PLUGGING INTO THE POWER OF GOD
Acts 4:31-33
As Peter and John passed through the Gate Beautiful on their way to the Temple, they saw a man who sat there daily to beg alms. Peter told the man, "Look on us." The beggar looked up, expecting to receive some coins. Peter said, ". . . Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6). Peter took the beggar by the hand and lifted him up. The man began to walk and went into the Temple ". . . walking and leaping, and praising God." Peter and John were arrested, threatened, and commanded to preach and teach no more in the Name of Jesus.
We read in Acts 4:23-30 what happened when they were released.
"And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them...."
It's good to be around friends who know how to pray!
I don’t know about you, but I have always marveled at the power of the early church. It amazes me to look at the ways God used them for His glory. When you consider that 3,000 souls were saved on one day and 5,000 were saved on another day. The early church Praised God, and had favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Acts 2:47
Like today the early church was marked by powerful miracles and big personalities; so much so that they were experiencing amazing growth; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, it lets us know that there was something different about the early church.
Most believers long for that same kind of power today. They know that they don't have what they had, but they want it. We know that we must have the same kind of power if we are going to be effective in reaching our world like they reached their world.
We are all in the need of the Power of God.
We need God’s power in our lives.
You can’t live the Christian life without God’s power to guide and direct.
If all we have is our own power we will surely fail.
Yet many people STRUGGLE through life…just getting by…never seeing the Power of God move in their lives…never understanding that all the Power of the Fulness of the Godhead is available to them.
Our churches need to see an explosion of the Power of God today.
Too many churches are living in defeat, many are powerless against the attacks of the world.
We need an infusion of Old Fashioned, Holy Ghost Spiritual Power in the church today.
If we are going to win the lost…
If we are going to have an impact on this community.
If we are going to build this church…
If we are going to do anything FOR THE LORD…we need the Spiritual Power of God in the Church Today.
We have access to the greatest power of all…resurrection power.
The Early Church had this power to change the world…
So …we know we need it…we have access to it…how do we ATTAIN IT?
Our Scripture Text says in Acts 4:31 - 33 (KJV)
And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. 32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. 33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
Wouldnt it be something to pray and have the very place where we are praying experience an earthquake because we prayed the power of God down?
Now thats what I call shaking the house!
Jesus said in Matthew 18:19 ....... That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
ANSWER…The only way we can attain this power is by plugging in to 3 things!!!
1. We must plug into the Power of Prayer!!!
"The Power of Prayer Bring God’s Power into Your Impossible Situation"
The Bible says: And when they had prayed…
Nothing happened until they prayed…the power was present yet not unleashed! Think about that…when we refuse to pray…we in effect tie the hands of God…
BUT…when they prayed…the place was shaken…you wanna have the earth shaking Power of God in your life…this does not come without prayer.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit…
2. The Message is crystal Clear…POWER comes thru PRAYER.
We are well taught in many things…
Organization…running the church.
Doctrine…the church covenant.
Teaching and Preaching
But…when it comes to prayer…we have way too many Spiritual Illiterates in the Church today…
Many of today’s Churches have a small and a weak faith and I believe it can be traced back to an insufficient prayer life of it’s members.
We learn to pray in faith by asking big and then expecting answers!
We as a church body are going to start having cooperate prayer again.
Prayer brings with it the Power of the Holy Ghost.
3. Boldness comes as a result of the Power of the Holy Ghost
See It is God’s perfect will for all believers not only to
be filled with the Holy Spirit, but also to operate in the Power of
the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28,29; Luke 24:49; Acts
1:8; Micah 3:8).
The Power of the Holy Spirit is awesome and
indescribable, but our perception of His power is
often limited by our capacity for the Holy Spirit.
Taking a cue from the story of the widow woman
with the empty vessels for oil (2 Kings 4:3); we
can safely draw the conclusion that the amount
of ‘oil’ a person receives depends on the capacity of the vessels.
David talked about how "His Cup Runneth Over" we all should be experiencing an "overflow in our lives" the only way that it will be possible is if we plug into the power of God!
Today, God wants you to realize that the
Power of the Holy Ghost is limitless, and that
your capacity to safely hold Him will determine the
measure you get. The limitless Power of the
Holy Ghost is here today to fill every vessel,
move every mountain, restrain / overthrow
every evil stronghold, set the captive free, and
turn every impossibility into possibilities; for
with God, nothing shall be impossible.
