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Acts 1:8 is one of the most important verses when we speak about the Holy Spirit. Let me read it together with you: "And you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
I want to preach to your neighbor. Look them in the eye and say this as sternly as you can: Don't stay stuck in the room.
Last week I said that every believer should have two encounters with the Holy Spirit: the salvation experience and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. These are two different encounters.
The Salvation Experience begins with John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes..." Romans 10:9 says, "If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
The purpose of salvation is to get us in Christ and Christ in us. In 1 Corinthians 12:12, Paul writes: "For just as the body is a unity, is one, yet has many parts. And all the parts, though many, form only one body. So it is with Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one. For by means of the personal agency of the Holy Spirit, we are all, whether Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free, baptized and by baptism united together into one body and we all drink of the same one spirit."
The baptism of the Holy Spirit puts us in Christ. But that is just one half of the equation. There's also Christ in us.
Galatians 4:6 explains: "And because you are really his sons, God sends the Holy Spirit, the spirit of his son into our hearts crying Abba Father."
How does Christ live in us? Christ lives in us through the presence and the person of the Holy Spirit. First John 4:13 says, "And God has given us his spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us."
At salvation, when we say yes to Jesus, we receive a new heart that can host Jesus in the person and presence of the Holy Spirit.
The disciples of Jesus were not exempt from this need. Just because you come to church every Sunday and read your Bible every day does not exclude you from this. You have to confess Jesus as Lord of your life—not just verbally, but as a reflection of belief in your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead for your sake.
We see this in John 20. After Jesus died and resurrected, he came to the disciples. They believed that Jesus had risen from the dead. They confessed that Jesus is their Lord. Now they are saved. But how is Jesus in the room and in them according to scripture? John 20:22 says: "And when he had said this, he breathed upon them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'"
Jesus is in the room physically, but Jesus is in them in the person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus lives in me through the person of the Holy Spirit.
This is the salvation experience. The Holy Spirit—the spirit of the son—gets us into Christ and puts Christ in us.
Now the Holy Spirit was in the disciples. It is to these disciples who were saved, who had the presence of the Holy Spirit on the inside of them, that Jesus spoke in Luke 24:49: "Listen carefully. I am sending you the promise of my father, the Holy Spirit, upon you. You are to remain in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed, fully equipped with power from on high."
Acts 1:4 says: "And then, being assembled together with them, Jesus commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, 'You have heard from me. John truly baptized with water, but not many days from now you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'"
And verse 8: "And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you."
Jesus says to them, "Wait. I know you're saved, but wait."
How ridiculous that is! Let's look at it in context. They have just experienced the most phenomenal thing in human history. They just experienced the fulfillment of prophecy from all the way back in Genesis. They just experienced something they could rub in the face of their haters, of their doubters, people that laughed at them when they left everything to follow Jesus. Finally, he's alive. They just experienced this phenomenal thing, and Jesus tells them, "Go into that room, lock the door behind you."
How can you experience such a wonderful thing, and then God puts you on time out? Go there, face the wall, lock the door. Don't post anything on TikTok. Don't post anything on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp stories. Don't do it. Don't even text. Just do a quick video? No. What if I don't tell them what really happened? Just tell them something amazing happened? No.
You know that thing we do when we have a dream from God, and before we actually do anything about it, we go on social media and tell the world? "Dropping in spring of '26." Some of you did it in 2023. The rain hasn't even fallen yet. Still hanging in the air. Jesus says, "Shut up your mouth and do not do anything."
Point number one: Salvation is not enough.
Jesus was saying, "I know you have the best news in human history, but don't tell anybody who doesn't already know. I know you can understand the scripture even better now, but don't preach. Don't teach anybody. I know I told you to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every nation, but go sit down in that room, lock the door. Don't say a word to anyone."
What was Jesus saying? Yes, salvation made you a new creation, but it's not enough. Salvation made you different, but it's not enough. Salvation made you a son of God, but it's not enough. Salvation got you in Christ and Christ in you, but it is still not enough.
Salvation is enough to get us in heaven, but it is not enough for the assignment God has given us on earth.
If you study your Bible, you realize this pattern appears throughout Scripture. Jesus' life mirrors this. We don't hear anything substantial about Jesus until he is 30 years old. Then all of a sudden this young man comes down the street walking all the way to John the Baptist to be baptized.
Matthew 3:16 says: "And when Jesus had been water baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him. And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him."
