Turn on the Power
Today we celebrate Worship!
We celebrate the act of having church!
Today is Pentecost Sunday, today is church history! The day the Holy Spirit descended upon those who tarried and waited for the promise of the Holy Spirit to be fulfilled, is the beginning of the church as we know it!
Today we celebrate the day, when God turned on for mankind, the Awesome Power of the Holy Spirit! The power to move in the presence, spirit and power of the “Great I Am!” The One True Living God!
The act and the event allowed the lives and the world of the believers of Jesus and His death on the Cross, to be forever changed!
Acts 2:1-8, 12-18 NKJ.
1. When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
6. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.
7. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans?
8. And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?
12. So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”
13. Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”
14. But Peter, (aren’t you glad for the men like Peter in the world?) standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.
15. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.
16. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17. ‘ And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
18. And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy!
The Bible tells us, that they had waited just like the Lord had instructed them.
For 50 days, praying and waiting for what was going to happen,
not really knowing what was going to happen, but with great anticipation knowing, if it was from God, it would be well worth the wait!
The word wait is a verb; to remain inactive or in a state of repose. Now, the word repose...is a noun, which means; a state of rest, sleep, or tranquility.
God wanted those who were waiting to be at rest, to be completely reliant on Him, to know what was about to happen would have absolutely nothing to do with their ability, but totally based on God’s ability!
And that the power they received would allow them to do the miraculous, but would always be based on Gods ability to supply and their ability to rest in that fact!
When God turned on the Power for all mankind the and the Power was released when the Holy Spirit descended, it was so magnificent and almost indescribable all at the same time.
“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting, And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues,
as the Spirit gave them utterance..”
What they had received that day, there was no question what had happened! Everyone who was there knew it was way to important, for them to keep it to theirselves.
That’s why at nine o’clock in the morning, they were taking it to the streets, with Gods Magnificent Plan unfolding in real time!
It was history right there in the making, the “Amazing Power of God” was on display, like it never had been seen before.
What an awesome display of the power of God that day, and still is today.
3,000 souls were added to the church that day, it was nothing short of amazing!
They didn’t downplay what they were given that day, it was a miracle and we still celebrate the miracle of the Holy Spirit today.
There has been a lot of mention in the world of politics as of late about community organization. But I would attest, God is still the greatest community organizer there has ever been! Gods community called the church, that was organized the day of Pentecost is still changing the world!
The gift of the Holy Spirit gave them power to proclaim The Name and the wonderful works of Jesus, like never before! Everywhere they went, they lifted up the name of Jesus and God was in charge of the miraculous results!
Amazing events happen when you do that! When you lift up the name of Jesus and leave God in charge and believe God will supply the results, amazing things still happen!
Things like forgiveness, things like healing, hope, miracles and God’s Amazing favor!
With God‘s supernatural supply, nothing is impossible when you believe in and are willing to lift up and say the name of Jesus!
Jesus told them to go and they went without question and what happened? “They changed the world” “they changed history” “they were able to accomplish the impossible!”
God would have me tell you, if you are willing to believe, you can still do the same! You can still change the world!
Bible History tells us; For the message to reach all the world, the message of Jesus had to be shared more than just with the Jews, if it was going to go into all the world.
That’s why at the 3rd hour of the day, God’s Power and God’s Plan went out, to every dialect that was there on that day, the message started to go into all the world at that very moment!
The results were tremendous, 3,000 souls were added to the church the very first day the Holy Spirit came on the scene!
Let me reiterate as God reminds me of the fact! Church, friends and whoever is listening...”we still have the same access to the Holy Spirit they had access to on the first day of Pentecost!”
God is not a respecter of persons, what He freely gave to the 120, He still gives to all who will ask, still some 2,000 yrs. later!
T.B.S. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
The power that came that day to help with the task at hand of “The Great Commission” is still available to help with the “Great Commission” that exists today, Praise God!
Gods words and Jesus great commission, have never returned void! As Christians, we are still expected to fulfill the charge of evangelism as Jesus gave His followers!
