BECOMING POWERHOUSES FOR GOD
Acts 1:4-8
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat the problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion to develop a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to 300°C.
2. The Russians used a pencil.
B. TEXT
4On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." 6 So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
C. THESIS
1. Jesus said those who receive the Holy Spirit, receive power. Power for living, power to witness, power to pray, and power to perform miracles.
2. Power to be like Jesus in this world; Power to live like He would have us live; Power to emulate Him; Power to do the things He did - and greater. “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (Jn. 14:12)
3. How can we do the miracles Jesus did? With the help of the same Holy Spirit by which Jesus performed them. We have the opportunity to be clothed in power from on high.
4. A powerhouse is a power-generating plant, of which there are not very many. One power-generating plant provides power for a large geographic area and population. There could be no modern civilization without powerhouses.
5. We’re looking today at how to become God’s Powerhouses to the lost world around us.
I. NO ASSIGNMENT WITHOUT THE POWER
A. DEMONSTRATION
1. QUESTION: Agree or Disagree? GOD NEVER ASKS US TO DO ANYTHING THAT WE CANNOT DO.
2. Give three individuals the identical task of putting together two 1x6 boards using 2" screws.
a. The first person is given no tools to work with, just the two boards and 3 screws.
b. The second is given the same materials and a screw driver.
c. The third is given the same materials and a power drill.
3. Whom do you think will complete the task? Obviously, the one with MORE POWER!
B. THE IMPOSSIBLE ASSIGNMENT?
1. Jesus left His disciples with a job to do - the Great Commission. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere”
2. For Jesus’ disciples, this task was impossible; how could a small group of followers tell the world about Jesus? It would be like trying to screw together our 1x6’s without any tools.
3. But Jesus also told them something else; “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised...in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Acts 1:4-5.
4. The Holy Spirit is God’s power-source to accomplish the Great Commission.
C. HUMOR: The Highest Power
1. A Sunday school teacher was talking to his class about how powerful were the Kings and Queens in Bible times. He was steering their thoughts back to God.
2. He asked, “Who can tell me of a higher power than kings and queens?” An 8-year-old instantly raised his hand and shouted out, "It’s Aces, teacher! Aces are higher than Kings and Queens!"
3. That’s not really what he had in mind. GOD is above all powers – in heaven, Earth, and under the Earth.
II. POWER FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE
A. POWER FOR A PURPOSE
1. The Holy Spirit power was given to empower us WHEN WE NEED IT; like Samson. The spirit came on him when there was an adversary or a battle, and he needed it. If we're not in a spiritual battle, we don't need it.
2. The primary purpose of the power given on Pentecost was to assist us in witnessing. The power won't flow unto you begin witnessing. What if I said, "I give you POWER to sing." Unless you sing you wouldn’t experience the power given to sing. (Same would be true if I gave you power to “draw,” “run,” or “throw.”)
3. 95% of the SUV’s (Sport Utility Vehicles) ever produced never leave the road. They are designed for a purpose for which they are rarely, if ever used. A believer who has experienced the power of the Spirit and is not sharing Jesus is like a 4-wheel drive vehicle that’s never taken off the road. They have power for a purpose, but they aren’t utilizing it.
B. THE NEED TRIGGERS THE FLOW
1. Jesus never performed miracles for show, but only when there was a need. The Holy Spirit will only flow in us when we are reaching out to meet a need.
2. An example of this? Jesus said, “When they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” Matt. 10:19-20. The NEED TRIGGERS the FLOW!
III. YOU WERE CREATED FOR POWER
A. HUNGER FOR REAL POWER
1. Multitudes of people today are searching for spiritual reality and power --following after things like séances, tarot cards, out-of-body experiences, telekinesis, levitation, etc. These are only the devil’s counterfeits for the power of God.