Now, if you were here last week and if you study your Bible, the descent of the Holy Spirit here is different from the Old Testament descents, when the Holy Spirit would come and go, energize people, lift them up, take them by the hand, show them visions, but then when the assignment was done, it would lift. This time was different. This time the Holy Spirit rested on Jesus. And from that moment, Jesus' life is different.
Matthew 3:16—the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus. Matthew 4:1-11—Jesus is tempted and overcomes temptation in the wilderness. Matthew 4:17—the ministry of Jesus begins, preaching, healing, ministering deliverance to people. And from that time, after the descending of the Holy Spirit, Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand."
Mark says the same thing. Mark 1:9-11, the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus. Mark 1:12, Jesus overcomes the temptations of the devil by the power of the Holy Spirit. Notice: he's not even tempted until he had the Holy Spirit. He doesn't expose himself publicly until God doesn't announce, "This is my son," for public hearing. It was a private conversation all this while. It doesn't become public until he had the Holy Spirit.
Most of us get something from God and quickly go public, but you've not received the energy you need to withstand what is going to happen, because now the devil knows what God told you. We think the devil knows everything. No, he knows what we tell him. He knows what he learns by watching your parents, by watching your grandparents. That's what he knows. He's a pattern recognizer. He's not infinite in his knowledge.
Mark 1:14-15, he kicks off his ministry. Luke shows the same pattern. Luke 3:21-22, the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus. Luke 4:1-13, he overcomes temptation. Luke 4:14 says: "Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, where he lived, and news of him went around through the surrounding region. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all."
For 30 years, we don't hear anything substantial about this boy. But all of a sudden, the Holy Spirit comes upon him, and we cannot stop hearing about him. We cannot stop reading about him.
But there was something that happened. Being born of a virgin was not enough. Having prophecies and promises about him wasn't enough. Angelic visitations to his mother wasn't enough. Angelic visitations to his father in a dream wasn't enough. Teaching the teachers of the law at age 12 wasn't enough. Jesus waited for something before he went public. He waited for something that was going to set him apart. He waited for something that was going to distinguish him from every other rabbi of his time. Jesus waited for the Holy Spirit.
Point number two: The Holy Spirit is the X factor.
What do I mean by X-factor? I mean a usually undefinable, intangible quality or talent or charisma that makes a person stand out or be exceptional. It's that unpredictable, influential variable that acts as a differentiator.
Jesus left home that morning. Matthew 3:13, got water baptized, the Holy Spirit descends on him. The Holy Spirit leads him to be tempted in the wilderness for 40 days. When he came back to Galilee, this man was different.
Look at Luke 4:16. The Bible says: "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. This was what he usually did. And he stood up and read. And the Bible says, 'The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and he unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written.'
"'The Spirit of the Lord is now upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and the recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.'"
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant. All eyes were fixed on him like, "Who do you think you are?" Verse 20-22 says: "And they began to say to them, 'Today the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.' And all spoke well of him. And they marveled at his gracious words coming out of his mouth, and they said, 'Is this not Joseph's son?'"
I know this guy. This is the carpenter's son. The nice one. He hasn't changed his hair. Nothing about it. But something had changed. Something was different on the inside of him. Something had come upon him that was not there when they knew him before.
When he left home, there was something he did not have. When he came back, something had changed. Some of you need a break. Just go away for 40 days. Shut it down from social media for 40 days and go get something you don't have right now. Go get the strength you don't have now. Go get the power you don't have now. Because you've been trying for 10 years, and it has not worked. Shut yourself out until you get what you're looking for.
Jesus did everything by the Holy Spirit. He talked, he preached, he delivered people by the Holy Spirit. The Bible actually says in Hebrews 9:14 that he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice through the power of the Holy Spirit. He was raised from the dead by God through the Holy Spirit. He gave further instructions to the apostles through the Holy Spirit.
If Jesus depended on the Holy Spirit, how dare we think we can do life effectively without the Holy Spirit?
We need the Holy Spirit to stay happily married. We need the Holy Spirit to find a partner. It's not about the app. It's about the Holy Spirit. Just as the Holy Spirit led Jesus to be tempted, God can lead you to Starbucks on Wednesday by 4:00 p.m. and lead you to meet somebody. To build a successful career, to build a successful business, we need the Holy Spirit to make important decisions.
When the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus, it gave him a certain quality. He was different. He was that unknown variable. People were wondering why he talked the way he talked. Nobody talks the way you talk. Nobody walks the way you walk.
Here is the truth behind it: The Holy Spirit is God's strategy to overcome our human limitations.
