Part IV – The Power of His Spirit
I. The Promise of Power
A. Text: Acts 1:4-8
B. First of all, this book is called “The Acts” because it lists the “acts” of the apostles. You’ll notice in reading this book that the only act the Jesus performs is that of ascending unto heaven. Therefore, this book is a wonderful example of how God can use His people to do powerful exploits for Him through His Spirit!
1. Jesus is no longer with them in the flesh.
2. They now must fulfill the Gospel without Him doing it for them.
C. So, what was this Promise?
1. That, they (and we) would receive power from on high when the Holy Spirit comes upon them.
2. The word “power” here in the Greek is “dunamis,” which means “power and authority.” It’s where we get our word “dynamite.”
3. In Luke 24:49 , Jesus had just told them, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
4. Again, the word “endued,” coming from the word “dunamis” which means to be clothed with power. What the word endued actually means is to “sink into” the power!
D. So, there was a Promise of Power! But not just any power!
1. This would be power from on high! The Power of The Spirit!
II. The Purposes for Power
A. Why do we need His power?
B. God wants us to understand that we must stop trying to do things in our own strength when we can have the power of His Spirit to help us accomplish mighty works! Think about it for a moment…. God’s Spirit, working through us! Now that’s power!
C. Power to do what? The Spirit empowers us to:
1. Have the Courage to Rebuke Sin.
“But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.” (Micah 3:8)
2. Become Mightier Than Physical Forces.
“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6)
(a) We read of the power of the Spirit that was upon little David. In I Samuel 16:13, after Samuel anointed him to be the future king, the Bible says that, “The Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.”
(b) Then, the very next chapter is where we read the famous account of David slaying Goliath.
(c) People looked at David and told him not to go and fight Goliath. They said he would be a fool for attempting to fight such a giant!
(d) But David’s response was (in essence), ‘the battle’s not mine. It’s not by my might, not by my power, but by the Spirit of God that I go!’
(e) They told David, ‘Goliath is so tall, you’ll never be able to hit him.’ David’s response? “He’s so big, I can’t miss!” (That’s the attitude of the person empowered by the Spirit when the enemy comes to attack!).
3. Speak With Authority.
“And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” (Acts. 4:33)
“And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.” (Acts 6:8) This word “power” used in speaking of Stephen is the same word used in our text, meaning the power of the Spirit.
III. The Indwelling and the Outpouring
A. Probably one of the most controversial principles of the Holy Spirit today is that of the indwelling of the Spirit and the outpouring of the Spirit.
B. But, I want to show you today, with Scripture to back me up, the difference between the two.
C. The indwelling means that the Holy Spirit comes to reside, or live, inside of us when we accept Jesus as our Savior.
1. Ezekiel 36:26-27 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”
(a) The Spirit comes and lives within us at the point of salvation for the purpose of guiding us in our walk with Jesus. He comes to convict us when we’ve done anything contrary to God’s Word.
2. Romans 8:9-11 “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. (Listen) Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him (God) who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead (God) will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
3. I Corinthians 3:16-17 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles (destroys) the temple o God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
(a) Paul goes on to say, in I Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (it’s where the Holy Spirit lives) who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
4. And, Paul instructs Timothy, “That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in you.” (II Timothy 1:14)
5. Visual Explanation – This is what it means to be “filled” with the Holy Spirit at the point of salvation (pour water out of pitcher into glass). This glass represents you and I; the water and pitcher represents the Holy Spirit.
D. The “outpouring” is different from the indwelling/filling of the Spirit.
1. Again, let’s look at some Scriptural examples. First, in John 14:16-17, Jesus tells the disciples, “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper (comforter), that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot see, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
(a) So, Jesus was saying to them, those that already believe, that the Spirit was with them, but soon would be in/on them. He was speaking of the Promise of the outpouring of God’s Spirit that would come.
2. Joel 2:28, 29 says, “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”
3. John the Baptist preached, “In indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11)
4. Then, Jesus said, in Luke 11:13, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
5. Listen to Acts 8:14-20 “Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen on none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!’”
(a) The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a gift from God! Just as salvation is a gift.
6. Then, in Acts 10:44, we read, “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.” That text goes on to say that the believing Jews were astonished that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Gentiles as well.
7. There’s more. In Acts chapter 19, we can find Paul speaking to the believers at Ephesus. Verse 1 says that he was actually speaking to disciples and said to them, (in verse 2) “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? (The KJV says “since you believed”). So they said to him, ‘We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’ And he said to them, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ So they said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’ Then Paul said, ‘John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.’ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.”
8. Visual Explanation – So, if the glass represents us, filled with the Holy Spirit (or the Spirit dwells within us), then, this is what it means to have the outpouring, or to be baptized in the Spirit. (Take the glass and put in the pitcher). Notice the overflow!
IV. The Promise Fulfilled
A. So, the Promise of the Spirit is to empower us for the work (or “acts”) of God in order to continue fulfilling the Great Commission.
B. He has empowered us to become witnesses of Jesus Christ.
C. The Spirit has empowered us to do the works of God with authority and power…His power!
D. Being baptized in His Spirit enables us to preach the Word with more boldness and authority than we had initially had.
E. Being baptized in His Spirit allows for the gifts to be made manifest in our lives!
F. Being endued with the power enables us to endure the trials of life. Since, it’s not our power or might that’s keeping us, but His!
(a) Your ministry will always be the strongest where your misery was the strongest.
(b) Your testimony will be the greatest where your testing was the greatest. You cannot have a testimony without a test. And the Spirit of God will enable you to endure!
G. What about those who say that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not for today? First of all, on what basis do they say that? Some say that, according to I Corinthians 13:8-10, that the gifts are no longer needed. This text says, “Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.”
(a) They say that the “perfect” means the Word of God. And that there is no need for the gifts of the Spirit because, when the text was written, the entire Word was not yet written, so the writer was saying that when the Word was fully come, they wouldn’t need the gifts. However, if those who say this would review the original Greek translation of the word “perfect” in that text, they would find that it actually means “the end.” In other words, “heaven.” Well, we certainly won’t need the gifts of the Spirit when we get to heaven. And, even with the gifts now, we still only know in part and prophesy in part. He goes on to say in that chapter, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”
(b) A person with an experience is never at the mercy of the man with an argument.
