“In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.” – Acts 1:1–9 (ESV)
Waiting is the confident, disciplined, expectant, active, and sometimes the painful clinging to God.
What do we wait for…
The promise of God.
The promise of God is expectant hope.
Waiting is the process of becoming who God wants us to be.
Pastor’s Perspective:
What God is doing in us while we wait is as important as what it is we are waiting for.
Submit Totally
Acts 6-7
Often the confrontation of submission comes in the form of _limitation._
Once you submit _completely_, then you are positioned to receive _openly_.
Receive Openly
Acts 1:8
Every believer has the Holy Spirit. . . . .
But the Holy Spirit does not have every believer!
“you will receive” – the reception of an invitation.
Final Words of Jesus:
“The Power “To Be”
- Provision “to be”
Personal. . . “you will receive” “upon you”
Ability. . . “power”
Before, Jesus sent His disciples out under His authority. Now, they were sent wit the Holy Spirit’s power which gives them the ability to go! The Holy Spirit has them!!
- Position “to be”
“And you will be my witnesses.”
- Transformation. . . . . “you will be.”
- Testimony. . . . “witnesses.”
Remember this:
The power of the Holy Spirit transforms and changes your _inside_, that we might be witnesses on the _outside_.
Pastor’s Perspective:
Miracles attract attention while, changed lives attract people to the power of Christ in us.
_Placement_ “to be”
Acts 1:8
Jesus says. . . _Start where you are_.
The plan of God remains the same and The power of God is still the same for all believers !
Question:
Do you want to live a transformed life empowered by the Holy Spirit?