Romans 8:11 says: "But if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by the same spirit that dwells in you."
So the Holy Spirit activates and energizes your body to do things it will not naturally do. It overcomes the limitation of that.
Jesus was instructing his disciples in that upper room and he says to them, "Wait for this X-factor." And he called this X-factor power. Acts 1:8 says: "And you will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you."
Luke 24:49 says: "And now I will send the Holy Spirit upon you just as my Father promised. Don't begin telling others yet. Stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with what? Power."
That's the X-factor. Yes, you are saved, but you don't have the power though.
You have a mission to accomplish, but you need the power to accomplish the mission. You understand scriptures even more, but you need the power to be able to teach it correctly. You have a commission to heal the sick and drive out demons, but you need power. They actually had authority, but Jesus was saying, "You need power."
Luke 10:9 says: "Behold, I have given you authority to trample upon serpents and scorpions over all the power of the enemy."
That word "authority" is exousia. Exousia is legal or governmental right, delegated privilege, delegated authority. It's positional power. But he said, "Wait for Acts 1:8: 'You will receive power.' Dunamis. Dunamis is different. Dunamis is strength. Dunamis is inherent ability. Dunamis is operational power.
Yes, you have positional power, but you need operational power.
Luke 10:19 says: "I have given you authority over snakes and scorpions to trample upon all the power. I've given you exousia to trample upon all the dunamis of the enemy."
Here is where it gets important. You can have a bouncer in a club, and he has the positional authority, exousia, to take away any client that becomes a nuisance. He might walk up to the client who's being a nuisance and tell the client, "Please leave." Through exousia, he says, "Please leave." And now, some clients may obey and be like, "You know what? I respect your exousia." And he leaves.
But some other clients may wave at the guy and go, "What? What are you going to do?" Now, the bouncer has to move from exousia to dunamis. Because this person is not responding to exousia. He needs dunamis to take him out.
Jesus was saying, 'You have exousia, but wait for dunamis because you will encounter an enemy who is so rebellious, he does not recognize authority. So you want to be able to apply exousia when you can. But should he resist you, you have power to operate in what your position demands.'
This is where most of us are stuck. Because we are saved, but powerless. We love Jesus, but we are powerless. We serve in church, but we are powerless. We give in church and to God through the church. Powerless. We fast and pray. You say you can cast out demons, but where is the power to do so?
One major difference between believers is their engagement with the Holy Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit filled the disciples, they were transformed completely. Peter went from timidity and denying Jesus to preaching the first message. The Holy Spirit is also the X-factor because he multiplies impact.
Peter preaches one message, 3,000 people say yes to Jesus. One message. It transformed them. These men that ran away from Jesus, went about their former business when Jesus died, could not stop talking about Jesus. The Holy Spirit is that X-factor that turns the efforts of ordinary men and women into incredible things.
He amplifies the voice of ordinary people. He's the super in the supernatural. He's the extra in the extraordinary. He energizes that intellect your teacher told you will not amount to anything. He uses that intellect to impact the world. He uses those stuttering lips to preach the gospel. He uses that poorly recorded podcast that you don't want the world to see to change the world. He uses that small online business that you have that you're almost about to shut down to make you a kingdom financier. The Holy Spirit takes simple things and multiplies them.
They are filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, but that was not all. They still had one more step to take.
Acts 2:1 says: "And on the day of Pentecost when it had fully come, they were all together in one accord. Suddenly, there came a sound from heaven as of a mighty rushing wind and it filled the house where they were. And there appeared upon them divided tongues as of fire and sat upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance."
So the Holy Spirit filled them, gave them utterance, but they had to do the speaking.
But there was one more step. Acts 2:14 says: "And Peter, standing up with the 11, raised his voice and said to them" the people who had gathered because men and women had gathered from all the nations of the world.
Yes, you have the Holy Spirit, but somebody has to step out of the room to preach. Somebody had to stand up and open that door and go do something.
Point number three: Get out of the room.
Yes, you're filled with the Holy Spirit. Yes, you're speaking in tongues, but somebody has to go out and do something with the power you just received.
If you're like me, you've done this before. You see a pair of sneakers and you tell yourself, "I'm going to buy this pair of sneakers and I'm going to begin to run." You see these nice gym clothes. Then you order them. It makes you look great. Seven pairs, different colors. Let's go. Seven days of the week, I'm in that gym. It's been 3 years.