If we read on into the book of Acts, (and by the way), do you know why its called the book of Acts? Because it records the acts of the apostles after they received the Gift and infilling of the Holy Spirit!
Church, wether we realize it or not, in heaven the Book of Acts and record of Evangelism is still being written and recorded! Because New Names are still being added to the “Lambs Book Of Life!”
I like the story of Cornelius that we find in Acts 10:1-6 NKJ
1. There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,
2. a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.
3. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
4. And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?”
So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.
5. Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter.
6. He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do.”
Cornelius, was no doubt a religious man who feared God, gave alms to those in need and prayed regularly to God.
It was probably known around the area, that he was a good and honest man who loved God and had great influence.
Acts 10:24,30-38,44 NKJ
24. And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends.
30. So Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
31. and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God.
32. Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you.’
33. So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God.”
34. Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.
35. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.
36. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all— 37. that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached:
38. how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
44. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.
There are a lot of Cornelius’s (probably more than any other time in church history) in Gods army! Good people who have been going to church all their life, waiting for someone like Peter to tell them that there is more!
God is looking for men and women like Peter, that will be faithful to their calling! To step out in faith, knowing that if God is in it, that God will be right there every step of the way helping them,
through the presence of the Holy Spirit, filling them with the power and capability to do whatever needs to be done all along the way!
If someone has been a Christian for very long, they know this to be true, TBS. (the bible says) to study to show thyself approved!
We need to know and realize, we need to be ready to share the word.
Peter didn’t have a theology degree, Peter was a fisherman, an everyday Joe like you and I!
Peter was just telling Cornelius and his household about Jesus and His life, he was just lifting up the name of Jesus and the Holy Spirit moved on all of them.
Peter did the easy part, God did the hard part! Peter teamed up with the Holy Spirit and God accomplished the impossible! Can you, and are you willing to do like Peter did and team up with the Holy Spirit and let God accomplish the impossible?
God always takes care of the results, doesn’t He?!
All we have to do is lift up the name of Jesus, the bible doesn’t say it has to be fancy or eloquent, it says just be willing to say and lift the name of Jesus!
But Peter was a Bible hero? Once again, Peter was a fisherman! If you are willing to step out of the ordinary, the history books in heaven are still willing and waiting to write your name into Bible history future generations will remember as a hero as well!
The question is, Why don’t more Christians do there part, so God can do His part?
Well this, well that, well nothing!
The cold hard truth is there are no good excuses!
So many have been concerned and with good reason about the COVID-19 virus. But tell me, “where is the concern about the accuser stealing, killing and destroying millions and millions of peoples lives and sending them to hell and eternal damnation?”
If people dying and going to hell doesn’t motivate you to share the gospel and lift the name of Jesus, What Will?
The whole world is looking for answers to the life they are living!
They may not admit it in open circles, but nevertheless they are looking! They’ve just been looking in all the wrong places for far far to long.
We have access to all the answers they’re looking for, we just need to let the world know that they can have the same access that we have!
*If their looking for forgiveness, we can point them to the forgiver of sin, because we know Him and what He has done for us on a personal level! We all have a salvation experience story!
*If their looking for success, we can point them to the maker of all things,
the greatest creator, idea generator, decision maker, trend setter, appointment getter and sales closer, they would ever want to have their team!!
*If a healthcare is what they have, we can introduce them to the Healer of every sickness and decease, known to all mankind. Every living thing has to bow to the name of Jesus!
*If finances and prosperity is their goal, we can share with them how the law of reciprocity works and introduce them to the faith for the breakthrough they’re looking for!
TBS. If you must brag, then Brag about your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and everything He can do!!
John 3:16 NKJ. Says
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
If our generation doesn’t share God’s plan and message of eternal life, who will?
(pause)
The age old question of what can I do, is one that should be permanently erased from every believers mindset!
Peter showed everyone, with the infilling and the Power of God through the Holy Spirit working in a believers life, “YOU ARE AN ARMY!”
You are an army and your world is the battlefield! Jesus has already made you victorious, now has come the time to help your friends, your neighbors and everyone else you ever meet become the same.
Victorious! Amen? Victorious, let us pray.