I. v. 31 WE NEED TO PLUG INTO THE POWER OF PRAYER
We have been given great promises in prayer:
Matt. 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Jer. 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
John 14:13-14 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
1 John 5:13-15 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
We have been given clear instruction in prayer:
Matt. 6:5-8 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
We have even been commanded to pray:
1 Thes. 5:17 Pray without ceasing
Luke 18:1 Men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Eph. 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
I know that we pray, but we do not often pray like the early church prayed. We usually resort to prayer when we are shaken; but they prayed to be shaken. We pray, but not fervently. We pray, but not specifically. We pray, but not in one accord. We pray, but not as a group.
We must learn to pray together at prayer meetings, in altar calls, and at other times. When someone comes to this altar to pray, others should willingly gather around them to help them with their petitions. When a need faces our church, the church should bow as a body and wage war together.
We learn to pray by praying. We learn to pray by asking God for the impossible and believing that He will send it to us. We learn to pray by reading the Word of God and praying it back to Him in faith. ( Gods Word Is His Mirror)
The early church had the power of God on them because they prayed together. When they called, God heard and answered. (Ill. Acts 4:31; Acts 12:5)
God still hears and answers the prayers of His people!
II. v. 32 WE NEED TO PLUG INTO THE POWER OF PASSION
We are told that this congregation was of “one heart and one soul”. That is, they did not live for themselves, but they lived for those around them.
These people were lost in the needs of other believers, v. 32, 34-37. And, they were consumed by the needs of the lost around them, v. 33. The early church possessed a servant’s heart that was just like that of the Lord Jesus.
While Jesus was here, He said this: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another,” John 13:35. Jesus said that His people would be known for the love they possessed for the other believers around them. He went on to tell us what His will is for the church, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me,” John 17:21.
So, when we love one another as we should, and when we walk in unity as we should, it lets the world around us know that our profession of faith is real and that we truly belong to Christ. No other testimony we give preaches so loud and so clear as our love one for another.
We need to plug into the power of love! Not just love that talks. Not just love that says, “I love you.” We need to plug into a love that acts, 1 John 3:18. We must plug into a love that puts others ahead of self. We must plug into His kind of love; without that kind of love, everything we do is in vain, 1 Cor. 13:1-3.
When I love you like I should, I will forgive you for the times you hurt me, Eph. 4:32. When I love you as I should, I will seek you best interests ahead of my own. When I love you like I should, I will treat you like I should, 1 Cor. 13:4-8a.
A revival of love in the church would produce among us the same kind of attitudes and power that existed in the early church.
Love makes us considerate of others – v. 32.
Love makes people more important than possessions, v. 32.
Love enables Christians to put away their differences.
(Ill. The early church was made up of people from all over the world. They were of different cultures and different backgrounds.)
Love produces a passion for the lost who live around us, v. 33.
Love gives us power. Without love, we will lack the power of God we need to be effective in this age. We need to plug into the power of a genuine, all-consuming passion for others.
III. v. 33 WE NEED TO PLUG INTO THE POWER OF PROCLAMATION
While the early church was marked by prayer and love, they were also marked by the proclamation of the Gospel. They were a preaching people. They carried the message of the Gospel to a world that desperately needed that message.
Verse 33 tells us that “great power” rested on the apostles. Their preaching and their witness as effective because God empowered their preaching and He blessed the proclamation of the Gospel.
The modern church must be marked by prayer and by love, but we must also be marked by the proclamation of the Gospel of grace.
We have been given the greatest message the world has ever known, 1 Cor. 15:3-4. We have been sent out to preach that message everywhere there are sinners, Mark 16:15; Matt. 28:19-20. We have been promised His help in sharing that message with the lost around us, Acts 1:8.
There is a whole world around us that needs to hear about Jesus. Every day, in every place, there are lost people who need to hear the message of salvation. Our duty is to tell them about Jesus and what He can do for them. Saving them is God’s business!
If our message is to be empowered like that of the early church, we must understand a few things.
The proclamation of the message is essential – 1 Cor. 1:21; Rom. 10:13-17. The message must be preached or no one will be saved.
The power of God is paramount. We can preach; we can witness; we can tell, but if He doesn’t empower the message, no one will be saved, John 6:44. The message must be empowered or no one will be saved.
When God’s people plug in to prayer and a passion for others, we can count on His empowering His message to the salvation of souls.
Conc:
We have many advantages over the early church, but they put us to shame in their accomplishments. Why? They stuck to the basics and God blessed them, working through them in a demonstration of divine power. That same power is available to us today. Like the early church, we need to return to the basics of Christianity. We need to plug into the power of Prayer, the power of Passion and the power of Proclamation. Doing that will allow us to shake our world for Jesus!
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Apostle Charles C Jones