Yes, you got the gym membership, but have you done anything with it? You bought the Peloton bike that you know you could not afford. When was the last time you rode the Peloton bike? You got the weights. When last did you carry them? You bought the vegetables and salad because now you want to eat healthy. There you are ordering DoorDash and Uber Eats as the vegetable rots in the fridge.
You bought that new Bible because now I'm going to use this to study my word. When was the last time you opened it? Do you even know where it is now?
You designed the logo, but have you launched a business? You bought the podcast equipment, but we're still waiting for episode one. Give us an intro video. Let us begin with that.
Jesus said yes, you said yes to Jesus, but we're still stuck in the room.
The assignment was not to stay in this room forever. He said, "You will be my witnesses when the power comes to Jerusalem, to Judea and all parts of the world. Get your tongue-speaking fire-head burning self out of the room and do something with the power God gave you."
Yes, you can pray in tongues, but have you written the book God told you to write? Yes, you can pray in tongues. Have you started the business he told you to start? Yes, you can pray in tongues, but what have you done with that power that you're generating?
You're just generating power for the sake of generating power. What have you done with it?
Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to do something. Not to sit down here and enjoy the presence of God."
You're looking for a next step? Use that power you have and invite somebody to church next week. Just tell them Jesus loves you. I'll buy you lunch. Just take small power and invite somebody.
Looking for your next step? Serve. Shake somebody's hand and transmit the power. That may be joy for them. Do something because this power is not just for enjoyment.
Nobody just puts electricity in their house just for the sake of it. Do you have power? Yeah, we have power. Why is the light not on? We just like the power, though. Why are we cold in this house? But there's power in the walls. Yeah, there's power in the walls. Why aren't you using it? It just feels good.
Because you are going to heaven. But Jesus gave you enough power to make sure everybody around you goes to heaven, too.
For some of us, we don't even have the Holy Spirit. Why would you want to stop at just saying yes? Why wouldn't you want more? Why wouldn't you want the full experience? If Jesus needed it for his own work, why wouldn't you say yes to the Holy Spirit? Today.
If you read the book of Acts, you realize that once that power came in Acts 2, in Acts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, almost every chapter, we see them doing something with the power they just received.
Why are we okay living lives that look no different than our neighbors that don't have Christ? They suffer, you suffer. They get sick, you get sick. Whatever that is good—if it's flu season, they're all sick, and then you also. What's the difference?
The Holy Spirit is the differentiator.
But it begins with just saying yes to Jesus. For some of you, that's where you need to start today. For some of you, your own next step is, "Lord, I've said yes to you, but I really need the Holy Spirit." And for some of you who already have the Holy Spirit, you need to go do something with it.
Say with me, "I need the Holy Spirit." Stand up on your feet and we're going to say that again. Say, "I need the Holy Spirit." Lift up your hands wherever you are and say, "Lord, I need you. Holy Spirit, I need you."
We're going to pray together and when you say it, believe every syllable of every word you're going to say. The Bible says if we ask, we shall receive.
Lord Jesus, I need the fullness of the Holy Spirit. I am open to the fullness of your spirit. I repent of my sin and rebellion. I present my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. Lord Jesus, fill me with the Holy Spirit and let the power of your Holy Spirit flow through my lips right now in words I can and cannot understand. I receive the fullness of your spirit in Jesus' name.
Open up your mouth and begin to praise him. Use your mouth and begin to speak. If you sense something bubbling on the inside of you that wants to come out, let it come out. You might not understand it. That's okay. It's not complicated. It's not weird. It's just evidence that somebody has gotten on the inside of you.
When you meet somebody for the first time, they want to talk to you. That's the Holy Spirit trying to bear witness. So open up your mouth and begin to praise God. Begin to praise him. For some of you, you're going to begin to say things that you don't understand. That's okay. Don't be weirded out. Don't resist it. Don't fight it. Just open up your mouth.
If you already have a prayer language, begin to activate that. Begin to recognize the person that is on the inside of you. He's a person and all he's doing is speaking through you.
He says, "Come to me and drink. Come to me and drink. Don't come with your mouth shut. Open up your mouth and I will fill it."
Father, we receive fullness not just of grace, but of your spirit.
If you spoke in unknown tongues, please just keep practicing. It's like a muscle. Just keep saying it. It might just be one word, one syllable, just keep saying it. As long as you have asked him, you now have the Holy Spirit on the inside of you. Go with that confidence. The evidence will come. You will see it. Let's pray you're not on the road driving when it comes, but it will come the more you submit to him.
