A Greater Power 10.18.20 SERIES: “The Book of Acts”

SERIES: “The Book of Acts”

TEXT: Acts 2:1-13

MESSAGE: “A Greater Power”

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“I remind you that there are churches so completely out of the hands of God that if the Holy Spirit withdrew from them, they wouldn’t find it out for many months”  A. W. Tozer

And from the Bible we find out that the Holy Spirit…

  • Grieves – Eph. 4:30: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…”
  • Loves – Rom. 15:30: “Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit… 
  • Searches – 1 Cor. 1:20: “For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” 
  • Speaks – Heb. 3:7-8: “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts…” 

“(Religion) is often what happens when God…has left the building. A list of instructions where there was once conviction; dogma where once people just did it; a congregation led by a man where once they were led by the Holy Spirit. Discipline replacing discipleship.” — Bono (Lead Singer of U2)

TEXT: Acts 2:1-13

Q: What happens when the Spirit of God enters the Church? It’s marked by…(1. An Outside Power 2. A Joyful Freedom 3. A Crucial Response)

      1. An Outside Power (v.1-3)

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.”

      2. A Joyful Freedom (v. 4; 7-11)

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance…And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” — 2 Corinthians 3:17

“God did not let the gospel go out in just one language and culture.” — Timothy Keller

      3. A Crucial Response

“And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

TAKEAWAYS: A Holy Spirit Empowered Life…

  • Knows it’s powerless

“Will God ever ask you to do something you are not able to do? The answer is yes–all the time! It must be that way, for God’s glory and kingdom. If we function according to our ability alone, we get the glory; if we function according to the power of the Spirit within us, God gets the glory. He wants to reveal Himself to a watching world.”  Henry Blackaby

  • Confesses weakness regularly
  • Patiently endures difficulty
  • Pushes us beyond ourself

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