2. But God gave real power at Pentecost, and when it was confronted with satanic or counterfeit power, it was quickly shown to be superior. 3 Examples:
a. Philip’s demonstration of H.S. power before Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8:9-13),
b. Paul’s confronting the Cyprian Sorcerer Bar-Jesus in Acts 13:6-12, and
c. Paul’s demonstration of power in Asia Minor, so convincing that all the Sorcerers burned their sacred books, worth $5 million dollars. We need that kind of power today.
B. POWER SHORTAGES WORLDWIDE
1. Approximately 675 million people lack electricity, and 1.8 billion more have unreliable electrical power. This means almost 2.5 billion, out of eight billion, have a shortage of electricity. That’s 31%! One-third of the world! Aren’t you glad you live in a country with FULL POWER?
2. PAUL HAD MORE ENERGY...than all of his peers. He said, “I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” 1 Cor. 15:10. Where did Paul get this energy? From the Holy Spirit that worked in him. YOU CAN HAVE MORE ENERGY TOO!
3. Every cell in your body (except red blood cells) have a mitochondrion in them. What are the mitochondria? They are the powerhouses of your cells; their main function is to generate energy.
4. If God put power generators in every cell of your body, don’t you think He’d provide for your spiritual energy? Of course! He’s hooked you up – on a direct line – to the POWERHOUSE of Heaven, the Holy Spirit.
5. GOD WANTS YOU TO BE A POWERHOUSE. God wants you to be bursting with His divine energy. He wants you to bring healing, salvation, deliverance, peace, and joy to everyone around you. But it takes power to do things! But God offers it to you if you’ll take it.
C. YOU WERE CREATED FOR THIS TASK
1. Just as fish were created to live in the water and birds were created to fly in the sky, so We born-again creatures were created to live in the atmosphere of the Holy Spirit. We’re supposed to walk in the Spirit & keep in step with the Spirit.
2. You are IN this world but not OF it. Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit” John 7:38-39. Your body is to be a temple/dwelling of the Spirit.
3. You were created to receive and be a channel for his power to flow through to others. It’s as abnormal for a fish to be out of water, as for a New Creation to be outside the Spirit.
C. SHARE IT OR LOSE IT
1. Elton Trueblood, the Quaker scholar, once compared evangelism to fire. “Evangelism occurs”, he said, “when Christians are so ignited by their contact with Christ that they in turn set other fires. It is easy to determine when some-thing is aflame. It ignites other material. Any fire that does not spread will eventually go out.”
2. How true! We’ve been given power to witness, but if we do not turn that power “On” and witness, it will not flow. Do you want the fire of God in your life? You cannot keep a fire going unless you give it new material to consume; that means you must share the fire with others: only then will it continue to burn in you!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Ask yourself why we’re content living on LOW POWER when we could be operating on the HIGH POWER of the Holy Spirit.
2. We've got 240 volts of electricity coming into our place. If I put my finger in the light socket you'd expect that I might get electrocuted. But I won't, not if I've got the fuse in my pocket. It doesn't matter how many volts are connected up to my house if I've unplugged the fuse.
3. I believe that power of the Spirit is available to every person whose taken up the Cross. The Cross is like the fuse. If we don't live in the way of the Cross we’ve pulled the fuse out of our lives and blocked the high voltage of God’s power.
4. The better the connection to the source, the greater the power. Our source is Jesus Christ. Would you rather have LOW power or HIGH power? BEST or 2ND BEST?
5. Do you like all your devices to work? Then they must be CHARGED DAILY! Same with YOU!
B. ALTAR CALL
1. Let’s take a few minutes and come to THE RECHARGING STATION [ALTAR] and ask God to recharge our batteries with the Holy Spirit.
2. If you want to be prayed for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, step over to the side for special prayer. God’s Gift is meant for you. God desires His power to flow through you, empowering you, equipping you, and enabling you.
3. Let’s diligently seek to be filled with His Spirit. Pray for this Spirit baptism - until you’ve received it. Remain open to letting God use you in incredible things.
