[teaching text]

4 And while staying[a] 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; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 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.”

Acts 1:4-8

POWER

1. WHAT DOES THIS POWER LOOK LIKE?
2. WHAT DOES THIS POWER LEAD TO?
3. WHAT DOES THIS POWER REQUIRE?

4 And while staying[a] 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; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 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.”

Acts 1:4-8

WHAT DOES THIS POWER LOOK LIKE?

The book of Acts shows us what the Christian church is meant to be. If you want to know what Christianity is, do not go to the church as she often appears; go to the New Testament. Go back to the book of Acts, and there you will see Christianity, the Christian life, and the church in action.

Martin Lloyd-Jones

The Acts of the Apostles is above all else the book of the Spirit. It is the Spirit who is the principal actor, and it is he who continues the ministry of Jesus through the apostles. Here is a model of normal Christianity—the Christian life lived in the fullness of the Spirit.

John Stott

What we see in Acts is what normal Christian living looks like.

WHAT DOES THIS POWER LEAD TO?

8 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.”

Acts 1:8

Notice that this really wasn’t a command; it was a simple statement of fact: When the Holy Spirit has come upon you… you shall be witnesses of Me. Jesus didn’t recommend that they become witnesses; He said they would be witnesses.

David Guzik

In less than a generation, Christianity had reached the ends of the known world. An uneducated band of fishermen and tax collectors, with no money or power, had transformed history because they carried a message stronger than empires.

Michael Green

WHAT DOES THIS POWER REQUIRE?

4 And while staying[a] with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father,

Acts 1:4

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

Romans 8:26

The greatest weakness in a person is trusting in their own strength and avoiding God. The greatest strength in a person is admitting their weakness and drawing strength from God’s.

42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

Matthew 26:42