May 27, 2007 – The Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21; Genesis 11:1-9; Psalm 104:24-34; Romans 8:14-17; Acts 2:1-21; John 14:8-17, 25-27

Tomorrow we celebrate Pentecost. Some would say and I would tend to agree that Pentecost is the birthday of the church. Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until what He promised (The Holy Spirit or Advocate) came and when the Holy Spirit came, He would bring the disciples great power. Luke records this twice. Once at the end of his gospel and a second time at the beginning of Acts. The book of Acts is a story of this great power coming on the disciples and they were able to do extraordinary things. As I preach tomorrow morning, I’ve come up with three things the Holy Spirit empowered the early church to do. The Holy Spirit not only empowered the early church to do these things, but he endued us (the church) to do these things today. What power does the Holy Spirit give us?

1. The Holy Spirit gives us power to be witnesses of the gospel of Christ. In Acts 1:8, this is why Jesus says the Holy Spirit is coming — so that we can be Christ’s witnesses throughout the world — Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and around the world.
2. The Holy Spirit gives us power to live lives of service. I sincerely believe that the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives enables us to be the hands and feet of Jesus. He has called us to live lives of service. I’m reminded of Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats. The difference was in their service to the Kingdom. The goats ignored the “least of these,” and the sheep served the “least of these.” James writes, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of the Father is this, to take care of the widows and orphans in their distress and to keep yourself from being polluted by the world.” So we are to serve the Kingdom
3. The second part of that verse of James alludes to the Holy Spirit enpowering us to live the holy life. Paul deals with this in Romans. “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” The Holy Spirit gives us power to lives the life that God has called his children to live — not lives controlled by our sinful nature — but lives controlled by the spirit of God.

As I read this I am convinced that without the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives we are incapable of doing any of this. We are powerless to be witnesses. We are powerless to live lives of service. We are powerless to live lives controlled by the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit makes all the difference in the life of the believer. Have a blessed Sunday as we celebrate the Holy Spirit’s coming to the church