“PERSONAL PENTECOSTAL POWER”
TEXT: Mark 8:14-29
THESIS: To reveal the Biblical solution for more personal power for Christians.
INTRO.:
A. The distinguishing feature of early Christianity was the great power & effectiveness of its witness. The distinguishing feature of present-day Christianity, on the other hand, is its impotence and ineffectiveness in its witness. In short, no power!
B. Yet we are living in a power-conscious and power-hungry world. Every person craves some form of power. The serious Christian longs for “PERSONAL PENTECOSTAL POWER.” By that I do NOT mean a “2nd work of grace” or “2nd blessing” as the charismatics promise & seek after. But I DO mean an appropriation of the power promised at Pentecost to believers then & now. “But ye shall receive POWER after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…”
C. Like the disciples before Pentecost, we “could not” exhibit supernatural power. But we live after Pentecost. What is wrong? Did Jesus lie in His promise? Was it only promised to the disciples living at Pentecost? I want to present the problem and the solution…
I. POVERTY & PASSION FOR POWER: v.18b
Psalms 42:1
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
A. Personal Impotence Must Be Recognized Before Personal Pentecost Can Be Realized: v.28
1. Jesus identified the problem:
a. Poverty of faith. v.19
b. Poverty of belief. v.23
ILLUS.: The father of this demon-possessed child came to this realization before the disciples (v.24)! He recognized his personal impotence & poverty of belief & asked for supernatural help: “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.”
2. Jesus is the Solution.
B. Superhuman Problems Demand Supernatural Power:
1. Their powerlessness was consciously perceived. v.28
a. Jesus’ prescription for power was prayer. v.29
b. Jesus’ prescription for power was fasting. v.29
ILLUS.: When they were conscious of their poverty of power and confessed it, Jesus then prescribed the supernatural remedy.
II. PROMISE & POSSIBILITY OF POWER:
A. Jesus Promised Us Power at Pentecost: We Are Thus Without Excuse: Acts 1:8
B. Jesus Claimed He Was the Source of “All Power”: We Are His, Thus His Power Is Possible & Available.
Matthew 28:19-20
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
1. He claimed celestial power. “…in heaven”
2. He claimed terrestrial power. “…on earth”
ILLUS.: 💥This potential power is ours by virtue of our union w/Him. It can neither be earned nor self-generated. As the machinery in a factory works, not by self-generated force, but by power derived thru constant union w/the dynamo or generator, so we must maintain unbroken union with Him to receive and demonstrate His power. Break the connection and the power is lost. Here is the secret of powerless Christians.
💥In an agricultural college a group of students decided to test the lifting power of a pumpkin. They constructed a harness so keenly balanced that it would register on a scale exactly the power of the tiny pumpkin as it grew. As the days passed their astonishment increased. At first it registered a lifting power of 20 lbs., then 50, then 100. As it continued to grow, the scale registered 500 lbs., then 1000! Still its lifting power expanded the harness until it reached 5000 lbs.! Surely this is the limit, they said. But it continued. And then they cut it from the vine. In an instant the power was gone. The scale dropped to zero. Separated from the vine it was powerless.
John 15:5
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
💥Not mere mental power, or power of personality, or rhetorical power nor any other kind of mere human power. But supernatural power communicated thru abiding in Him!
III. PICTURES & PREREQUISITES OF POWER:
A. The Pictures Of This Power:
1. Jesus Himself did not begin His ministry till endued w/the Holy Spirit & Power
a. In His early years of obscurity & obedience He made no stir in Nazareth.
b. But after His baptism & Holy Spirit enduement, He read in the Synagogue: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me…” (Lk.4:18) & His miraculous ministry had begun.
2. The disciples themselves, before Pentecost & the Spirit’s enduement of power made no mark in Jerusalem.
a. They were under command to wait for Him.
ILLUS.: They hade seen & felt their poverty of power (in spite of earlier successes), and had a passion to duplicate His power, but they were helpless. He had given them a staggering Commission, but they were puny and powerless.
b. Then came the tongues of fire & Holy Ghost power:
1) The cursing Christian, Peter, became the powerful, persuasive preacher of Pentecost.
2) The ambitious James received a love & passion for Christ that led Him to boldly preach Christ & took him to prison & death.
3) The thunderous John became the Apostle of love.
4) The timid became brave; the unstable solid; the self-assertive self denying; and the carnal spiritual.
B. The Prerequisites for This Power:
1. Renounce revealed sin:
Psalms 66:18
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
a. Confess wrongs done to others.
b. Forgive wrongs done by others.
c. Repay & make restitution for sins where possible.
d. Abandon sinful or questionable practices or world-conformity.
2. Open your heart to the Holy Spirit’s direction & control.
a. Seek His will and accept it.
b. Find His will and do it.
3. Be willing to become invisible (Peter no longer proud & boastful).
4. Humiliate self & pray for power.
a. Prayer & fasting is often necessary.
b. This is appropriation of power by faith.
CONCL.:
Saved, Are you weak & ineffective spiritually? Do you long for a PERSONAL PENTECOST? Do you desire to have power in prayer & power with people? Here is the prescription.
Unsaved, are you empty & unfulfilled? There is a vacuum there that can only be filled by the Lord. Receive Him now.
