Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Special Services / Easter Season 1999

Easter 1999

Intro: Have you ever been so excited to do something that you started before you were properly prepared? What happened? You probably didn't do such a good job or were not able to finish. Perhaps you didn't have enough money, you didn't do enough research and planning  and you came upon something you didn't expect. Perhaps you didn't have the proper tools or supplies to do the job you set out to do.  This is the life of an impulsive person, one I am well acquainted with. Often, these individuals are very passionate about what they would like to do, but often, they don't have the power to see the job through because they pass over the preliminaries.

Exp: Palm Sunday we looked at PRAISE and saw how it draws the attention of those around you to Christ. Good Friday we examined PASSION as that which drives and motivates our lives toward Jesus Christ and the lost souls around us.

 This glorious resurrection morning we shall discover the POWER available to the Believer  to make a life of praise possible and to enable you to fulfill your passion for God and the lost. This morning we shall see that resurrection living requires power!

Trans: In Acts 1:1-8 we shall examine three ways to obtain power in your Christian life.

I. Power comes from Belief. (Acts 1:1-3)
Read: Acts 1:1-3

    A. Belief is obtained by many convincing proofs
 Have you ever wondered why Jesus stayed around as long as He did after the resurrection before He ascended into heaven? He stayed around about 40 days.  I think it was because a single appearance of Jesus after His resurrection would not have been enough evidence to cause the disciples, let along anyone one else, to believe He was truly alive.

 The words 'convincing proofs' means incontrovertible evidence in contrast to just that of a witness. You see, Jesus proved He was alive by not only allowing Himself to be seen numerous times by many, many people, He also allowed them to touch Him, eat and travel with Him. They experienced a living Christ.

 Christ stayed on the earth as long as He did to encourage the disciples faith and to comfort their hearts. Power for the Apostles and for Believers today is first obtained thru belief in a risen Christ.

APP: What is it that you believe about Christ? Our belief, as Christians,  is not that a man Jesus lived 2000 yrs. ago. But that this same Jesus lives today!  After all, most people today don't deny that a man Jesus lived 2000 yrs. ago. They just don't believe He is alive now.
 They need to see the kind of belief in us that proves to them that Jesus is alive. But, we have to believe it first, don't we?

 So, what convincing proofs has Christ given to you that He is alive? Do you really believe the proofs you have been given? Are you telling others how Christ has revealed Himself to you?  Is your life of faith, as expressed in your words and actions, telling the world around you that Jesus is Alive? Power for the Christian life comes from the belief that Jesus Christ is alive!

Trans: Belief is however, only part of what is needed to experience power in your Christian life.

II. Power comes from Obedience. (Acts 1:4-7,12)
 Obedience has been a reoccurring theme throughout this Easter season, we saw it as a way to display our praise, and we saw it as a way to fuel the fire of our passion for God and the lost.

Read: Acts 1:4-7

 Obedience is demonstrated in a willingness to wait on the Lord. The disciples, according to the text, were to
    A. Wait in the appointed place
 Jesus commanded His disciples to return to Jerusalem and they were obedient. This was not easy to do as Jerusalem was a dangerous place for the disciples to be seen, after all, they were Jesus' most devoted followers.

Not only were they told to wait in the appropriate place, Jerusalem, they were told to
     B. Wait for the appointed result
 Jesus told the apostles to wait  for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And he told them to do this waiting...patiently. Not worrying about the future Kingdom but instead they were to concentrate on the coming of the Holy Spirit.

App: I bet the Apostles hated waiting as much as we do today. Especially those of us who are prone to being  impulsive. But waiting not only shows our total dependence on God but it also heightens our desires for the things of God. And God promises that when we wait for Him and what He offers, we will not be disappointed.

Those who wait on the Lord will experience
-a greater awareness of the Spirits presence and power.
-a greater knowledge of the Spirit Himself
-a greater ability to yield to the control of the Spirit
-a greater display of the fruit of the Spirit

 Do you at times feel powerless, weak, uncertain of your ability to be used by God? Maybe you are unhappy where Christ has asked you to wait. You want a change of location, a change of ministry..just any change will do.
 Perhaps the reason you feel this way is because there is some area of disobedience that is keeping you from God's appointed place and from receiving His appointed result.

Trans: Power for resurrection living comes when we believe Jesus is Alive, when we obey His Word and will by waiting for God to make the first move so that we can follow Him. Power comes from obedience.

Finally, our text tells us that
III. Power comes from the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8)
Read: Acts 1:8

    It is in this power that  ordinary people like you and I can do extraordinary things for God as the Spirit of God fills our life is allowed to work unencumbered. But power for what? To grow a church to 1000 people? To make a lot of money as a church? To become an elder or Trustee in the church? NO!

 Verse 8 is the key to this text as well as to this message because it tells us what the power of God is to be used for.
 It is the power to witness, to spread the Good News that Jesus is alive. That the lost can be delivered from the power of sin and death. That there is salvation for their soul. The power behind our ability to praise God, the the power behind our passion to be an effective witnesses for Jesus Christ to the world around us, is the power of the living, indwelling, Holy Spirit of God.

ILL: Someone once said that the temptation of this pragmatic age is to presume that technique is the secret to evangelism.
 The true secret is found not in technique but in POWER! Not in which method are you using as an evangelism tool, but in being filled with the Holy Spirit and yielded to His guidance?  Resurrection living requires Holy Spirit Power!

Conclusion
 Let me close by saying that there is no power in a 'church', no power in a pastor, Trustee, or a  Deacon, no power to fulfill our passion, no power for effective ministry and no power in evangelism, apart from the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit of God.

 In his book, Fuzzy Memories, Jack Handey writes, "There used to be this bully who would demand my lunch money every day. Since I was smaller, I would give it to him.
    Then I decided to fight back. I started taking karate lessons, but the instructor wanted $5 a lesson. It was cheaper to pay the bully, so I gave up karate."
   Too many Christians believe it's easier to pay the bully than learn how to defeat him.

 Too many Christians try to live their lives by some 'proven pattern' they found in some Christian self-help book rather than living by the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. When we do that the bully wins and we become defeated, ineffective witnesses for Christ. Lives w/o praise, lives w/o passion and lives w/o power.

 It is hard to fight this mentality. BUT... Thru the indwelling Holy Spirit we have the power to believe, to be obedient and to be mighty witnesses of a living Christ to the lost world.

 Believer, Easter morning is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the resurrection is about the power of the Holy Spirit...a power available to those who believe Jesus is alive and who are obedient to His Word and will.

 If you do not know Christ personally this morning, I want you to know that He is Alive! He is who He said He is and will do what He has said He will do. I know. God's Holy Word the Bible tells me and I, my family and many here this morning have experienced His life thru many convincing proofs and I stand here this morning, saying that you can know Jesus Christ too.

 Just open you heart and tell Jesus you are sorry for your life of sin and disobedience. That you believe Jesus died and rose again to take away your sins. and He will give you the gift of His Holy Spirit and for this there is no waiting.

 Jesus is alive, won't you trust in Him today?