Treasure Hunt (Part 4) -The Power Of His Spirit Series

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.”