Today we are talking about the power that raised Jesus from the dead; the power that makes the blind see; the dumb speak; the deaf hear; the lame walk; the power that convicts us of sin; the power that transforms and renews the mind... this is the power of the Holy Spirit.

So Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is special; He is God Himself, dwelling and living in us:

When Jesus was going back to Heaven, he told his disciples that He would pray to the Father and he would send another helper, an advocate, a comforter that would not only be with them but He would live in them:

St John 14:15-17

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you.

Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would empower the apostles to be his witnesses. They would begin in Jerusalem, the capital in which Jesus had been condemned and crucified. They would continue in the close region of Judea. The gospel would then spread first to despised Samaria and then to the ends of the earth.

The Samaritans were hated by the Jews. The Samaritans were pagans and formed their own religion, a mixture of Judaism and paganism. Jews would not pass through Samaria to go into Galilee, but had a circular route east of Jordan.

It is important to remember that we cannot be converted, we cannot be saved without the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts us of sin. When we hear the gospel, and accept Jesus in our hearts, the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16, NIV).

But how can we experience the fullness of the spirit? How can we become filled with the Spirit’s power? How can we become baptised with the Holy Spirit? How can we have the download of this powerful application?

So how do we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit or become filled with the Spirit?

And so we come to the narrative of the Day of Pentecost:

1. We need to be in complete unity:

Acts 2 Acts 2:1-4 (KJV)

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Do you know that we can all be in one place but not on one accord… being in the same place is not enough… we must have one heart and one mind and one desire… any other desires should not be the priority at that moment…

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

Suddenly… we need to be ready because God can deal with the suddenly…

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

After the spirit fell upon the disciples, Peter, who had denied Jesus before His crucifixion, was so empowered that He preached a sermon and over three thousand souls were saved…

The power of the Holy Spirit will authorise and empower us to:

Pray

Overcome

Worship

Evangelise

Renew our minds

What needs to be stirred in you today?

What needs to be ignited in you?

If you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you can receive that gift today? You can download that app today.

You may not have a personal relationship with God today and so your spirit needs to be resurrected and stirred by God’s spirit… He can transform and change you into the person of power He wants you to be. He wants you to be an overcomer.

Are we just shaken but not really stirred? Do some areas in our life need to undergo transformation?

Remember, the comforter has come!