Acts 1:8 is one of the most important verses when we speak about the Holy Spirit. Let me read it together with you: "And you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
I want to preach to your neighbor. Look them in the eye and say this as sternly as you can: Don't stay stuck in the room.
Last week I said that every believer should have two encounters with the Holy Spirit: the salvation experience and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. These are two different encounters.
The Salvation Experience begins with John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes..." Romans 10:9 says, "If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
The purpose of salvation is to get us in Christ and Christ in us. In 1 Corinthians 12:12, Paul writes: "For just as the body is a unity, is one, yet has many parts. And all the parts, though many, form only one body. So it is with Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one. For by means of the personal agency of the Holy Spirit, we are all, whether Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free, baptized and by baptism united together into one body and we all drink of the same one spirit."
The baptism of the Holy Spirit puts us in Christ. But that is just one half of the equation. There's also Christ in us.
Galatians 4:6 explains: "And because you are really his sons, God sends the Holy Spirit, the spirit of his son into our hearts crying Abba Father."
How does Christ live in us? Christ lives in us through the presence and the person of the Holy Spirit. First John 4:13 says, "And God has given us his spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us."
At salvation, when we say yes to Jesus, we receive a new heart that can host Jesus in the person and presence of the Holy Spirit.
The disciples of Jesus were not exempt from this need. Just because you come to church every Sunday and read your Bible every day does not exclude you from this. You have to confess Jesus as Lord of your life—not just verbally, but as a reflection of belief in your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead for your sake.
We see this in John 20. After Jesus died and resurrected, he came to the disciples. They believed that Jesus had risen from the dead. They confessed that Jesus is their Lord. Now they are saved. But how is Jesus in the room and in them according to scripture? John 20:22 says: "And when he had said this, he breathed upon them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'"
Jesus is in the room physically, but Jesus is in them in the person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus lives in me through the person of the Holy Spirit.
This is the salvation experience. The Holy Spirit—the spirit of the son—gets us into Christ and puts Christ in us.
Now the Holy Spirit was in the disciples. It is to these disciples who were saved, who had the presence of the Holy Spirit on the inside of them, that Jesus spoke in Luke 24:49: "Listen carefully. I am sending you the promise of my father, the Holy Spirit, upon you. You are to remain in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed, fully equipped with power from on high."
Acts 1:4 says: "And then, being assembled together with them, Jesus commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, 'You have heard from me. John truly baptized with water, but not many days from now you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'"
And verse 8: "And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you."
Jesus says to them, "Wait. I know you're saved, but wait."
How ridiculous that is! Let's look at it in context. They have just experienced the most phenomenal thing in human history. They just experienced the fulfillment of prophecy from all the way back in Genesis. They just experienced something they could rub in the face of their haters, of their doubters, people that laughed at them when they left everything to follow Jesus. Finally, he's alive. They just experienced this phenomenal thing, and Jesus tells them, "Go into that room, lock the door behind you."
How can you experience such a wonderful thing, and then God puts you on time out? Go there, face the wall, lock the door. Don't post anything on TikTok. Don't post anything on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp stories. Don't do it. Don't even text. Just do a quick video? No. What if I don't tell them what really happened? Just tell them something amazing happened? No.
You know that thing we do when we have a dream from God, and before we actually do anything about it, we go on social media and tell the world? "Dropping in spring of '26." Some of you did it in 2023. The rain hasn't even fallen yet. Still hanging in the air. Jesus says, "Shut up your mouth and do not do anything."
Point number one: Salvation is not enough.
Jesus was saying, "I know you have the best news in human history, but don't tell anybody who doesn't already know. I know you can understand the scripture even better now, but don't preach. Don't teach anybody. I know I told you to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every nation, but go sit down in that room, lock the door. Don't say a word to anyone."
What was Jesus saying? Yes, salvation made you a new creation, but it's not enough. Salvation made you different, but it's not enough. Salvation made you a son of God, but it's not enough. Salvation got you in Christ and Christ in you, but it is still not enough.
Salvation is enough to get us in heaven, but it is not enough for the assignment God has given us on earth.
If you study your Bible, you realize this pattern appears throughout Scripture. Jesus' life mirrors this. We don't hear anything substantial about Jesus until he is 30 years old. Then all of a sudden this young man comes down the street walking all the way to John the Baptist to be baptized.
Matthew 3:16 says: "And when Jesus had been water baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him. And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him."
