jesus had told him He had work for him to do. Now just a few days later, he stands up boldly and delivers a sermon that brings three thousand souls to Christ. The change within Peter was the power that he received from the Holy Spirit. Peter went from being afraid for his life to boldly standing up and preaching the word of God to strangers. When you read the book of Acts, you will find that all of the disciples and other believers had a transformation after they were empowered by the Holy Spirit.
IV. What Are You Doing With The Power?
What are we doing with our power? If we are sitting here professing that Jesus is the head of our life and we believe that He has our backs, why are we not rejoicing in this knowledge? If the Holy Spirit is truly living within us, why are we acting like we’re weak? If God has given us His Spirit so that we can go out and win souls for the kingdom, why are we afraid of offending someone if we ask them if they know Christ? We have been given power, we are not weak. We are not being beaten. I do not care how bad we think our situations are, get up and take a stand in your faith knowing that you have been empowered. If I told you that you had the decision right, why would you ask me to make the decision for you? If the decision is yours to make, do you not enjoy knowing that you can make the decision on your own? God has given you power, why are you not using it? Jesus died on the cross so that you could be empowered. If you refuse to walk in your power you are putting His death to shame. Understand that it is great that you are saved, but someone helped to lead you to Christ and if you are not helping someone else you are powerless. I want to make sure that you get this because this will change your life if you accept it and begin to walk in it. There is nothing special about me or anyone else who preaches the Word of God. We have just accepted what we believed God was calling us to do. But what about you? What are you doing with your power?
V. These Signs Shall Follow
Mark 9:1 records these words of Jesus: “…..Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
Matthew 28:18 records these words of Jesus: “….All authority (power) has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”
Mark 16:17-18 records these words of Jesus: “These signs will accompany those who have believed; in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them,; they will lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
Mark 9:1 was fulfilled when Jesus rose from the dead. Those who witnessed His rising understood that the Kingdom of God had come to men and it came with power. When Jesus rose from the dead, He said in Matthew 28:18 that all authority/power had been given to Him in heaven and on earth. He took it all back, but He did not take it just to keep it for Himself. He gave that authority/power to each of us. In Mark 16:17-18 Jesus said that signs shall follow those that believe. That does not leave anyone out. If you are a preacher and you believe, those signs will follow you. If you are a deacon and you believe, then those signs will follow you. If you are a church member with no other responsibility, then those signs will follow you if you believe. The problem is we do not believe and therefore we do not walk in the power that God has given us. When we pray for the sick, we do not believe that God will heal them – we hope the medicine will help, but for an instantaneous miracle, no way. We do not believe and therefore we do not receive. We are an oppressed and depressed group of people looking for someone else to come in and do what we are not willing to do for ourselves. This has got to stop. We must take our rightful place in the kingdom of God. 1 John 3:1-3 says “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is and everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” Jesus is our Savior, but in God’s eyes, Jesus is our brother. We are God’s children and that is the difference between us and those who lived prior to Christ. We are different, but if we deny our power, we become just like everyone else. Scripture after Scripture records that we are different from those in the world, but if we live according to the world, there will be no difference.
Conclusion
I want you to think about this: if you have never prayed for someone to be healed through the power of your prayer, then there is no difference between you and someone living in the world. If you have never stood against the impossible and witnessed it becoming possible, then there is no difference between you and those living in the world. If you have never allowed God to lead you and you follow without having to know where you were going, then there is no difference between you and those living in the world. If you come to Church because that is what you’re supposed to do and you leave the same way you came, there is no difference between you and those living in the world. If you pray a prayer you learned as a child and that is all you do, there is no difference between you and those living in the world. If you worry about every thing that happens in your life, then there is no difference between you and those living in the world. If you need something from God right now and you’re not sure if He will deliver, there is no difference between you and those living in the world. If you believe that it is the pastor’s job to know the bible and you only need to know a little bit of it, there is no difference between you and those living in the world. If you believe that Jesus died for your sins and after you accepted Him that is all there is for you to do, there is no difference between you and those living in the world. If you life can be summed up by the job you have and the house you live in then there is no difference between you and those living in the world. If you are asleep to the fact that God has empowered you to act, then it’s time for you to wake up because while you are asleep, there is no difference between you and those living in the world.
As I close this morning, I want you to know how the world will know that you are different. I want you to know how your friends will be able to tell that you are unique. I want you to know how you will be able to tap into and utilize the power that is resting within you. I want to share with you how to reenergize that faith that has gone on autopilot as you just exist in this world. Turn with me to our final Scripture found in Matthew 6:33. It reads “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.” What things shall be added? Everything that we worry about! Jesus has promised that we will have everything we need in order to complete His work here on earth.
Focus on the word “added”. This word in the Greek means to increase, to make more of. If you look this word up in an English dictionary, the definition would say it was a verb that is used without a subject, but also lends to the idea of something being increased. Depending on the use of the word, it could represent a past action, present action or a future action. For the sake of being simplistic, everything you need has already been provided, is currently being provided, and will continue to be provided to you if you are seeking the kingdom of God. This is what separates us from the world – our focus. We are not focused on the world’s stuff, but on God’s business. If you why we are not doing what Jesus did it is because His total existence was one of completing what God had told Him to do. When we take on this mindset, we will walk in the power that God has given us through Jesus Christ.
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal to God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:5-8
If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, get up off your hind parts and start walking in the power that God has given you. Quit blaming someone else for what you refuse to do. You have been empowered and the sooner you realize it the better off you will be and you will stop being defeated every time you face something that is out of your control. The Holy Spirit was given to us so that we would have the power to not only fulfill the work that Jesus left for us to do, but to also be able to live in a world that is not our home. The only way you can rise above the sins of this world is to walk in the power of God.
We celebrated Easter three weeks ago. If Easter only represents an annual Christian holiday for you then you are not walking in the power that God has given you. If you were to win a lottery, would you not remember tat day for the rest of your life? Would you not mark it with some memorial? The power that resides within us is that memorial that Christ rose from the dead and is alive and well. It is that revelation that empowers us to share this message with the world while not having to worry about everything that we need in order to fulfill this ministry.
Are you walking in your power? I sincerely hope so. May God bless and keep you is my prayer.