THESIS: To reveal the Biblical solution for more personal power for Christians.
INTRO.:
A. The distinguishing feature of early Christianity was the great power & effectiveness of its witness. The distinguishing feature of present-day Christianity, on the other hand, is its impotence and ineffectiveness in its witness. In short, no power!
B. Yet we are living in a power-conscious and power-hungry world. Every person craves some form of power. The serious Christian longs for “PERSONAL PENTECOSTAL POWER.” By that I do NOT mean a “2nd work of grace” or “2nd blessing” as the charismatics promise & seek after. But I DO mean an appropriation of the power promised at Pentecost to believers then & now. “But ye shall receive POWER after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…”
C. Like the disciples before Pentecost, we “could not” exhibit supernatural power. But we live after Pentecost. What is wrong? Did Jesus lie in His promise? Was it only promised to the disciples living at Pentecost? I want to present the problem and the solution…
I. POVERTY & PASSION FOR POWER: v.18b
Psalms 42:1
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
A. Personal Impotence Must Be Recognized Before Personal Pentecost Can Be Realized: v.28
1. Jesus identified the problem:
a. Poverty of faith. v.19
b. Poverty of belief. v.23
ILLUS.: The father of this demon-possessed child came to this realization before the disciples (v.24)! He recognized his personal impotence & poverty of belief & asked for supernatural help: “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.”
2. Jesus is the Solution.
B. Superhuman Problems Demand Supernatural Power:
1. Their powerlessness was consciously perceived. v.28
a. Jesus’ prescription for power was prayer. v.29
b. Jesus’ prescription for power was fasting. v.29
ILLUS.: When they were conscious of their poverty of power and confessed it, Jesus then prescribed the supernatural remedy.
II. PROMISE & POSSIBILITY OF POWER:
A. Jesus Promised Us Power at Pentecost: We Are Thus Without Excuse: Acts 1:8
B. Jesus Claimed He Was the Source of “All Power”: We Are His, Thus His Power Is Possible & Available.
Matthew 28:19-20
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
1. He claimed celestial power. “…in heaven”
2. He claimed terrestrial power. “…on earth”
ILLUS.: 💥This potential power is ours by virtue of our union w/Him. It can neither be earned nor self-generated. As the machinery in a factory works, not by self-generated force, but by power derived thru constant union w/the dynamo or generator, so we must maintain unbroken union with Him to receive and demonstrate His power. Break the connection and the power is lost. Here is the secret of powerless Christians.
💥In an agricultural college a group of students decided to test the lifting power of a pumpkin. They constructed a harness so keenly balanced that it would register on a scale exactly the power of the tiny pumpkin as it grew. As the days passed their astonishment increased. At first it registered a lifting power of 20 lbs., then 50, then 100. As it continued to grow, the scale registered 500 lbs., then 1000! Still its lifting power expanded the harness until it reached 5000 lbs.! Surely this is the limit, they said. But it continued. And then they cut it from the vine. In an instant the power was gone. The scale dropped to zero. Separated from the vine it was powerless.
John 15:5
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
💥Not mere mental power, or power of personality, or rhetorical power nor any other kind of mere human power. But supernatural power communicated thru abiding in Him!
III. PICTURES & PREREQUISITES OF POWER:
A. The Pictures Of This Power:
1. Jesus Himself did not begin His ministry till endued w/the Holy Spirit & Power
a. In His early years of obscurity & obedience He made no stir in Nazareth.
b. But after His baptism & Holy Spirit enduement, He read in the Synagogue: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me…” (Lk.4:18) & His miraculous ministry had begun.
2. The disciples themselves, before Pentecost & the Spirit’s enduement of power made no mark in Jerusalem.
a. They were under command to wait for Him.
ILLUS.: They hade seen & felt their poverty of power (in spite of earlier successes), and had a passion to duplicate His power, but they were helpless. He had given them a staggering Commission, but they were puny and powerless.
b. Then came the tongues of fire & Holy Ghost power:
1) The cursing Christian, Peter, became the powerful, persuasive preacher of Pentecost.
2) The ambitious James received a love & passion for Christ that led Him to boldly preach Christ & took him to prison & death.
3) The thunderous John became the Apostle of love.
4) The timid became brave; the unstable solid; the self-assertive self denying; and the carnal spiritual.
B. The Prerequisites for This Power:
1. Renounce revealed sin:
Psalms 66:18
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
a. Confess wrongs done to others.
b. Forgive wrongs done by others.
c. Repay & make restitution for sins where possible.
d. Abandon sinful or questionable practices or world-conformity.
2. Open your heart to the Holy Spirit’s direction & control.
a. Seek His will and accept it.
b. Find His will and do it.
3. Be willing to become invisible (Peter no longer proud & boastful).
4. Humiliate self & pray for power.
a. Prayer & fasting is often necessary.
b. This is appropriation of power by faith.
CONCL.:
Saved, Are you weak & ineffective spiritually? Do you long for a PERSONAL PENTECOST? Do you desire to have power in prayer & power with people? Here is the prescription.
Unsaved, are you empty & unfulfilled? There is a vacuum there that can only be filled by the Lord. Receive Him now.