Now, if you were here last week and if you study your Bible, the descent of the Holy Spirit here is different from the Old Testament descents, when the Holy Spirit would come and go, energize people, lift them up, take them by the hand, show them visions, but then when the assignment was done, it would lift. This time was different. This time the Holy Spirit rested on Jesus. And from that moment, Jesus' life is different.
Matthew 3:16—the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus. Matthew 4:1-11—Jesus is tempted and overcomes temptation in the wilderness. Matthew 4:17—the ministry of Jesus begins, preaching, healing, ministering deliverance to people. And from that time, after the descending of the Holy Spirit, Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand."
Mark says the same thing. Mark 1:9-11, the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus. Mark 1:12, Jesus overcomes the temptations of the devil by the power of the Holy Spirit. Notice: he's not even tempted until he had the Holy Spirit. He doesn't expose himself publicly until God doesn't announce, "This is my son," for public hearing. It was a private conversation all this while. It doesn't become public until he had the Holy Spirit.
Most of us get something from God and quickly go public, but you've not received the energy you need to withstand what is going to happen, because now the devil knows what God told you. We think the devil knows everything. No, he knows what we tell him. He knows what he learns by watching your parents, by watching your grandparents. That's what he knows. He's a pattern recognizer. He's not infinite in his knowledge.
Mark 1:14-15, he kicks off his ministry. Luke shows the same pattern. Luke 3:21-22, the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus. Luke 4:1-13, he overcomes temptation. Luke 4:14 says: "Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, where he lived, and news of him went around through the surrounding region. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all."
For 30 years, we don't hear anything substantial about this boy. But all of a sudden, the Holy Spirit comes upon him, and we cannot stop hearing about him. We cannot stop reading about him.
But there was something that happened. Being born of a virgin was not enough. Having prophecies and promises about him wasn't enough. Angelic visitations to his mother wasn't enough. Angelic visitations to his father in a dream wasn't enough. Teaching the teachers of the law at age 12 wasn't enough. Jesus waited for something before he went public. He waited for something that was going to set him apart. He waited for something that was going to distinguish him from every other rabbi of his time. Jesus waited for the Holy Spirit.
Point number two: The Holy Spirit is the X factor.
What do I mean by X-factor? I mean a usually undefinable, intangible quality or talent or charisma that makes a person stand out or be exceptional. It's that unpredictable, influential variable that acts as a differentiator.
Jesus left home that morning. Matthew 3:13, got water baptized, the Holy Spirit descends on him. The Holy Spirit leads him to be tempted in the wilderness for 40 days. When he came back to Galilee, this man was different.
Look at Luke 4:16. The Bible says: "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. This was what he usually did. And he stood up and read. And the Bible says, 'The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and he unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written.'
"'The Spirit of the Lord is now upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and the recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.'"
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant. All eyes were fixed on him like, "Who do you think you are?" Verse 20-22 says: "And they began to say to them, 'Today the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.' And all spoke well of him. And they marveled at his gracious words coming out of his mouth, and they said, 'Is this not Joseph's son?'"
I know this guy. This is the carpenter's son. The nice one. He hasn't changed his hair. Nothing about it. But something had changed. Something was different on the inside of him. Something had come upon him that was not there when they knew him before.
When he left home, there was something he did not have. When he came back, something had changed. Some of you need a break. Just go away for 40 days. Shut it down from social media for 40 days and go get something you don't have right now. Go get the strength you don't have now. Go get the power you don't have now. Because you've been trying for 10 years, and it has not worked. Shut yourself out until you get what you're looking for.
Jesus did everything by the Holy Spirit. He talked, he preached, he delivered people by the Holy Spirit. The Bible actually says in Hebrews 9:14 that he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice through the power of the Holy Spirit. He was raised from the dead by God through the Holy Spirit. He gave further instructions to the apostles through the Holy Spirit.
If Jesus depended on the Holy Spirit, how dare we think we can do life effectively without the Holy Spirit?
We need the Holy Spirit to stay happily married. We need the Holy Spirit to find a partner. It's not about the app. It's about the Holy Spirit. Just as the Holy Spirit led Jesus to be tempted, God can lead you to Starbucks on Wednesday by 4:00 p.m. and lead you to meet somebody. To build a successful career, to build a successful business, we need the Holy Spirit to make important decisions.
When the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus, it gave him a certain quality. He was different. He was that unknown variable. People were wondering why he talked the way he talked. Nobody talks the way you talk. Nobody walks the way you walk.
Here is the truth behind it: The Holy Spirit is God's strategy to overcome our human limitations.
