THE MOST POWERFUL GIFT
Acts 1:4-8 “And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of me.
For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
When they therefore were come together, they asked of them, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Acts 2:1-4 “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
THE MOST POWERFUL GIFT
After Jesus was raised from the dead in His own Power, He appeared a number of times.
His final appearance was with the disciples as he was preparing to return to the glories of Heaven.
Before He left, Jesus gave some final instructions to the disciples. These instructions are the same for every man born from then and on into the future.
Jesus commanded them to wait in Jerusalem until the Promise of the Holy Spirit should come. The baptism in the Holy Spirit would empower them to accomplish great things for the Kingdom of God and in the hearts of men everywhere.
A number of us have had this wonderful experience of the Holy Spirit baptism with the evidence of speaking in other tongues.
So many in the world, both the church world and the secular world, try to discredit the Holy Spirit baptism or to make it as though it were not really necessary.
While we don’t believe or teach that the Holy Spirit Baptism is necessary for salvation – we do teach that you will accomplish far greater things when the Holy Spirit comes upon you in power.
The church world, including the Pentecostal faiths, have accomplished great things but how much more could have been accomplished or can be accomplished if only we would learn to led the Spirit fill us completely with His presence and power?
Illustration: Years ago on a variety show, a guest appeared that was a body builder. As he entered the stage with his huge muscular body the crowd went crazy as the body builder began to flex his muscles and show his power. The first question asked of him was this: “What do you use all those muscles for?” Without answering, the body builder again stood up and began flexing his muscles while the crowd cheered wildly.
A second time, the question was asked, “What do you do with those muscles?”
Again, the body builder flexed his muscles and the crowd became almost ecstatic.
After asking three times, “What do you do with all those muscles?” the body builder just sat in silence and had no answers.
The man was all power but his power had no purpose other than to show off and bring attention to himself.
HOW MANY SPIRIT FILLED CHRISTIANS ARE JUST LIKE THAT?
When we are baptized in the Holy Ghost and experience the awesome power of God, its not for applause of men or show of our spirituality, it’s for application and for a purpose.
The Baptism in the Holy Ghost isn’t just something that makes me feel better than other people who don’t have it. It is an experience that makes me better than me!
The Baptism in the Holy Ghost is sent to empower us “TO BE” greater witnesses for Christ.
The Holy Ghost is in us to “PLUG US IN” to the power of Almighty God for the accomplishment of great things.
1 – It give us the Power to Witness
Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost comes upon you, and ye shall be witnesses…”
When Jesus told these disciples these words, they were already witnesses. They had already been sent out to preach, to spread the gospel and deliver people from demonic oppression. They were already anointed ministers and bringing in souls to the Kingdom of God.
But, their witnessing lacked real power.
They had been baptized into Christ for their salvation.
After salvation, Christ was to baptize them for service.
Jesus did not ask the disciples to wait in Jerusalem. He commanded them to wait.
The HOLY SPIRIT BAPTIZM isn’t an option; it’s a command from Jesus himself. Every Christian should earnestly desire and seek after the Baptism in the Holy Ghost.
If we want to be great witnesses, if we want to accomplish anything great for God, the Holy Ghost is absolutely important.
Illustration:
Its just like in any building; you can have all the right wiring, switches, light bulbs, etc., and you can really desire to turn the lights on, but unless you are connected and turned on to the power source for electricity, you get nothing.
Jesus knows that you have all the right equipment to be a witness – but you need power.
Before Jesus was crucified, Peter was a poor witness. In fact, Peter denied knowing Jesus at all at a time when Jesus could have really used a friend.
But a few weeks later, after the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, Peter preached a single message that led 3000 souls to Christ.
What a difference the anointing and power of the Holy Ghost makes!
The power of the Holy Ghost within us causes the message we deliver to penetrate the heart of the hearer.
In our own power we cannot influence many to hear because our witness is so weak.
But when we speak in the power of the Holy Ghost, the awesome Power of Almighty God goes forth, like a lightning flash, to press home to the heart of the sinner and saint alike, the message that He would have us to hear.
The Baptism in the Holy Ghost makes every one of us an evangelist who can reach millions with the Gospel.
Illustration:
Have you ever seen a can of penetrating oil? If you have a rusted bolt that you can’t get loose, you apply penetrating oil to it and wait for a while and quite often the bolt is much easier to take apart.
Penetrating oil is great stuff, but if it just sits in the can and isn’t applied to the bolt, it is of no use at all.
The Baptism of the Holy Ghost isn’t meant to just “sit” in a Christian so that they can have a wonderful experience in God. It is meant to be applied through ministry so that the Gospel can spread.
2 – It gives us Power to Walk Holy and Right
Our witness is greater because we walk holy and godly before the world.
There is something different about you when you walk in the Power of the Holy Ghost, living a godly lifestyle in an ungodly world, and those of the world will take notice.
The Holy Ghost gives us the power “TO DO” great things by giving us the power “TO BE” a holy witness.
It’s much more than the initial evidence of speaking in tongues.
It enables us to Minister in the Power of God in our actions and words.
It enables us to Serve with God’s Power and presence to move the hearts of men
It enables us to Walk Upright as an example of the Holiness of a Holy God.
How can we know if the Baptism in the Holy Ghost is still active in our lives?
The ongoing evidence of His presence within us is the constant transformation of our lives. The process of ongoing Sanctification of the believer and our involvement in spreading of the Gospel are two indicators.
Illustration:
Power can be used in at least 2 ways. It can be unleashed or it can be harnessed. Drop an atomic bomb and just watch as raw power is unleashed or harness the power of the atom and it will produce energy to make enough electricity for entire states. On the Day of Pentecost, and on the day you were filled, the burst of power was evident by the tongues of fire, but the controlled release of that power has caused the people of God to go great distances and effect many lives as the Power was manifest in them.
The Power of the Holy Ghost within us changes us from day to day so that we can be a better witness and then moves upon us to give us the ability to minister to the need of others.
3 – He gives us the Power to Praise
Pentecostal worship services are known for their peculiar methods of praise and worship.
On the Day of Pentecost, they were so charged by the Holy Ghost, that as they worshipped many thought that they were drunk.
Have you ever been drunk in the Holy Ghost?
Have you noticed the times when the praise and worship became inhabited by the presence of God?
Who wants to go to some dead church, listen to some kind of dead, dry “elevator” hymn being sung by a choir that will put you to sleep, when we can come together and worship God in Power and feel His presence?
All of the power that is given to us as Christians is awesome indeed, but it’s only awesome if you have experienced it for yourself.
EVERY MAN IS COMMANDED TO RECEIVE IT!
NONE OF US SHOULD BE SATISFIED WITHOUT IT!
NONE OF US CAN BE THE BEST THAT WE CAN BE IN THE LORD WITHOUT IT!
THE QUESTION TONIGHT TO EACH OF US IS THE SAME QUESTION THAT PETER ASKED IN ACTS 19:2,
“ HAVE YE RECEIVED SINCE YE BELIEVED?”
The Promise of the Holy Ghost is for all and we are all commanded to receive it.
When was the last time we spoke in tongues?
When was the last time we felt the wonderful presence of the Holy Ghost as we began to witness or to minister to the hurting?
When was the last time we prayed through until we felt the peace and power of the Holy Ghost all over us?
IF WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT IT’S NOT BY MIGHT, NOR BY POWER BUT BY THE HOLY GHOST THAT THINGS WILL HAPPEN – THEN LETS SEEK FOR THE RENEWAL OF THE BAPTISM WITHIN US AND SEE WHAT GOD CAN DO THROUGH US.
