GOD’S POWER
Story of power outage
God intended for His Church to be a church that moved, breathed, and acted in His power. Now there are three specific ways Jesus said that this power from the Holy Spirit was to be applied that we are going to look at today.
I. POWER ESTABLISHED
A. The power that Jesus promises is given, “when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”
1. And when does the Holy Spirit come upon us? It is when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
a. Acts 2:38-39
b. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit Himself – if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior then you already have the Spirit as your constant companion and guide.
2. And notice that this promise is for all succeeding generations, not just for those these words were originally spoken to.
a. You do not have to be a Christian superstar, a singing sensation, or a well-known speaker to have the Holy Spirit – if you are a Christ follower you already have the Holy Spirit.
b. Now we want to make sure that we understand that the power we are talking about is not our power – It is the power of the Holy Spirit.
3. And we also need to be clear that we are not talking about having some type of super power to fly, leap tall buildings, or anything of that nature.
a. This is the power of God, given by God, to accomplish the things that God wants accomplished.
b. In other words, we are talking here about having something here that is holy, precious, and to be used specifically in fulfillment of God’s desires.
II. POWER USED
A. It is one thing to realize you have the power of the Holy Spirit, it is quite another to actually apply that power in your everyday life.
1. Consider the woman we talked about earlier who had the electricity turned on at her house after all of those years.
a. What if, after turning her electric on, no one had bothered to tell her?
b. All she had to do was flip the switch, but until she did that, the electricity would have done her no good.
2. It is the same with the Holy Spirit – we are all promised that we will be empowered by Him, but until we begin to actually use that power, we will continue to live as if we had no power at all.
a. When Jesus speaks to His early disciples, He specifically tells them that this newfound power they have is to be used to, “tell people about me everywhere.”
b. In other words, they disciples were not given a choice as to how they were to use this power, and the power did not have multiple applications.
c. The power was given so that they could lead other people into the salvation experience they themselves had come to know.
B. I know that some of you become very nervous when we start talking about sharing the gospel, or giving your testimony to others, or becoming involved in evangelism.
1. Not everyone has the ability to speak in front of people, and many of you are shaking in your shoes just thinking about telling someone else about how to become a Christian.
a. But the great news for all of us is this – we are not the ones doing it – it is the Holy Spirit working through us.
b. You’re going to have to trust me on this until you experience it for yourself, but I can guarantee you that once you begin sharing the Good News about Jesus you will find that the Holy Spirit is taking over your speech, and that God is speaking through you.
2. He wants to use you, no matter who you are, as His vessel for evangelism.
a. When Jesus spoke to His disciples he told them to go to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
b. He was covering everything from telling those they knew the best and were most comfortable with, to telling people who were very much unlike them.
C. And His promise was that if they would be willing to share the message, they would receive all the power necessary to deliver it.
1. Now this is where you and I come in – are we willing to be spokesmen for God?
a. Are we willing, like the early disciples, to make ourselves available for God’s use?
b. If so, God promises that He will empower us to accomplish His will.
c. It is really as simple as that.
III. POWER CONVEYED
A. Now when we go into our Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, what is going to happen?
1. Some of those people that we talk to are going to respond by accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior and then what is going to happen?
a. They will receive the same Holy Spirit that we have, along with the same power to do God’s will.
b. And that power will be transferred from one generation of believers to the next, until that day that Jesus returns for us.
2. If you will research church history you will find that the Gospel message spread out from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth, just as Jesus instructed His disciples.
a. He made the promise, they acted on that promise, and we are here today as a result of their obedience.
b. Now, here is the big question for each of us to answer individually, as well as our church as a whole – who are we going to transfer this power to?
B. Where is our Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria?
1. Who are the people God has called us to influence, and when are we going to get around to giving them the message that Jesus loves them and will save them for all eternity?
a. The fact is, we can’t wait around for someone else to do it, because that “someone else” might never get around to telling them.
b. It is up to us, in this church, and in this generation, to spread the Good News that has been given to us.
2. We do not want to be guilty of spiritual selfishness, where we are willing to receive the message for ourselves, but unwilling to share that message with others.
CONCLUSION:
- God is ready to use us for His glory – all we have to do is act.
- What it really comes down to is this – can God trust me to trust His promise?
- Am I willing to move out of my comfort zone and allow God to use me for His glory?
- Am I willing to be His ambassador so that future generations can experience the same salvation that God has so liberally shared with me?
- My hope and prayer is that we can all answer, “Yes, I am willing, able, and ready to be empowered by God to tell others about His Son.”