Romans 8:11 says: "But if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by the same spirit that dwells in you."
So the Holy Spirit activates and energizes your body to do things it will not naturally do. It overcomes the limitation of that.
Jesus was instructing his disciples in that upper room and he says to them, "Wait for this X-factor." And he called this X-factor power. Acts 1:8 says: "And you will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you."
Luke 24:49 says: "And now I will send the Holy Spirit upon you just as my Father promised. Don't begin telling others yet. Stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with what? Power."
That's the X-factor. Yes, you are saved, but you don't have the power though.
You have a mission to accomplish, but you need the power to accomplish the mission. You understand scriptures even more, but you need the power to be able to teach it correctly. You have a commission to heal the sick and drive out demons, but you need power. They actually had authority, but Jesus was saying, "You need power."
Luke 10:9 says: "Behold, I have given you authority to trample upon serpents and scorpions over all the power of the enemy."
That word "authority" is exousia. Exousia is legal or governmental right, delegated privilege, delegated authority. It's positional power. But he said, "Wait for Acts 1:8: 'You will receive power.' Dunamis. Dunamis is different. Dunamis is strength. Dunamis is inherent ability. Dunamis is operational power.
Yes, you have positional power, but you need operational power.
Luke 10:19 says: "I have given you authority over snakes and scorpions to trample upon all the power. I've given you exousia to trample upon all the dunamis of the enemy."
Here is where it gets important. You can have a bouncer in a club, and he has the positional authority, exousia, to take away any client that becomes a nuisance. He might walk up to the client who's being a nuisance and tell the client, "Please leave." Through exousia, he says, "Please leave." And now, some clients may obey and be like, "You know what? I respect your exousia." And he leaves.
But some other clients may wave at the guy and go, "What? What are you going to do?" Now, the bouncer has to move from exousia to dunamis. Because this person is not responding to exousia. He needs dunamis to take him out.
Jesus was saying, 'You have exousia, but wait for dunamis because you will encounter an enemy who is so rebellious, he does not recognize authority. So you want to be able to apply exousia when you can. But should he resist you, you have power to operate in what your position demands.'
This is where most of us are stuck. Because we are saved, but powerless. We love Jesus, but we are powerless. We serve in church, but we are powerless. We give in church and to God through the church. Powerless. We fast and pray. You say you can cast out demons, but where is the power to do so?
One major difference between believers is their engagement with the Holy Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit filled the disciples, they were transformed completely. Peter went from timidity and denying Jesus to preaching the first message. The Holy Spirit is also the X-factor because he multiplies impact.
Peter preaches one message, 3,000 people say yes to Jesus. One message. It transformed them. These men that ran away from Jesus, went about their former business when Jesus died, could not stop talking about Jesus. The Holy Spirit is that X-factor that turns the efforts of ordinary men and women into incredible things.
He amplifies the voice of ordinary people. He's the super in the supernatural. He's the extra in the extraordinary. He energizes that intellect your teacher told you will not amount to anything. He uses that intellect to impact the world. He uses those stuttering lips to preach the gospel. He uses that poorly recorded podcast that you don't want the world to see to change the world. He uses that small online business that you have that you're almost about to shut down to make you a kingdom financier. The Holy Spirit takes simple things and multiplies them.
They are filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, but that was not all. They still had one more step to take.
Acts 2:1 says: "And on the day of Pentecost when it had fully come, they were all together in one accord. Suddenly, there came a sound from heaven as of a mighty rushing wind and it filled the house where they were. And there appeared upon them divided tongues as of fire and sat upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance."
So the Holy Spirit filled them, gave them utterance, but they had to do the speaking.
But there was one more step. Acts 2:14 says: "And Peter, standing up with the 11, raised his voice and said to them" the people who had gathered because men and women had gathered from all the nations of the world.
Yes, you have the Holy Spirit, but somebody has to step out of the room to preach. Somebody had to stand up and open that door and go do something.
Point number three: Get out of the room.
Yes, you're filled with the Holy Spirit. Yes, you're speaking in tongues, but somebody has to go out and do something with the power you just received.
If you're like me, you've done this before. You see a pair of sneakers and you tell yourself, "I'm going to buy this pair of sneakers and I'm going to begin to run." You see these nice gym clothes. Then you order them. It makes you look great. Seven pairs, different colors. Let's go. Seven days of the week, I'm in that gym. It's been 3 years.
