Today, we complete our series Jesus the Messiah. Let’s remember that Messiah means Anointed One in the original languages. Jesus was anointed with the fullness of the Holy Spirit at His water baptism. When the power of the Holy Spirit came on Him, He began His public ministry. As Jesus needed the power of the Spirit for His ministry, so we need that same power for our lives. Today, we’re going to talk about how we can live in the power of the Spirit on a daily basis.
My message today is entitled “Resurrected Lord.” The last couple of weeks in this series, we’ve talked about Jesus suffering and death on the cross that we might be forgiven. If you missed any of the messages, you can watch the videos on our website. The wonderful fact that we’re going to talk about today is that Jesus did not stay dead. He rose from the grave and is alive forever more. After His resurrection, Jesus met with His disciples and gave them instructions.
Acts 1:4-5 (ESV) … 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.”
Jesus had already given His disciples the Great Commission, to make disciples of all nations. Now, He commands them to not start on that command because they were not prepared. They needed to wait for the promise of the Father, which He had told them about before. The promise of the Father was to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Although the disciples were born again and had the Spirit living inside, they had not experienced Spirit baptism. Why did they have to wait? What was the purpose of Spirit baptism?
Acts 1:8 (ESV) 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.”
The purpose of Spirit baptism was to receive supernatural power to be His witnesses and carry out the Great Commission. Without it they could never fulfill God’s purpose for their lives. As we’ll see today, the commands of Jesus to His disciples were not just for the apostles, but for every believer. So, the apostles and many other believers obeyed Jesus and waited for the Holy Spirit. They didn’t just wait, they prayed together asking God for His Spirit, as Jesus had previously instructed them. Then the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2
Acts 2:4 (ESV) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
All one hundred and twenty that were praying together were baptized with the Holy Spirit. The outward evidence was that the Holy Spirit gave them the ability to speak in other tongues. To speak in other tongues is to speak in a language that you have never learned. We don’t have time today to explain the great importance of speaking in tongues. However, suffice it to say that speaking in tongues releases the power of the Holy Spirit into a person’s life. Tongues are a prayer language that is meant to be used daily for every believer. Peter then preached a sermon explaining what had just happened and inviting the listeners to experience the same thing.
Acts 2:17 (ESV) “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
Peter quotes from the prophet Joel to explain Spirit baptism. Spirit baptism had never happened before, it had been saved by God for the last days. The last days are time between the resurrection of Jesus until His second coming. The outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost was not a one-time occurrence. God is and will continue to pour out the Spirit until Jesus returns again.
Today, we’re going to look more closely at Peter’s anointed message about Jesus’ resurrection. His message has great implications for us today. We’re going to learn how to be followers of Jesus and how to be Jesus’ witnesses in the power of the Spirit. So, let’s get started with the importance of …