Yes, you got the gym membership, but have you done anything with it? You bought the Peloton bike that you know you could not afford. When was the last time you rode the Peloton bike? You got the weights. When last did you carry them? You bought the vegetables and salad because now you want to eat healthy. There you are ordering DoorDash and Uber Eats as the vegetable rots in the fridge.
You bought that new Bible because now I'm going to use this to study my word. When was the last time you opened it? Do you even know where it is now?
You designed the logo, but have you launched a business? You bought the podcast equipment, but we're still waiting for episode one. Give us an intro video. Let us begin with that.
Jesus said yes, you said yes to Jesus, but we're still stuck in the room.
The assignment was not to stay in this room forever. He said, "You will be my witnesses when the power comes to Jerusalem, to Judea and all parts of the world. Get your tongue-speaking fire-head burning self out of the room and do something with the power God gave you."
Yes, you can pray in tongues, but have you written the book God told you to write? Yes, you can pray in tongues. Have you started the business he told you to start? Yes, you can pray in tongues, but what have you done with that power that you're generating?
You're just generating power for the sake of generating power. What have you done with it?
Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to do something. Not to sit down here and enjoy the presence of God."
You're looking for a next step? Use that power you have and invite somebody to church next week. Just tell them Jesus loves you. I'll buy you lunch. Just take small power and invite somebody.
Looking for your next step? Serve. Shake somebody's hand and transmit the power. That may be joy for them. Do something because this power is not just for enjoyment.
Nobody just puts electricity in their house just for the sake of it. Do you have power? Yeah, we have power. Why is the light not on? We just like the power, though. Why are we cold in this house? But there's power in the walls. Yeah, there's power in the walls. Why aren't you using it? It just feels good.
Because you are going to heaven. But Jesus gave you enough power to make sure everybody around you goes to heaven, too.
For some of us, we don't even have the Holy Spirit. Why would you want to stop at just saying yes? Why wouldn't you want more? Why wouldn't you want the full experience? If Jesus needed it for his own work, why wouldn't you say yes to the Holy Spirit? Today.
If you read the book of Acts, you realize that once that power came in Acts 2, in Acts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, almost every chapter, we see them doing something with the power they just received.
Why are we okay living lives that look no different than our neighbors that don't have Christ? They suffer, you suffer. They get sick, you get sick. Whatever that is good—if it's flu season, they're all sick, and then you also. What's the difference?
The Holy Spirit is the differentiator.
But it begins with just saying yes to Jesus. For some of you, that's where you need to start today. For some of you, your own next step is, "Lord, I've said yes to you, but I really need the Holy Spirit." And for some of you who already have the Holy Spirit, you need to go do something with it.
Say with me, "I need the Holy Spirit." Stand up on your feet and we're going to say that again. Say, "I need the Holy Spirit." Lift up your hands wherever you are and say, "Lord, I need you. Holy Spirit, I need you."
We're going to pray together and when you say it, believe every syllable of every word you're going to say. The Bible says if we ask, we shall receive.
Lord Jesus, I need the fullness of the Holy Spirit. I am open to the fullness of your spirit. I repent of my sin and rebellion. I present my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. Lord Jesus, fill me with the Holy Spirit and let the power of your Holy Spirit flow through my lips right now in words I can and cannot understand. I receive the fullness of your spirit in Jesus' name.
Open up your mouth and begin to praise him. Use your mouth and begin to speak. If you sense something bubbling on the inside of you that wants to come out, let it come out. You might not understand it. That's okay. It's not complicated. It's not weird. It's just evidence that somebody has gotten on the inside of you.
When you meet somebody for the first time, they want to talk to you. That's the Holy Spirit trying to bear witness. So open up your mouth and begin to praise God. Begin to praise him. For some of you, you're going to begin to say things that you don't understand. That's okay. Don't be weirded out. Don't resist it. Don't fight it. Just open up your mouth.
If you already have a prayer language, begin to activate that. Begin to recognize the person that is on the inside of you. He's a person and all he's doing is speaking through you.
He says, "Come to me and drink. Come to me and drink. Don't come with your mouth shut. Open up your mouth and I will fill it."
Father, we receive fullness not just of grace, but of your spirit.
If you spoke in unknown tongues, please just keep practicing. It's like a muscle. Just keep saying it. It might just be one word, one syllable, just keep saying it. As long as you have asked him, you now have the Holy Spirit on the inside of you. Go with that confidence. The evidence will come. You will see it. Let's pray you're not on the road driving when it comes, but it will come the more you submit to him.
